J-K: 8th batch of devotees departs for Amarnath Yatra from Nunwan base camp
The 38-day annual Amarnath pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine in South Kashmir began on July 3 and will conclude on August 9.
Surender, a devotee from Jaipur on his third Amarnath visit, applauded the management for the arrangements.
'This is my third visit...The management here is very good. People are cooperating with us a lot...I will pray for the well-being of everyone...' Surender told ANI.
Ambika, another pilgrim, stated that she prayed for the peace and happiness of all during the visit.
'The government has made very good arrangements...I will pray for peace and happiness,' Ambika told ANI.
Meanwhile, free langar (community kitchen) services continue to support pilgrims en route, especially at the Jammu base camp and several locations along the National Highway.
Virender Kumar Sharma, who has been organising the langar facility for the past 17 years, said, 'We have been running this langar for almost 17 years, and it's a completely free service. People come from far-off places, and whoever comes here, they have devotion towards it and also make donations. There are many langars in the city, but we run this langar for free and don't expect anything in return.'
The pilgrimage is taking place simultaneously via both the Pahalgam route (Anantnag district) and the Baltal route (Ganderbal district). Amarnath Yatra is an annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave, where devotees pay homage to an ice stalagmite believed to be the lingam of Lord Shiva.
The ice stalagmite forms every year during the summer months and reaches its maximum size in July and August, when thousands of Hindu devotees make an annual pilgrimage to the cave. (ANI)
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Indian Express
2 hours ago
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Kailash-Mansarovar yatra resumes after five years: history of a storied pilgrimage
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Both lakes and the towering mountain in their background are significant in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Tibetan Bon traditions. 'For Hindus, [Kailash] is the home of the Hindu god Shiva… for Jains it is where their first leader was enlightened; for Buddhists, the navel of the universe; and for adherents of Bon, the abode of the sky goddess Sipaimen,' Alice Albinia wrote in her award-winning book Empires of the Indus: The Story of a River (2008). Four major rivers — the Yarlung Tsangpo (which later becomes the Brahmaputra), the Indus, the Sutlej, and the Karnali (later known as Ghaghra, a major tributary of the Ganga) — trace their to origins 'the watershed of this iconic mass of rock,' Albinia wrote. Despite its age-old sacredness, however, the Kailash-Mansarovar complex was not a popular pilgrimage site till 'as recently as the early 1900s…,' wrote Tibetologist Alex McKay in his book Kailas Histories: Renunciate Traditions and the Construction of Himalayan Sacred Geography (2015). 'The actual mountain was visited only by the occasional renunciate and not by ordinary Indian pilgrims. Indeed early Hindu and Buddhist texts clearly stated that Kailas was a heavenly place that could only be visited by advanced spiritual practitioners,' he wrote. This changed after 1904, when Tibet officially opened up to British subjects (including Indians), and courtesy the efforts of a certain Charles Sherring, then the district collector of Almora. Sherring in 1905 undertook an inspection of the Kailash-Mansarovar complex, and in his report recommended improving the pilgrimage route. In 1906, he would go on to publish a book, Western Tibet and the British Borderlands, about the sacred mountain which had a stunning photograph of Kailash on its cover. According to McKay, this book was an attempt to mainstream the beliefs of a small sect of Shaivite renunciates among the larger Hindu population, which Sherring hoped would drive pilgrim traffic and bring revenue and employment opportunities to his district. This is also why Sherring recommended the Lipulekh route, which passes through Almora, as the easiest path from the plains to the Kailash. Over the years, the Kailash-Mansarovar pilgrimage grew in popularity: in 1930, some 730 Indian pilgrims had reportedly made the journey to the holy mountain. The numbers would remain in the hundreds till the Chinese annexation of Tibet in 1950, following which Kailash was first closed to Europeans in 1951, and then to Indians in 1959. The pilgrimage opened up once again in 1981, in no small part due to the efforts of Subramanian Swamy, then an MP from the Janata Party. 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Then they reached the Seralung monastery to the south of Huore, before travelling to Trugo Gompa, on the southern shore of the lake, and returning to Tseti. The Kailash trek began on the southern side of the mountain, at Tarchen. Pilgrims typically travel clockwise around the mountain, always keeping Kailash to their right. The trek passes through Dirapuk, Dolma La, Zutul Puk, and finally culminates in Tarchen. According to Bhandari, pilgrims must acclimatise to the high altitude before reaching Tibet. 'The arrangement via the Indian route allows almost 10 days of gradual climb from about 3,000 feet at Dharchula to 14,000 feet at Navidhang. This helps the body to get used to trekking in mountains at high altitudes,' he wrote. This year, yatris will stay at Dharchula for one night, then acclimatise at the village of Gunji for two nights, spend two more nights at Navidhang, before journeying through Lipulekh. In Tibet, pilgrims will be spending around a week before returning to Lipulekh. Due to the construction of motorable roads, the amount of trekking on the Lipulekh route has reduced considerably, down from 27 km in 2019 to only one km this year on the Indian side, Pooja Garbyal, additional secretary of tourism at Uttarakhand, told The Indian Express. On the Nathu La pass route, which first opened in 2015, the journey is even easier: pilgrims travel the entire 1,500 km from Nathu La to Mansarovar by car or bus. Aiswarya Raj is a correspondent with The Indian Express who covers South Haryana. An alumna of Asian College of Journalism and the University of Kerala, she started her career at The Indian Express as a sub-editor in the Delhi city team. In her current position, she reports from Gurgaon and covers the neighbouring districts. She likes to tell stories of people and hopes to find moorings in narrative journalism. ... Read More
Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Traffic diversions in Ghaziabad for Kanwar Yatra
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Indian Express
5 hours ago
- Indian Express
Behind the Amarnath Yatra, the young men who make gruelling climb a little easier
Outside the Amarnath temple, ponies laden with elderly pilgrims make their way along treacherous paths, while porters move like worker ants across rock and snow. As they walk the final stretch towards the holy cave, an elderly man blesses his ponywala, Zulfiqar, 'May you do well in life.' Zulfiqar, 47, says his family has been doing seva at the Amarnath Yatra for decades now. 'What happened in Pahalgam was an injustice. A ponywala like myself was killed defending the tourists,' he says, referring to the April 22 terror attack. 'Seva is also part of our faith; our whole family depends on this yatra.' The annual Amarnath Yatra is sustained by thousands of families like Zulfiqar's — ponywalas and their sure-footed mountain horses from Anantnag, pithoos who carry heavy loads for miles, tent owners who provide shelter from the extreme climate, and drivers who help ferry everything from diesel generators to oxygen cylinders. In fact, legend has it that the holy cave was discovered by a shepherd named Buta Malik in 1850. Malik was high up in the mountains with his herd when a Sufi saint gave him a bagful of coal. Opening the bag after returning home, Malik found it to be full of gold. The ecstatic shepherd ran to thank the saint but couldn't find him; instead, he found the cave and the ice lingam. Generations of men drawn from the remote villages of Anantnag district now symbolise this syncretic ethos of Kashmir, which was tested in the aftermath of the terror attack. During the 38-day trekking season, a single ponywala earns Rs 2,000 per day, owing to fixed routes for each one. Each pony can carry up to 100 kg and make the journey multiple times daily during peak season. Riyaz, who comes from Anantnag district and calls himself a Virat Kohli fan, says that 'this time, everyone is on edge'. 'I break the tension by debating with them on whether (Virat) Kohli should have retired or not. That takes their mind off things,' he says. At Mahagunas Top, Dr Nilesh Kalsaria operates a hospital located at the highest point of the yatra route, at 14,000 feet, where he often has to deal with people complaining of oxygen deprivation. Dr Kalsaria has attended to over 390 patients so far. Today, patient number 29 is Qasar Ahmed, who is hooked to an oxygen cylinder. This is the second stint at the hospital for Ahmed, who carries heavy loads to the highest peak. 'Even though I am used to the altitude, this mountain takes a toll,' he says. Earning around Rs 1,500 per day, he barely has time to recover as his customers wait outside. 'My uncle died over 10 years ago after suffering a heart attack carrying heavy loads on this hill. I don't think about it much. I help as much as I can,' he says. At the dusty tracks of Baltal, Omair Wani is the youngest person offering his services. At just 11 years old, he offers to carry heavy loads to the base camp, but hasn't found any customer. 'I can earn enough money to support 10 members of my family. My two elder brothers also work as porters. I haven't found a single customer, so I am selling nimbu paani for now,' he says. At Panchtarni, the last base camp before the holy cave, Abdul Dar's tents were set up in a matter of weeks, with the largest accommodating 12 people. The infrastructure is deceptively simple but ingeniously designed. Each tent is anchored with stakes that could penetrate the frozen ground. Inside, thick carpets and blankets create an insulation barrier against the ground. A basic sleeping space costs Rs 600 per night, with premium services, including hot water, costing Rs 100 per bucket. During peak season, a single tent can generate revenue of Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 per day. However, the cost to keep things running is equally staggering. Transportation of supplies alone consumes 15-30 per cent of the revenues. 'People turn up here with altitude sickness, hypothermia and cardiac issues. We make a note of these yatris and check up on them. One yatri from UP could not go to the holy cave and did not have money to stay another night. We allowed him and his family another night's stay, since space was available. Insaniyat is most important in this yatra,' he says.
