It might sound like some story telling ,but that 's how I felt about the whole episode as it unfolded. ....it had been 2 yrs that we had been living in jammu city...had made several visits to Kol kandoli mat's shrine at Nagrota and various other religious places around the jammu region but couldnot , as such made it to vaishnodevi shrine at katra.Though , I did visit mata 's shrine in 2010 , when I came from mumbai.last 10 months , I just kept telling my husband that I felt as if Ma vaishnodevi keeps calling me to come to her place and pay my respect. ....but my husband kept ignoring my words....It was last Dec 2014 when I got my leg fractured at gulmarg ski field and still couldnot fully recovered. It was 14th April 2015, I woke to Her call early in the morning and asked my husband to drive me to kol kandoli mata vaishnodevi shrine at Nagrota, which is considered as the first stop to Mata vaishnodevi darshan at katra. Since it was very early morning, I had a great darshan , sat a while under the amar ajar banyan tree there for a while and felt so at peace in heart. I was then very sure that I will be surely making it to katra too but was very sceptic at heart whether surely I could walk the way to mata vaishnodevi shrine on top of Trikut range at katra but had faith that Ma will make my way to her place.
After a day or 2,it happened to be Sunday and a day prior just planned to make it to katra.Since now it has become bit difficult to get helicopter tickets ...we had to drive down to katra town bit early in the morning. Thereafter someone known arranged us our VVIP helicopter ticket to sanjhachat helipad. My husband was not sure that I will be able to walk even that 6kms + some 600 steps with this fractured leg. ...but it was sheer determination and strong faith that I started to walk my way. Though it was very hot , miraculously, it got a cloud cover as we walked our way without food and water.i was determined to have mata 's prasad as my first food of the day. ...taking Her name I walked....never realised when I reached the shrine....I got chunni for ma to be brought back home as her blessing and prasad from counters there.....Had a Holy Darshan at the shrine. My heart cried to her , to relieved me from all my pains. .....AMEN!!!!
After darshan, we sat for a while along with millions of other devotees. ..and now we had to start back. ...all of a sudden it started to rain horribly with strong wind and my husband said to me "God knows if the helicopter service stops,then u have to walk down 13.5kms with this fractured leg "....but I just had faith that it was Ma's wish that I was there and if she wants me to walk the whole way ,then she will give me strength to do so.Rain was lashing badly as we walked and unknowingly I just told my husband that 1kms ahead of sanjhachat helipad, where on there's no shade, I believe the rains will stop..."and it's like magic. ...we reached the spot and sun shown up and both of us laughed at each other. ...just miracle; after reaching the helipad , within mins the helicopter service started and we were back to katra after a 7 mins flight. .....and later drove back home....still I am amazed,how I didnot feel the pains , leg ache. ..and such I still can't walk more than 500 mts but how could that impossible was made possible ....its only ALMIGHTY can have its answer.....
Ma I tried to see u with all the difficulties in my life...please give me strength to fight all odds and hurdles of life and may u keep showering ur blessings alway.....Amen! !!
