Vaishno Devi

This is one experience which is difficult to put into words. It’s a shrine that millions visit every year and they say ‘you visit this shrine only when your time comes and the goddess wants you to see her’. It is actually true. I have seen so many people, including myself, who planned Vaishno Devi trips a zillion times and something or the other happened so plans got cancelled. And when my cal had come I was totally not expecting it. It was the last day of my internal exams and my aunt asked me if I’d be able to join them and I jumped out of joy and said yes. Least did I expect what was going to come along. We took Pooja express from Delhi. Then we had to board a bus to Katra which is the base of Vaishno Devi. It’s not surprising to see thousands of people around here. Everybody chanting ‘Jai Mata Dii’ and the energy of the place is infectious. The moment you start climbing you feel this sudden rush of blood, excitement and when everybody who passes by chants ‘Jai Mata Dii’ it becomes all the more worthwhile to exude that energy. We started climbing in the evening and reached the top around midnight. Although there are enough stoppages and places to eat on the way, you don’t feel hungry. But once you reach the top the scene is reversed. We were hungry, tired and sleepy. It was September and retreating monsoon made the weather chilly. It also rained for a while during the climb so it was a bit cold in the night. We had to wake up really early if we had to be the early birds in the line. So we got up at 4am and had a hot water bath. We headed straight to the shrine and even at 5am we weren’t even close to the shrine. I consider myself very lucky because exactly from where we were standing the line was broken into two and we began the other line which meant I get to go in sooner. Finally I reached the cave and eventually the shrine. I was in there for almost 5 mins and considering the amount of time other people get to spend there and the way they are shooed away from there I was really blessed to have had all that time without any interference. The shrine is basically three stones inside which means three different faces of the goddess. I was trhilled to have spent so much time. When we walked out is when I actually looked around the valley. It was beautiful and I could see tiny houses with colored roofs all over. It was drizzling and that added to the romance of the valley. Shades of green and brown had people wearing different colored raincoats was breath taking. When one goes to Vaishno Devi I believe there is nothing that your mind sees before you visit and nothing that your minds wants to see after you’ve visited the shrine. It’s overwhelming, the whole climb, the walk down and the way back.