Halfway through - we at Adkuvari

We were enjoying the surroundings while walking. Rain was keeping us a company. We started walking by about 12/30 pm. it was past 2.00 pm now. wWe saw ahead that there were no shops ahead after half a kilometer.  We took a halt for a cup of tea. in this hour and a half we covered little over 2 kilometers. Total climb to Adhkuwari is six kilometers. Some rest and refreshing tea recharged us. Enhancement in energy level was necessary in this chilly, rainy afternoon. We were walking continuously, yet cold was biting. We resumed our climb, still the gradient was low. In next one hour we covered another kilometer and half. Now there were no shops around. We had tea in a small outlet of shrine board; from here real climb has started. On some of the bends it was really steep. Neha is asthmatic from childhood.  Her physician was not in favour of her climbing the hills, but she was determined. We kept the pace low to ensure she is comfortable right from the beginning. We decided now to take about 500 steps in one go and then wait for some time to ease heavy breathing. We realized that we have climbed a significant height.

It was 4.15 pm. I was feeling hungry. There is a wash room, tea coffee stall and a restaurant at every half a kilometer on this road. These facilities are provided by shrine board. we decided to take a break. This restaurant had a scenic view compelling to take a snap. Restaurants run by temple administration provide very economical food. These outlets have a short menu. It has three rice dishes with rice namely Rajma rice, kadhi rice and dal rice. Each had a price tag of Rs. 40/-. There was Puri bhaji for Rs.25 and tea and coffee at Rs 7 and 10/- each. We decided to taste different varieties at every meal. We were there for about 30 minutes. After this good rest and relaxing time spent, we started our walk. About half an hour later I realized now Neha needed a short break to regain her breath every 300 steps. 

The hills were magnetic. Whole atmosphere here was radiating supernatural force. Devotees of various age group, gender and physical condition were climbing up and down happily. They were encouraging each other with a chant of "Jai Mata Di". The power I felt was a culmination of inspiration from nature, Devotion of pilgrims and force majeure (Daivi Shakti)). With heavy rains, biting cold, increasing steepness of climb and reducing oxygen in air nature was taken a test. Yet Mothers attraction and power was giving us strength and enthusiasm to overcome all odds and continue climb. In this transcendental state we reached Adhkuwari by 5.30 pm. 

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Me and Neha At Adhkuwari

Engraved in Memory

Both sides of road were crowded with numerous shops. They were selling variety of items. This is a usual sight on the roads leading to most of the religious places in India. We never entered one. Our focus was to reach Sajichat at the earliest. People were walking on the road. Some were riding on horseback. Horsemen were trying to control their speed. There was an unusual odour in the air. It was a mix of surrounding smell with droppings and urine of horses. Shrine board employees were continuously cleaning the road. There continuous efforts were falling short as it was getting dirty again in no time. In such a heavy rain it was dirty, what must be happening when there is lot of rush and it doesn't get cleaned naturally by rain? I need additional visits to know more about it. One has to be careful walking on the road. There is always rush of devotees and Pittuwalas (Bag carriers) walking on foot. Horses and palanquins are going up and down on that narrow road. Each palanquin is carried by four persons (doliwallas). Rhythm in their walking was a sight. Harmony in their movement is still in front of my eyes. Even after two years it plays like a movie when I close my eyes and rethink about it.

Vaishnodevi is holy shrine of Hindus, second most frequented by devotees after Tirupati Balaji. Devotees not only from India but all over the world visit here. Both this temples are managed very efficiently by respective temple administration committees', I felt facilities for devotees, cleanliness are excellent Here. We staying in Maharashtra always boast of it being progressive state. I thought to write temple administrators in Maharashtra to send study tour to these places. I think managing temples and creating facilities for pilgrims is progressive too.

We also observed the horsemen, doliwallas and Pittuwalas. Most of them were tall, slim and well built. They were very fair and had blue green eyes. They were impressive and hardworking. Whenever we opened a talk, they greeted us by saying "Jai Mata Di". It means hail the mother goddess. Every now and then we heard them saying' blessings of mother goddess'. They can work here only after registering with temple administration. Each one was issued identity card. Very economical food and free restrooms are available to all of them. Cost of food for them, was only 50-60% of cost to devotees in special dining rooms.  a striking fact was most of them were Muslims, They come from distant part of Kashmir valley. Poverty is a norm in that part of J&K. Income sources are far and few, we were told. Is this the reason that youth from this part is easily trapped for terrorism, from across the border? They find working here helps them with decent earning. They come here again and again for employment. There is restriction on number of registered workers.Those who are waiting for registration or don't get one work as masseur. There condition, I found is very bad. They don,t even get advantage of free rest rooms and economical food. Temple administration has created very good facilities for direct employees in the hills.They are provided with decent accommodation near their work stations. We continued our trek enjoying these visuals, discussions and thinking about them.

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Our climb begins

We left the market and reached the entry. This entry is called as "Darshan Darwaja" or "Darshan Devdi". From this entry point the entire Trikuta Hill is visible. Here first security checking is done. Lot of sitting arrangements is made here. It wasn't possible to seat in rains. As there was no rush there was no need to sit also. We cleared the security check. To make climbing for pilgrims easier there are various options made available past security post. One can hire Horse or palanquin. If one decades to climb but doesn't want to carry bags then there are backpacks carriers called as "Pittuwala". One interesting arrangement is a person who pushes you on the climb. I found it funny and difficult to imagine. How one can be pushed on the climbing roads when the person has lost energy? It was difficult to imagine. I asked Neha whether she want to hire Horse or Palanquin. She was very clear. She wanted to trek it on foot.

After some distance there was "Gulshan Kumar's Langer". Langer is a place where free food is distributed to pilgrims.  Gulshan Kumar was ardent devotee of Mata (Mother)  Vaishnodevi.  He was primarily instrumental in improving facilities here. Later on the shrine administration was taken over by government.  We passed this place and reached a control check post. Here one has to get pilgrim registration receipt, "Yatra parchi" stamped. Post stamping we crossed a small rivulet. This is called as Banganga.  In spite of heavy rains this rivulet was very dirty. It was more like a sewage carrier. Even in and around Mumbai there are rivers like Mithi, Dahisar and Wladhuni, where I get the same feeling. Can we humans be more civilized?  Ahead of this bridge there is a temple called "Charan Paduka Mandir".  Historically, this is where  pilgrimage starts. Like most often we do in Mumbai, I bowed down from a distance and continued walking. Little ahead opposite of this Temple there was a hotel. Name of this hotel is "Tulsi Bhojanalaya". We decided to take lunch here. This hotel has sitting arrangements for more than 100 persons. When we entered, there were not more than 15 people, having food. Due to inclement weather very few devotees very few decided to undertake this journey. We had "Puri Bhaji".  While ordering tea, my order was very clear now, ' without sugar without salt'. Even though cold wind was blowing and it was raining cats and dogs, I and Neha were full of enthusiasm. I secured backpack by wearing raincoat over it. Both of us took the sticks we were carrying and here we go. 

From this place two ways are available.  One is a plane road and other is by using stairs. As per the board, there were over one and half thousand stairs. Height of those stairs also was unusually more. At each stage stairs we found board indicating no of steps in that stage. There were boards advising against using steps, for those suffering from blood pressure, heart disease and other ailments. In cities we are used to elevators, hence not even a flash of thought came in mind of climbing stairs. Our trek for Vaishnodevi Darshan has started.

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No Second Thought

It was 10 am. We finished our breakfast. Chandan came to hotel with car. We left for helipad. It took us about 15 minutes to reach there. After going through the security we entered helipad. Chandan said he will wait for our message.  Helipad staff was very cooperative. We were told that, tickets can be canceled 15 minutes after scheduled departure. As there were heavy rains and almost nil visibility in the hills, there was no chance of a takeoff. We informed this development to Chandan. He was in the parking area. I will wait till you cancel tickets and come out, he assured. Past 11.15 am, that is 15 minutes past our departure time our tickets were cancelled. We came out of helipad, Chandan was waiting there for us.

Back in the car we started discussing next plan. What has happened was never thought of while planning.  We had to deal with it on the spot. We had two options, one was to trek the hills and other was to wait for improvement in weather till next day. We had details of trek, we reconfirmed it from Chandan. He said we can climb from Banganga. Horses, palanquins are available at Banganga. Katra is about 850 meters i.e. 3000 feet from mean sea level. Sajichat where we booked our stay was 7200 feet. So we had a climb of about 4500 feet to be done over a distance of 12-13 kilometers. Of course it was clear that, we will have to cover the distance in heavy rains. Neha was very enthusiastic about trek. It was very appreciable. By the time Chandan brought us to a shop owned by his brother. This shop was selling offerings to the deity. We took out backpack from the bags and packed it with necessary food, medicines and clothes sufficient for our trek. Though shrine board has made numerous free arrangements to keep baggage at Katra, we decided to keep our bags at the shop. I was not worried once even while leaving our baggage there. Shopkeeper gave us a written acknowledgement of the same.

We realized our umbrellas we were useless in this weather. The shops in Katra offer raincoats for hire. We hired raincoats from the same shop Chandan took us to. We paid Rs. 200/- per raincoat deposit.  The hiring charges were Rs. 100/- per Raincoat. Long sticks are available at every shop and on the road free of cost.  We took two sticks. They are useful as a support on a long climbing road. Chandan assured us to meet when we come down the next day. He was to take us to Katra market next day. Frankly staying market of Katra is incorrect. Katra means market. This place is called as Katra as it is a marketplace of Vaishnodevi Shrine. Now we were clear that will climb to the shrine.  If one does registration after reaching Katra and take "Yatra Parchi" then it is mustn't clear first check post at Banganga within four hours. We had a registration done on Internet. There was no such restriction on us. It was over 6 hours since we reached Katra. The first entry gate called as "Darshan Darwaja", was about 300 meters from this shop. We left the shop and started our walk saying good bye to Chandan.

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Shri Vaishnodevi Katra 2

It was raining incessantly with heavy winds, when we came out of the station. There is long foot over bridge connecting station to the auto stand. Umbrellas we carried were useless in this wind. we observed many tourists wearing a thin plastic raincoat. It was made from plastic material generally used in plastic bags we get in the vegetable market. At the other end of bridge we found a boy selling these raincoats. We bought two for Rs. 30/- only. Our look in raincoat was funny, but good for a photo memory, hence we captured it. It did save us from rain to an extent. I felt this windy, rainy morning was very pleasant. It may be more psychological than real.

Many rickshaw and car drivers rushed towards us when we came out. As it happens outside all railway and bus stations in India, they were dismayed to know we looking for a short journey. They went away, so did most of the tourist who came out of the station. Few cabs and autos were still there. Now these drivers walked towards us. They were agents of various hotels. We were also in search of a room for next 4-5 hours to take rest and get ready. A young man in his late twenties walked towards us. He was short, slim with fair complexion and was looking very confident . He gave his card to us. His name was Chandan Sharma.My trained eyes with long touring experience found him reliable. We negotiated with him a hotel room for 5 hours and a drop to hotel and from there to helipad for Rs 400/-. 

He took us through small by-lane to a small hotel. The name of this hotel was Hotel Amrit Palace. Many such small hotels calling them palace I have stayed in other parts of India also. This hotel cannot be found on Google even today. There we were given a room on the ground floor. It wasn't a great hotel but room was clean to our satisfaction. First we ordered tea. I wanted sugar less tea. Shortly room boy brought two cups of hot tea. I took first sip and just threw it out. It was first time I sipped a tea with milk having salt. I have indulged in salty tea earlier called as "Kahawa", but is without milk. Then i asked him to get me tea to my order. We had tea and biscuits. We freshened up,changed for journey for Vaishnodevi. We came out in the lounge and opened a dialogue with boys manning reception counter. We were told in last 2 days there was no helicopter sortie due to inclement weather. But as per rules it was must for us to report at helipad to cancel our tickets.

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Shri Vaishnodevi Katra 1

Neha woke me up with excitement, I was fast asleep. I got up; found the entire compartment came to life. All were excited and preparing to alight. We have reached Shri Vaishnodevi Katra railway station.  I wore my socks and shoes. We got our baggage in order and came out on the platform. To my utter surprise this platform was very clean. It was biting cold outside. Display on the station was showing 4 degrees Celsius. It was raining heavily with strong winds adding to the cold. We were wearing sweater, it wasn't sufficient to protect from cold.  Both of us wore a jacket, hand gloves also a hood. Our looks were amusing and ideal for a click. After taking a photograph I started searching for a hot cup of tea. In this whether early morning at 5.00 am what else is asked for, but a tea stall was nowhere in the sight.

We used Internet extensively while planning. It is good medium to gather information as long as one doesn't mislead self in this mega information web. Usually my search begins with Wikipedia. Wikipedia, Wikimedia are good to begin with but I am not sure about authenticity of information. We searched Google Earth,

Google maps also. Saw many videos on YouTube and tried to relate the information acquired. We went to all this places in virtual world so many times. The benefits were seen the moment we reached Katra. We felt that it's not the first time we have stepped here. We felt surrounding was just familiar to us.

Apart from Internet on our desktop we used many mobile applications for information and searching.  AccuWeather was one such application used extensively. The information we got from it was very vital for planning. After getting down from the train we found this weather forecast was absolutely right. It was raining heavily here. Make My Trip, Cleartrip, Yatra, Goibibo l. Trivalgo, Travel Yarri and Tripadviser were some applications we used. I particularly find Tripadviser useful. Many travelers share their experiences on Tripadvisor which I found very informative and in my opinion very useful during a travel. I started traveling across length and breadth of India as a kid. My father (Appa)  was very keen traveler and used to take the family out every year. I had seen more than 70% of India by 1984, I was 17 then. Even then we never went with tour operators.  Our trips were elaborately planned by him and two of his friends. Four, five families used to travel together then. Now with advent in technology and available information it was prudent to plan ourself and travel.

IRCTC has made very good arrangement of AC rooms in Katra station premises; which can be booked in advance on www.irctc.co.in. It wasn't done by us. We went there for spot booking. No rooms were available. We never took care of booking a room or some alternative arrangement for these 4-5 hours in Katra. One lacuna in our planning we realized. We also learned there was no retiring room on the station other than above rooms. Being frpm Mumbai, we are used to very heavy rush on the railway stations. There is a lack of basic amenities including cleanliness on many suburban stations. We still travel happily in Mumbai by trains. But we were pleasantly surprised with the cleanliness and facilities on Katra station. It has beautiful architecture with amenities like escalators.

Me and Neha at Katra Railway Station

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In the capital city

We Hand baggage helped to come out of the airport fast. It was raining in the northern part of India for last few days. Though it was mid-March there was cold weather outside. We had a cup of refreshing tea on the food stall outside. As it was past 1.30 pm we decided to head for lunch straight and do away with our plan to visit Rajghat and India Gate. We booked a prepaid cab for Connaught Place. Delhi airport is quite far from city. It is about an hour's drive. Delhi has lot of traffic too. We directly reached Kake da Hotel. It was full on this Sunday afternoon.  We waited for 20 minutes outside hotel for getting table. Though the food was tasty, there is no attention to cleanliness.

After sumptuous lunch we came out. It was 4 pm now. Though New Delhi railway station is close by one may get stuck in traffic in this area, especially due to VIP movement. We have already cancelled the plan of sightseeing. So we took a Three Wheeler commonly known as Auto or Rickshaw. These was to avoid the eager moments while catching train in case of delay. This rickshaw drivers are clever to charge more to tourist.  He charged us Rs. 100 for a small distance.

We reached station; it was little over an hour for the departure of our train. We went to waiting room on the platform no one. There is only one general waiting room this platform. It was crowded. Somehow we managed to get a seat. One problem faced is cleanliness in public utility services. This place too wasn't very clean but had no alternative.  I find it difficult to sit at one place. I went out, roamed on the platform and had tea. There I understood, IRCTC, an initiative by Indian Railway has very well developed waiting rooms on the other side of the station on platform number eleven. Very elaborate catering arrangements are also there. But we were not very keen to explore this facility. To pass time we were glued to our mobile.

Around five o' clock there as an announcement of our train "MA Shakti Express". It was to depart from platform number five. This train was recently started and travels through a very beautiful terrain of Jammu, Udhampur and Katra. We had no chance of enjoying this natural beauty as our journey was in the night. We reached platform number five to board the train.  Our compartment was very nice, clean and cozy. This train was not having a pantry car. I bought some Pulaw (Rice cooked with spices and vegetables)  for dinner. We arranged our baggage and relaxed on our berths. With a light jerk train left Delhi right in time at 5.30 pm.

This train is a superfast train. It travels 200 kms in three hours for first halt at Ambala. It covers a total distance of about 650 kms in 11 hours and 30 minutes. We once again reviewed our plan, the called up Ishan for the first time in a whole day. We briefed him about the day's experience. Both of us opened our books, all three of us  love reading, hence boredom is a rarity in travelling. It was around 8 pm, we had dinner. Train was reaching near Ambala and sleep catching us now. We never came to know when train reached Ambala.

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To Delhi...

Morning of 15th March 2015. We got up very early. Clock just struck 4. We were very excited to start our journey.  Once again we checked the bags as per list.  Once again checked whether all booking printouts, medicines, identify proofs and cash are carried with us. Took bath and performed Pooja. We were waiting eagerly mow for our cab. Driver called up minutes before schedule informing his arrival. Ishan our son was amused with enthusiasm.

I, Neha and Ishan togather went for a trip in Kokan region in 2001. Afterwards Ishan took up swimming in his school days. He became an excellent swimmer at the national level. Since 2003 till 2014 he was competing in every national with flying colors.  His performance at state and national competition was par excellence. We were also traveling with him for all his competitions. But going for competition has lots of pressure and stress involved. Everything moved at a predefined speed. There was no relaxation. Though we traveled a lot during this phase it was never like a tourist trip. Which means this was our first true outing in a decade and a half.  Hence excitement was integral part of it. Though we were to undertake our first tour after many years, Ishan was not join us. His post graduation final exams were to begin in a month's time. He came down to say us good bye with our bags in tow. Our cab started, we prayed "Vakratunda Mahakaya " with folded hands. (We Hindus, pray Ganesha at the beginning of any event or work for successful completion - the elephant headed God).

We were in time at Mumbai airport. Our flight was from domestic airport. It was around 8 am when we checked in. As the size of our bags was small we decided to carry them as cabin baggage.  Carrying required but compact luggage has an advantage; you don't have to wait at baggage arrival after landing. We cleared the security check and went to the first floor of terminal B. While we were waiting for boarding announcement, took some photographs. We enjoyed a cup of coffee.  We learned through an announcement that flight was delayed by an hour due to technical snag. We roamed around from one shop to another for some time to kill boredom. Finally there was a boarding announcement. We walk through the aero-bridge towards the plane and settled on our seats. But there were no signs of take off. Forty five minutes after our entry in the plane, captain has started engines which relieved us. The time when we should have landed on Delhi airport we were taking off at Mumbai.

Due to delay, decided to have breakfast in the flight. We were traveling by Indigo a no frill airlines. Hence we ordered sandwiches and tea. It was two hours journey. As we got up very early in the morning post breakfast, a nap was inevitable. When I was opening my eyes I heard, "We will be shortly landing at....." 

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That eager wait

There were almost 60 days for our trip after all bookings were done. Some of the weekends and in-between we saw You Tube videos. Many websites and mobile apps we scrolled through to know more and plan our trip better. Vaishnodevi Shrine board website was especially useful.  It gives information about whether, no of daily pilgrims, route and facilities available and so on. From there we learned average number of expected pilgrims. Last few years average in a day was about 15000 a day. It means at any given time will encounter 3000 in the queue.  It means 3-4 hours for Darshan (view and paying respect to deity). AccuWeather is one website I believe in for weather forecast.  It was showing a possibility of rain during that period.  What became worrisome later was the forecast changed to heavy to very heavy rainfall on those days. Knowing weather forecast in tour plan helps a lot while selection of clothes and other accessories.  We decided to carry umbrellas and even Jackets to fight chill. We were to know how much this preparation was to help us there.

What to see? What to eat? What to do? How to move around? What are geological and sociopolitical specialties for the region? We were seeking answers to this questions browsing through resources like Trip Advisor, Cleartrip, Makemytrip, yatra etc. Then we used to see related videos on YouTube and discuss to improve plan. This helped us to make list of clothes, accessories and others items to be carried with us. Following the list we started packing our bags. For one day trip on Trikuta hills we carried an empty backpack. You will find It being called as "pittu" in North India. I am a diabetic. So we carry enough, nutritious, light weight food with us. It includes dry fruits, dates, chocolates and protein biscuits.  If we get held up somewhere with unforeseen events then it must take care of at least 24 hours. We also packed medicines as per physician's advice.

It kept in mind while packing was, total number of bags must not exceed two. Also bags are not heavy and difficult to carry. We took all the printouts of bookings arranged in the order of events. We also ensured enough cash and cards are carried. As we were traveling in the country carrying Aadhar card (something like citizenship document issued here), driving license as identify cards. It is mandatory in hotels to provide address proof and these documents are enough for citizens of India. The whole day was busy packing and ensuring that we carry all the requirements for our journey.  it was an enjoyable day. It was l Saturday, 14th March. We stay in a distant suburb of Mumbai about 50 kms from Airport. It takes over 90 minutes of travel. Next morning our flight was at 9.30 am. As we wanted to reach airport an hour before scheduled departure, we decided to leave home by 6.30 am. I am never so particular but Neha likes perfection with proper pre-planning. We booked a radio cab "Meru" in advance. It was a sleepless night of excitement and little anxiety of travel, Vaishnodevi Darshan and purchasing.

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So Many Things To Do There

With all the travel arrangements in place and Amritsar stay booked, we shifted our attention to our Vaishnodevi- Jammu plan. The Vaishnodevi shrine board has a website www.maavaishnodevi.org. We realized that this is the best site for all our requirements. It is mandatory to register to visit the shrine. It can be done on Internet. Doing it on net has an advantage.  This registration slip is called "yatra parchi". If one registers after reaching Katra then you must pass the first entry gate in stipulated time. No such restrictions are on registration done through Internet. We purchased a "yatra parchi" for 16th March. Now it was a turn of helicopter booking. Regular helicopter service is available from Katra to Sajichat near the shrine. We booked tickets for 11.00 am chopper. The idea behind booking such a late flight was if the train gets delayed then we shall not miss it. Distance from Katra railway station to helipad is about 3 kms. We even thought about a situation of time needed to walk down, if not getting any auto or cab to travel that distance. The shrine board has many paid rooms and dormitories built for the benefit of pilgrims. They are at Jammu, Katra, Adhkuwari, Sajichat and Bhawan on the way to shrine. As the helipad is at Sajichat on the hills we have booked a room at Sajichat.  At Rs. 700/- a night it was a very good bargain for a AC room. We only had a laugh at our booking of AC room at the height of 7200 feet above sea level. Aha, we are equipped with all the travel and stay arrangements.

Now it was time for more detailed planning about how to spend the time available with us in the trip. We thought of visiting Rajghat (memorial of Mahatma Gandhi), India Gate (war memorial near Rajghat) in Delhi. Then relish North Indian delicacies at Kake da Hotel in nearby Connaught Place.From there catch a train to Katra at New Delhi railway station. Once at Katra only one objective was there. Visit the shrine and take "Darshan" of "Maa Vaishnodevi". Post this reach Jammu on 17th by noon and visit some of the ancient temples (Raghunath Temple, Kedareshwar etc) in Jammu. Jammu and Katra both have good markets and of course they were part of our itinerary. Now one question came in mind. Where do we spend night at Jammu? Shrine board website solved this issue too. Near Jammu railway station shrine board has various accommodations viz. Vaishnavi Dham, Kalika Dham and Saraswati Dham near Railway Station. We booked a room at Saraswati Dham. All the accommodations provided by shrine board are very economical and very well maintained. Once in Amritsar I never miss a visit to Golden Temple. It is a very pious, religious place. I have always experienced a peace of  mind and soul at Golden Temple. We decided to visit Golden Temple both after sun set on the first day and after sunrise on the second day of our Amritsar stay, We also decided to visit Durgiyana Temple, Jallianwala Bagh. Amritsar is also known for it's markets. Katra Ahluwalia, Shastri Market and others are the places to empty your wallets. A visit Atari border is a must for the flag lowering ceremony held before sunset every day. Amritsar stay is never complete without indulging in the wonderful cuisine served in hotels and roadside eateries. 

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Plan in Place

We sat for planning our trip to Vaishnodevi. Looked at the possible dates, when both of us can take leave. It was important that days we select, are non-tourist season days with less rush. Days, just before beginning of secondary school examinations are the best days. These days fall in the 2nd and 3rd week of March.  This season also is very good to travel as season is not harsh, During this time, winter is getting over and summer is yet to set in Indian sub-continent. We also worked out tentative schedule. it was decided to first visit Vaishnodevi and then go to another holy, pious city, Amritsar. Even during lean season Saturdays and Sundays are best to be avoided for Vaishnodevi shrine visit. Almost all Saturdays and Sundays throughout the year attract lot of pilgrims and tourists. Finally we arrived at a suitable date. Sunday 15th March 2017 was the date we set sail. Itinerary was 16th we reach Vaishnodevi, 17th Jammu city, 18th and 19th Amritsar, back home by 21st for a Sunday rest, before back to work. To ensure a smooth travel it was need to book Air, Railway and Chopper tickets. Even get all stay arrangements done.

On the paper the entire plan was ready. 19th morning we decided to complete all the bookings. First went to https://www.irctc.co.in and booked the return journey from Amritsar. I usually ensure a return journey ticket before other bookings. We booked by Golden Temple express in the two tier air conditioned compartment which leaves Amritsar in the late evening by 9.00 pm. It was luck as only 3 berths were available when we booked. Taking some rest while travelling, was one idea of taking a 34 hours long train journey. We were having two options in mind while travelling to Vaishnodevi. First was to take a flight to Jammu and then hire a cab for Katra. Other was to take a flight to Delhi and travel by newly started Ma Shakti express from Delhi to Katra. This train leaves Delhi by 5.30 pm for 11 hours journey to Katra. We thought of spending some good moments in Delhi before boarding. Hence did a booking on this air conditioned train. 

Now it was turn of Mumbai to Delhi travel. We decided take a morning flight and found a pocket friendly fare on Indigo Airlines 9.30 am flight. One major journey ticket was yet to be booked. While shuffling between various websites dedicated for travel found a lowest price for stay at Amritsar on Cleartrip. We booked Hotel City Park which is at stone's throw from Jalianwalah Baug. A tourist place must when in Amritsar.  It witnessed one of the most important events in India's freedom struggle. This hotel is in the midst of various markets in Amritsar and very close to Shri Harmadir Sahib i.e. Golden Temple. We also found a good bargain on Travelyari for our Jammu to Amritsar travel. We booked a 5.45 am 2X2 luxury bus of Jamuna Travel. The scheduled arrival at Amritsar was 11.00 am well before our check in at noon in the hotel. Wow we finished first part of preparation. All this happened with such a ease, it reminded us a saying "CHALO BULAWA AYA HAI, MATA NE BULAYA HAI". Means one can visit the deities' shrine only when she has called you. 

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My First Blog

My First Blog

Blogging was always in mind but not in action all these days. Once I published a blog expressing this intent in 2014. It never moved forward. Lot of reading continued, was also expressing my views on social media but there was no serious attempt to write. In the meantime myself and Neha, my wife we got into travelling mode after over a decade of devotion to only household duties. We have a habit of writing our expenses on tour. We also kept some notes.

Neha was insistent that I shall write about our travels. One day I took her advice seriously and sat down writing. Yes, writing with a fountain pen, I love it over typing. It was 5th September, 2016 evening. Language I selected to pen down my experiences and thoughts was Marathi, my mother tongue. Over a period of 40 days, on 10th October 2016, finished the my first travelogue. This total of 63 pages of amateurish writing, gave me immense satisfaction.  

During the journey of my writing this travelogue, I was sharing it with my school mates on our whatsapp group. They gave me a great encouragement, called me up and discussed, what additional information they would like to read. They have been constructively critical , which helped me improve over the period of writing. This first attempt was good and encouraging. This first tour itself was very eventful and encouraging which preceded many more over last 2 years. I have planned to get this experience on my blog. This will be in English as it gives me an opportunity to reach a larger audience.