My mother had been asking me to book my parents the tickets to Vaishno Devi for a long time. Every time either it was too expensive or too cold or too risky to go to Jammu. But this time, when I got down to booking the trip for my parents, I decided to join them as well. I am not very religious, but Vaishno Devi was a good trek to my eyes. What we did not know, was that there will be something as risky as Pulwama Escalation going on during this vacation.

What started out as a simple harmless plan to see Vaishno Devi, turned into a week’s plan to visit Vaishno Devi followed by Amritsar and then go see Agra and Delhi as well. Beat that!

The Roadblock

In Pulwama on the 14th of February, the biggest ever terror attack on our military was executed. They picked a day known for spreading love, to spread terror instead! Considering these disturbances, we feared our visit to Jammu will have to be skipped. The Jammu local organizer told us that there is no impact on Jammu or Katra. The Jammu airport shutdown was to be only a shortlived arrangement considering that the country was on air attack alert.

Soon enough, in fact on the very same day, the airports opened up. 2 days to fly and the suspense was numbing. India had executed an air strike on Pakistan occupied Kashmir and retaliation was on the cards. As we flew to Jammu praying that Mata takes care of us, the country was rooting for Wing Commander Abhinandan’s release from Pakistan. Crossing the several stranded vehicles in Jammu, we reached our hotel in Katra. Most routes to Kashmir were blocked due to the Pulwama escalation and several vehicles were just stuck on Jammu highway.

The Step For Peace

The first evening of our trip, we took a stroll down the streets in Katra. We could now see the hills of Vaishno Devi lit up in the dark. The lights along the hills decorating it like a beautiful necklace. In the news the same night, we watched Commander Abhinandan being released. There was a great sense of relief and a renewed hope for peace after this positive reply to Pulwama escalation.

The next day, we started our climb to the Vaishno Devi temple. Considering it was drizzling and the temperatures were close to 10 degrees, we could afford to plan a daytime climb. Though popularly, many visitors climb in the evening. We decided to start in the morning to escape the cold night. What else do you expect coming from 34 degrees in Chennai to 2 degrees in Katra in one day?

The Vaishno Devi Trek

It was brave of my parents to decide to walk most of the distance skipping the donkey ride and the palkis. Helicopters were already canceled owing to the drizzle. We trekked for about 7.5km with umbrellas in hand though shaded roof existed almost throughout the trekking trail and took a share taxi for the rest of the 6km. We were lucky to face a less dense crowd at the taxi junction owing to rains and the fear of tourists post-Pulwama escalation. Horses, goats and the mischievous monkeys were still there anyway.

The biggest challenge of the trek for me was while removing the sandals to enter the temple. It was freezing cold. We actually touched snow around the temple. And it had rained. Yet, we had to walk barefoot into the temple. Our feet were numbing and hurting. Eventually, we got into the Vaishno Devi cave to pray to the penultimate goddess of Vaishno Devi. We returned in the same fashion as we went up. We took a shared taxi half way down and walked for the rest.

A Patriotic Eve

After another night’s rest at Katra before we took off towards Amritsar next day. On way to Amritsar, we stopped by at Wagah. We knew that the Indian Gates open at this border to exchange salutations with the Pakistani border security force on the other side. But what we did not know was how the atmosphere builds up towards it and how dramatic this retreat is going to be in view of Pulwama escalation.

This was a special evening because of the positivity in the air. Indian Air Force Pilot Abhinandan had been released by Pakistan. The heated atmosphere had calmed down a bit. There was a special “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” campaign performance happening at the Wagah border. The BSF invited all women in the crowd to come down near the gates for a dance and I got a close look at the border gate during this. After this, the retreat started. Both country flags were brought down simultaneously amidst a dramatic display of march and drills. People cheered with tremendous sense of pride for their country.

To Serve Is To Love

Early the next morning, we headed to see the Golden Temple of Amritsar. It was beautiful to see this Gold plated temple, the pond surrounding it and hear the serene music being played there. It was the first time my family and I stepped into a Sikh place of worship. The “Volunteering” or “Sewa” at a gurudwara is tremendously inspiring. Anybody can join them and serve people. There are lunch and water provided for free in the Golden temple. This is served by a huge host of volunteers that include young and old.

We went on to see the Jallianwala Bagh, the symbol of British barbarism during the 1900s and the Durgiana temple in Amritsar that day. Durgiana temple was another surprise for us. The main structure copies the Golden temple and is a Hindu facility. The temple had a huge area and housed multiple small temples in the name of various Hindu gods. The main temple is for Lord Radha Krishna. Thereafter we took an afternoon train to Agra which used to be the capital during the Mughal times.

India’s Gift To The World

We freshened up at Agra station and decided to head straight to the one and the only “Taj Mahal“. And sure enough, we were just wonderstruck by the extent of the love of Emperor Shahjahan for his beloved wife Mumtaj Mahal. He had spent to build a masterpiece for the mother of 14 of his children, 6 of which survived. His youngest son later murdered him for his throne. This was a tragedy. Had he lived, Shah Jahan planned to build a Taj, black in color. This was planned on the other bank of Yamuna river opposite to existing Taj Mahal.

It was endearing to see how many steps the state government was taking to ensure cleanliness and protect the integrity of the venue. We went on to see the grand Agra Fort that day before heading to pick up some souvenirs. I bought a mini Taj Mahal made of marble. I knew this was going to be the most cherished souvenirs of all that I have.

The Mughal Capital to Current Capital

The last stop in our journey was our country’s capital Delhi. We stayed there for 2 days and immersed ourselves in the glorious history of the city. We visited the Birla temple, India Gate, War memorial, the Qutub Minar, the lotus temple, the Red Fort and the Raj Ghat on the first day.

The India Gate is comparable to Mumbai’s Gateway of India minus the sea next to it. War Memorial stood out for the stories of various wars that were depicted all around the memorial. But my favorite place in Delhi was definitely Qutub Minar. 1000 years and still standing. Now that’s architecture. It is not just a tower but a village of ancient buildings depicting Emperor Qutab-ud-din Aibak’s love for art and architecture. The 1000-year-old Iron pillar is still standing there as well.

Saving the best for the last, we headed to the Akshardham temple on the last day of our stay. The temple is built for a God’s man “Guru Swaminarayan”. The Gujarati followers of Swamiji put together this iconic temple with the carvings as intricate as the Madurai temple. This is a kind of temple that can survive a thousand years and give the future generation a glimpse of our present years.

We also saw the Signature bridge and the Seven wonders park on the before we ended the trip at the Delhi airport. It was time now to fly back to Bangalore. We heard of some minor disturbance in Jammu on the day of return. But fortunately, had booked tickets from Delhi. Finally, we returned amidst safe despite the Pulwama Escalation during this trip filled with loads of memories and a heart full of pride for India’s heritage.