My trip to Srinagar – Day 6 – 26th September 2023:

Chapter 6

Last day of our stay in Srinagar, 4 of us (Suma Aunty, Veena, Vijay and yours truly) crammed into an Autorickshaw and off we went Temple hopping.  

First to visit was the Hanuman Temple which also housed Lord Shiva and Maa Durga. It also had Tulasidas Ji's idol. As in other cases, this temple too, was under the protection of BSF/CRPF. Hanuman and Durga idols were decked in garlands made of currency notes.

    

We performed the abhisheka, naivedya and arati, as we did in almost all the temples. Suma Aunty had brought homemade bead garlands and cloth to adorn the deities and she did offer them at almost all places.

Next, we visited the Shitalnath Bhairav temple, again protected by security forces. There was a Ganesha temple as well. We were disappointed by the next two temples that we visited. More details below.

Batyar Temple, by the river Jhelum, was not open as the priest had locked it and gone out on errands. The locals tried their best to locate him but couldn’t get him. We were told to wait for some time but couldn’t afford it as we were hard-pressed for time. We don’t know who the presiding deity was.

Next in tow was Sri Narayana temple at Bulbul Lankar, which was in the most pathetic state. The doors were locked and we could peep through the cracks in the door that shrubs and wild vegetation had grown inside. All these temples are in the old town of Srinagar and in some cases, we had to get down from the autorickshaw and walk through the narrow roads.

Disheartened, we strode on to our next stop, Sharika Mata Mandir. We had to climb over 100 steps to get to the top of the hill (Hari Parbat). The main deity Sharika Devi is said to be a Swayumbhu (self-formed) Sri Chakra. Annoited with Sindhoora, it appears magnificent and huge. Legend has it that the temple was built by Emperor Ashoka, who visited the site in the 3rd century BCE. Over the centuries, the temple has undergone several renovations and additions, including the addition of a dome and a spire in the 19th century. We filled our eyes with magnificent views from atop this hill. We were also to visit Chakreshwari Temple very close by and when enquired with the security personnel, they said both are the same. Many address Sharika Devi as Chakreshwari due to the presence of the deity in the form of Sri Chakra.

Last in our itinerary was Zestha Devi Temple also known as Zeethyar, locally. A slight deviation en route to Raj Bhavan and on the picturesque hill. Climbing around 30-40 steps, we reached our destination. This sanctum too, like in Kheer Bhavani temples, was on an island. There was a Shiva Temple too, in this complex and as usual, we performed abhisheka, and adorned him with beads garland and vastra, offering naiveidya and aarati to Lord Shiva.

 

This done, we hurried back to our base camp in time to bid farewell to our host and push off to the airport.

In all, we had covered a lot of ground and I must say we achieved 98% coverage of our plan to visit the temples, between the 21^st to 26^th of September morning. I must reiterate that the positive vibes from visiting these shrines (and ruins) charged me up and I am grateful for getting an opportunity to visit these places. Thanks again, Suma Aunty!

One thing I forgot to mention. The veteran traveler that Suma Aunty is, she had brought along a coffee filter, coffee powder, electric kettle, long-life milk, sugar, etc. and saw to it that we were never deprived of our favourite morning cuppa. Thanks a lot for that, too. A coffee aficionado, she had freshly prepared coffee at the tea stall in Chowkibal, when all of us sipped masala tea. She was instrumental in guiding us throughout the trip and if not for her insistence and persistence in covering all the planned sites to be visited (a bit of a taskmaster), each day and each session, we wouldn’t have covered even half of our targeted visits. 

Our co-travelers, Vijay and Veena, Parameshwaran, Radhey Shyam and Sridhar were excellent company throughout this memorable trip. Perhaps this trip, with the group together, could be the first of many more to come. 

We then drove to the airport in time for our first leg of travel (Srinagar to New Delhi). Reached New Delhi a tad later than scheduled and had an ordeal of a journey in the second leg, to end our trip. More on this in my next write-up.

Exhausted, we reached Suma Aunty’s place around midnight and I could only complete the circle of my journey from home on the next day (27^th) as it was too late to unpack my stuff as we had distributed our stuff in both our luggage.

Bitter truth: I am not as fit as I thought. I don’t blame my age but my lethargic and lazy attitude in keeping myself fit. Walk, I can for long distances but the flexibility of the body muscles and agility with which I could move during my heydays is what I lacked. This, compounded by a bit of obesity, challenged me to tackle the demands of various activities during this trip. I resolved that I must do something about it and hopefully, by the next trip, I should be in better shape.

Another surprising thing I noticed throughout our trip was that the local people helped us a lot. They were very hospitable and took care of even our slight requirements. Right from the time we were picked up from the airport to our journey to Tithwal and return, also till the time we boarded the flight in Srinagar, they had hosted us perfectly and we enjoyed the entire trip. 

In case you need further details of our host at Srinagar and Tithwal, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Hope you enjoyed reading this travelogue (though a bit lengthy). 

Please leave your name after comments on this and other articles so that I can respond to you.

Awaiting your responses to this,

Yours truly.

Ramesh Katte