MATA VAISHNODEVI -CALLING !!!!!

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! !!

Gulmarg, the skiers paradise.

Gulmarg, the most loved tourist destination, is known as MEADOWS OF FLOWERS.....its always a part of every tourists itenary , who happens to visit the kashmir valley. It's located in Baramula district of j&k and a very popular skiing destination in winters. Though it's a small town within miles of line of control between India and Pakistan and so bit sensation. ..but I didnot find it too fearsome to travel there. It is considered  Asia's  7th best skiing destination. From Tangmarg  , the plateau of gulmarg is just 30 mins travel but lot of check posts before one reaches gulmarg.
Gulmarg got the world's highest cable car known as Gondola  reaching 3979mts...There r 2 stages of this cable car ride.....the first stage transfers from Gulmarg resort at 2600mts to kongdoori  station at 3080mts which is a bowl shaped kongdoori valley.2nd stage takes skiers to a ht of 3950mts on top of kongdoori mountains which is part of the nearby Afarwat peaks.....These cable car rides tickets can be purchased in advance  online. .....the system is very good as incase plan is changed or cancelled , the full money is given back to the customers. ....really need applaud to  maintain the system so well..  last to last time we went there ,we couldn't make it on time as there was landslide a close to the jawahar  tunnel,so we had to cancel our gondola tickets,was bit skeptic about the money but we got it back well in time.

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BETAAB VALLEY -THE TIME STOPS HERE...

Betaab valley is situated 12kms from pahalgam. It got its name from the movie "Betaab", which was picturized at this location in lidder valley  of jammu and kashmir. Those tourist who makes a stay at pahalgam do tries to visit this place. ....just not aware whether it looks that beautiful in other seasons or not but it was an awesome experience to frame the place on my lens by the fall season. ...It really a sort after locale for film makers. ...

FALL SEASON IN LIDDER VALLEY.....

It's just a matter of opportunity to be at lidder valley during fall season  which starts from 2nd week of Nov. Lidder valley starts soon after Anantnaag in South kashmir region and extends to pahalgam.  This whole area is full of Chinar trees , which might be more than 100 years old. ...This chinars  gets first a yellowish shade , then orange and then red before it falls off by the beginning of winter. Besides chinar , some other evergreen trees also takes on beautiful colours....As one travels by road from jammu. ...There eyes will catch the colours  at Verinag. ..after that the road from Matan  to pahalgam  too got lines of Chinars.....but when I visited Kokernaag on Sinthan  pass road,  I really felt that I am in Europe   ......just a world  of beautiful colours created by nature....
I tried to frame it on my lens which I am sharing on my blog.....All hidden treasures that our country  has to give to all those who come to see it......

CHANDANWARI -WAY TO GOD'S ABODE.

Chandanwari is situated in lidder valley of jammu and kashmir  forms the 2nd stop onto Amarnath yatra. It's altitude is 2895mts  approx. Few people visiting pahalgam  makes it to Chandanwari  as one need to hire local vehicles only to visit Betaab valley,  Chandanwari and Aru Valley. ...outside vehicles are not allowed  to travel to these places around pahalgam. 12kms from Chandanwari  is the mountain lake of Sheshnag. ...1 3kms ahead is the last stop called Panchtarni.  Amarnath  cave is 61kms from here.
Generally, people make it here by end of fall season ie 1st week of Nov. ...but we attempted Chandanwari on 30th of Nov 2014.....The taxi charged us 2000 rs to take us around....after Betaab valley, we headed straight to Chandanwari. ...as we drove uphill ...It really looked as if we are heading for Heaven.A dream world , of peace and tranquillity, snow and the tall pines....bolders  all around...no word to speak....its total silence all around...freezing cold....as we walked down to sheshnag  river bed,  I wonder what those people might  go thru ', who makes it to Amarnath shrine each year....very very difficult terrain....

This above pics of Chandanwari,  will speak for itself the rugged terrain one encounters on their way to Amarnath  Caves.
As I and my husband  was enjoying ourself on the sheshnag river,  all of a sudden the weather turned bad. It hardly gave us to think what  to do next. ..snow storm started in mins and we had to run to our vehicle parked some 500mts  aways from the place where we were enjoying in the snow....since total off season , hardly there was any other tourist vehicle around ..without a second thought  we drove off from the site and after some 7 kms away down,  we stopped to enjoying the falling snow during mid day....though seen snow  before  many times but snowfall and we dancing around in it.....just an memorable  moment for both of us.......now  we had to head off to Aru Valley. ....

MY PRAYERS AT RANBIRESHWAR TEMPLE, JAMMU CITY.

It had been long time , since we came to jammu city that I had been planning to pay my visit at Ranbireshwar  temple , but it was not just happening. One fine Sunday  morning, after a cup of tea , I just thought to plan our morning walk towards the temple site close  to parade  area if old jammu city. .....since its winter , it wasn't tough to walk some 5 kms stretch...
It's really beautiful  temple complex as it's considered as the 2nd most visited temple of jammu after Raghunath ji  temple at Residency road.So too much of security...... but as we visited the temple very early in the morning, I could chance to click some pics inside the complex.....its Lord Shiva's temple  and houses several shiv lingam, inside the main hall.....
Every morning, this temple sees a lot of devotees  coming for their morning prayers and darshan. ....
It's really a great way to start once day.......

FROZEN MORNING ON DAL LAKE, SRINAGAR (J&K).

It was 25th Dec 2014 that we reached Srinagar by road from Jammu city....by the time we reached it was quite late but everyone in our group wanted to stay in houseboat,  but I was not the ready mentally  as it's my 2nd trip there and I would sense the difficult  night ahead. ....but had to give into the wishes  of everyone... 

When we reached our houseboat by the shikara it was almost -5c. ....but everyone was so excited to enjoy the chill  that I had to make myself understand that it's going to be exciting morning next when we wake up....The houseboat was provided with bukhari, ie a heating system using firewood. ...but it was our bad luck that my midnight both our electric blanket that was provided to us and bukhari stopped working and both myself and my husband  had a sleepless night...kept wondering why we didn't bring along our own electric blanket and hot pot as even couldn't drink a sip of the freezing cold drinking water......

It was 6am when my alarm rang on my mobile and I wanted to get out of my bed......but it was so dark outside that I had to wait till  the birds on the Dal lake starts calling.....

House boat on Dal lake.
This was our 2nd stay in a houseboat but it's first hand experience after the massive floods of Jammu and kashmir on 5th sept 2014. It was around 7 am that I took up my camera and walked in total darkness of the houseboat to its front as I had some ideas to take snaps at break of dawn....
It was just freezing at -2/-4c  outside and my whole body started aching but I wanted to execute my ideas of shots so had to stay on......at places could see the top layer of water of dal lake turning ice sheets....but truely amazing site to frame on my lens...All my friends and husband was fast asleep and me in chilling cold framing some unbelievable moments on my lens for everyone to enjoy.......Even found a frozen rose plant which in darkness I mistook as plastic one..... but inevitable it had been an amazing experience to frame the partly frozen dal lake....Rest my pics will speak for itself ....hope all who go down thru my blog will love to see and enjoy .....