Jammu was part of our elective course in BArch. We were assigned to do a "Sustainable Development Plan for Katra" and that is how we landed in Jammu. A classmate of ours, native to Jammu, organised stay of atleast 20 odd students, at his house!! Generous!! And through his contacts, helped us get into the dusty files in dilapidated offices of Jammu MC to help us plan better. Katra is a small town, the base city from where one embarks upon the journey to Vaishno Devi (VD). Its a slowly disintegrating town succumbing to the load of tourists it has to cater to. Like all base towns to famous pilgrims, this one also faces problems of sustainability and co-existence. I had never seen Katra from this perspective. Once earlier, when we had done our obligatory VD trip, we had stayed one night in Katra, ignorant to its pathetic state. Katra didnt excite me much in school, because it was an academic exercise.
Jammu on the other hand was full of excitement from the time we landed there. A bomb blast at the railway station just a few hours before we were to arrive there. Consequently, minimal options for transport and communication. We walked to the house of this classmate. It wasn’t a pleasant walk on a sunny cold morning since we were tired from the overnight journey and the fear of another blast lingered on. One couldnt call back home since all telephone lines were disconnected, mobile phones were almost non-existent. Roaming around the city after dark was banned. Had to quickly shop for famous walnuts and Rajmah, without the fun of exploring and bargaining. The whole idea was painful at that time, but thrilling when one would narrate it later to other friends and relatives.
And a visit to Katra is a waste without a trip to VD. My first visit to VD was quite painful (as happens with most of us), i had silently promised that i would avoid doing another one. But if the whole bunch of friends are going, then you cant be a coward and stay behind. So i did it the second time also. Just that the second time was less painful, because one knew what one has signed up for. The first visit to VD was with family and another close relative. The elder switched between foot and khacchar. The kids were expected to walk all the way up, which given the age was acceptable. Frankly, the information that the mandir is about 14km from the base didnt bother me in those days. This is because in those days i couldnt comprehend the length of a kilometer. So 14 or 48 would have meant the same. However, these kilometers on hills are exaggerated. I remember i was highly disappointed when we reached ardhkuwari - and was told that this is just the half way. In my mind, i had already crossed 20 kms, if not more. And to admit the rest, in my two visits to VD, i have never dared to go in the cave for ardhkuwari. Some sitting outside the shrine will not hesitate in recalling how one fat lady got stuck because the ceiling is so low, or how one old man couldnt move coz his legs got stuck in the stone - and still encourage you to go. How sadistic!! I have no jigra to land myself in such "tight spots". With full faith and devotion in my heart, i felt Gods will be pleased with my 14km trek and ignore my inadequacies.
After treading those 14 neverending kms, we came to the VD bazaarlane, which houses dharamshalas, puja shops, shoerack shanties, toilets and open bathrooms. And the scene is like any other pilgrim bazaar. People elbowing meeker people to get in line to take bath, to have the first look of mata after curtains have been opened, to get prashad, to get back their shoes from shoeracks, to get back as fast as possible to their khaccharwallah, all in all to get back to Katra asap. It is all so in fast-forward mode, as if climbing all the way up and getting a peek at the shrine was all but a routine to them, chalo ye bhi ho gaya types. Isn’t the whole idea of a pilgrim to rest your mind and think in peace for once. This rushing-rushing to everything is like normal office days na?
Anyhow, we didn’t rush (or did we??) (That’s a nice thing about being kid, your routine is controlled by elders. So all the planning and time-management is left to them while you are left to enjoy the nuisances.) We must have taken the shower, oh yes, the shower in a poorly managed bathroom, filthy and waterlogged. And the chill in the water didn’t help to overcome nausea at the sight of this filth. Then queuing up for darshan, and the cave didn’t intimidate me as much as I had expected. It was the “new” cave, easy walk. And then finally to the garbh-griha, and what is it – “blink and you miss it” darshan of mata. Just a couple of second inside the garbh-griha, no introductions to the goddess, bow the head and off you go. Is that what I toiled for all the 14kms and equal number of hours for????? God I tell you!!!!
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