Jammu

A peek into mountain destination of Jammu

An ancient Himalayan hill resort that is more rooted in the world of sacred Hindu shrines, caves, palaces and forts is arguably Jammu. The mountain destination is the ideal place to experience the best of Dogri culture. The state of Jammu and Kashmir has been a celebrated tourist destination but the city of Jammu to a large extent, remains unexplored by tourists. In contemporary times, Jammu is a great getaway from our high-pressure lifestyle.

I couldn’t make it to Jammu during my earlier visit to the state but in the aftermath of Vaishno Devi sojourn, it was time for us to discover the pilgrim treasures of the Himalayan town. Lying on the banks of the meandering river Tawi, the city is bubbling with teeming population and has a potted history of its own. Most of the Himalayan hill resorts like Shimla, Mussoorie, Ranikhet and Nainital are British in origin but Jammu has a vibrant religious life and has been the discovery of the Dogra ruler, Maharaja Gulab Singh. The city has an amiable gathering of Dogras, Punjabis and Kashmiris.  

For discerning tourists with a passion to visit age-old shrines steeped in mythology, do visit Jammu. We began with New Shiva Classic temple that took shape in 1992 and exhibits glittering mirror-spangled work at its interiors. The shrine houses lord Shiva and Parvati and has a centrally-placed Shiva-Lingam. One of the most popular shrine complexes in the city hub is Raghunath temple that has a number of shrines in the complex and is among the front-ranking temple complex in North India. The interiors display a whole range of Hindu pantheons from lesser-known to popular Gods. The shrine complex has an accommodating capacity of around 24 lakh devotees during the time of “Mahayagya”.

New Shiva Classic temple

From here, we took the winding road leading downwards to reach the Jamavant Peer Kho cave shrine overlooking river Tawi, around 3.5 km from the city. Popular as Yama cave, there are a number of shrines underground that would blow the tourists away.  Besides, honouring the nine forms of Goddess Durga, the principal deity of the shrine is Lord Jamavant and the cave has the natural Shiva Lingam. We received nuggets of info from the priest of the cave shrine well-versed with Hindu mythology and serves as a local guide.

A visit to the Amar Mahal Palace and Museum, a one-time seat of Dogra rulers is essential. The palace is in the form of a French castle with sloping roofs and provides panoramic views of the river Tawi with dark shadows of the mountain at a distance. The adorned palace was thrown open for public in 1975 and has been transformed into a museum of modern times. There is a library with books and antique paintings. The museum shares a strong historic association of regal times and provides glimpses of Pahari School of paintings illustrating the epic, “Nala Damayanti.” We had a glance at the genealogy of the Dogra rulers of Jammu and their dynasty and the Rajput rulers of Udaipur as well.

One should not leave out Ranbireshwar temple tucked near the New Secretariat. Set up in 1883 A.D, the shrine has been conceptualized by Maharaja Ranbir Singh. Known as the abode of Lord Shiva, the shrine has a centrally-placed Lingam measuring 7.5 feet high with 12 crystal Lingams. The shrine has galleries with thousands of Shivalingams crafted in stone.

Ranbireshwar temple

The legendary 3000-year-old imposing fort of Jammu- Bagh-e-Bahu is encircled with terraced gardens amidst cascading waterfalls. The creation of Raja Bahulochan, history says that the fort emerged in limelight after the coronation of Maharaja Gulb Singh. It lies on an upland plateau overlooking river Tawi. The reigning deity of the fort is Bhabe Wali Mata, a hallowed pilgrim site for thousands of devotees. 

Before retiring for the day, we drove past the upmarket ambience of Gandhi Nagar and Green Park, the vibrant Karan Market and the old-world ambience at Taangewali Gali. Today, the lingering experience remains etched in my memory.

Vaishno Devi

Tales from Pir Panjal

Far from the frenzy of the Indian metros lies the Trikuth Mountains in the southern side of Pir Panjal Range of Jammu. This is the destination that conceals the hallowed cave shrine of Vaishno Devi, fondly known as Jai Mata Ji among the devouts. The shrine soars high on the popularity chart for pilgrims across the Indian sub-continent.

Jammu on the banks of river Tawi, forms the gateway to the pilgrim centre of Vaishno Devi popular as Bhawan. Back in the end of 20^th century, I had a penchant to visit the shrine post-Navratri and the idea of receiving first-hand info of what attracted pilgrims to the shrine in droves made us take the Jammu-Tawi Express from Kolkata with a plethora of enthusiasm. Insurgency was its peak in the border towns of Jammu so while passing through Kathua and Samba sectors, we could hear gun shots at a distance. On reaching Jammu, we took a bus going to Katra and along with other fellow pilgrims; we chanted hymns all along the way. After travelling a distance of 3 km from Jammu, we reached Nagrota replete with fruit orchards and rocky contours with undulating chain of hills.  There were Langurs all around in groups and river Tawi winding its ways through the rocky mountains appeared every now and then.

 We passed through the Chinar and walnut trees and soon there was sundown when we reached Katra- a lively hamlet in the valley in the foothills of Trikuth Mountains that serves as the base camp to Vaishno Devi. The entire 13-km stretch from Katra to Vaishno Devi glittered with sodium vapour lights at night. Tired, we made our way to a hotel and geared up for the early morning journey to Vaishno Devi.

  

                                                         A view of Katra

  The next morning, we began our trek with empty stomach and came across gilt-edged hoardings lining the streets of Katra. The entire town reverberates with the divine songs of Mata ji with sweet fragrance wafting the atmosphere. We reached the Banganga checkpoint to receive our yatra registration slip and the place echoed with cheers from scores of devotees assembling here. This was the starting point of our trek to the Trikuth Mountains that has a gurgling waterfall cascading into the river Banganga.

 River Banganga

With our Yatra registration slip verified, we moved along the trek route with other devotees singing “Jai Mata Di”. We took the ascending trail and refrained from climbing the infinite steps and paused often to catch our breath at regular intervals. Gradually we neared at a height of 4,800 feet and had covered 6 km of the trek. Since I had embarked on empty stomach and had fruit juice on the way, I was engulfed by a sudden feeling of nausea and couldn’t move further. After nauseating for a while, it was quite difficult for me to take steps and I was in tears. A devout lady who was trekking her way approached me and asked me to chant the hymns louder and following her advice, to my utter astonishment, I could finally move. We hired ponies and around 12 noon, we crossed half the trek route and arrived at Adhkunwari, reputed for the shrine of Goddess Durga. One can catch bewitching views of the Himalayan mountains and the rocky gorges with dollops of greenery and the hillside houses in Katra miles below.  

  Adhkunwari shrine

From Adhkunwari, it is a steep trek flanked by sprays of fern sprouting from the soil on rocks covered with thick mosses. We began huffing and puffing and with the sun going behind the mountains, the atmosphere was chilled. We were at Sanjichhat that is incidentally the highest point on the trek route at a height of 6,200 feet. We were glad that we could cover a distance of 9 km, which was an achievement for novices like us. There were mountain streams gushing down with full force through rocks and thick white clouds began appearing covering the lofty ice-clad peaks. This area of the trek was frequented by landslides, warned our Dogri porters.

 A view of Katra from Adhkunwari

It was bitingly cold and by the time we reached Bhawan, our teeth were chattering. We were at the divine site that has the paleolithic cave shrine of Vaishno Devi withstanding the ravages of time. We entered the shrine and heard the roaring of thunder echoing across the mountains followed by hailstorm. It was a sight to behold. The holy waters of river Charanganga washed the feet of the Goddess inside the cave and the outside ambience was drenched and wrapped in verdant greenery with a sudden shower.

Once our darshan was over, we had Rajma Chawal at the Darbar refreshment centre. Our return trip along the rain-washed trail was quite smooth and hearing the haunting folk tunes of Dogri porters was indeed refreshing. Having said this, a visit to Vaishno Devi shrine was a life-enriching experience for me.

Angare of Pride Plaza Hotel Ahmedabad

Exuding the vibrancy of Gujarat

Little does any of us know about Angare- the fine-dining restaurant of Pride Plaza Hotel Ahmedabad that churns up delectable dishes from North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) and Gujarat. The 85-seater food outlet is only 2 ½ years old and serves a la carte menu. The outlet is most sought-after by the residents of Ahmedabad, MICE and global visitors. For connoisseurs of good food and those yearning for NWFP delights, Angare is a must-visit outlet.

  
                                     A view of the outlet

       
 During my brief stay at Pride Plaza Hotel Ahmedabad, I happened to have a close brush with the food outlet. The walls of the colourful food outlet have been done up with vibrant colours to bring alive the pulsating culture of Gujarat.

The interiors of the outlet

A glimpse of the interiors of the outlet

 The NWFP platter replete with kebabs and biryanis is influenced by the cuisines of Baluchistan and Peshawar. The fare on offer is served fresh and hot and there are Tandoori delights including Seekh Kebab, Boti Kebab and Shammi Kebab. For lovers of green, there are lip-smacking items like Dahi Kebab and Bharwaan Tandoori Aloo that go down well while Galoti Kebab, Shammi Seekh Kebab and Boti Kebab are some of the must-try dishes in the non-vegetarian segment. Finally there are sweet offerings like Gulab Jamun and Shahi Tukda to end one’s meal.      

Cafe Treat of Pride Plaza Hotel Ahmedabad

Robust flavours of Saurashtra

“Variety is the spice of life” –the saying goes well when it comes to savouring your spicy taste buds with a fusion of Gujarati, Punjabi, South Indian and Continental delights at Pride Plaza Hotel Ahmedabad’s Cafe Treat. It was a sudden call from Pride Plaza Hotel Ahmedabad to halt for a couple of days sometime in June, this year in order to savour the dishes on offer. For those gourmet lovers in search of new dining experiences and would like to embark upon a culinary safari of Gujarati delights as well as a slice of Indian menu at a reasonable rate, there’s no looking back. The culinary experience at Cafe Treat- the all-day dining outlet with a seating capacity of 90 is worth cherishing.  The food outlet serves buffet breakfast and dinner while lunch comprises a la carte menu. The restaurant has a steady stream of visitors and rustles up Continental, Gujarati, Punjabi and South Indian delights.

A glimpse of Cafe Treat

The buffet dinner has 11 Gujarati recipes served regularly and the main course has six vegetarian items. There are six kinds of desserts including one hot dessert.  Gujarati delights are more of Farsaan comprising interesting savoury platter and on offer are eight kinds of Farsaan including Dhokla, Khandvi, Idra, Khaman, Theple, Patra, Handvo and Bhakarvadi that are fried fritters. In a nutshell, Farsaan forms an indispensable part of Gujarati diet. The restaurant begs to differ from other food outlets in the city. The all-day dining outlet caters with the most number of Gujarati delights.

Farsaan on display

  I started off my dinner with Farsaan items like Dhokla, Khaman, Khandvi, Idra, Moong Dal na Gota and Palak Muthiya. The mains comprising noodle soup and vegetarian Pulao with Gujarati Kadhi, green Tinda Masala and Kela Vatana nu Saak (a rich, spicy preparation of raw bananas and green peas) were worth savouring. The best way to end one’s meal is to pamper your sweet tooth and I was spoilt for choice with the dessert offerings including fruit tart, Choorma, Srikhand, Kaala Jamun and the heavenly bite of chocolate balls.  I had the famed Gujarati sweet delicacies like Meethi Boondi and Mohanthal (gram flour sauted in ghee and sugar syrup is added to it.) 

Live counters at the outlet

Once can avail of an elaborate buffet breakfast with juice and fruit corners and live counters for Dosa, Idli and Theple. The puffed omelette in the live egg station is another attraction. Besides, there is a separate Continental section exhibiting an astounding array of bakery stuff. One can get to choose from the South Indian tiffin, and there are different sections for breakfast rolls, Poorie and Parathas. The dessert section comprising fruit-based yoghurt and Indian sweets are not-to-be-missed.

The bakery section

The lunch a la carte menu is best savoured with Gujarati Pulao, Aloo Rasila, double crunch chocolate pastry and mango ice cream. For affluent travellers visiting Ahmedbaad, Cafe Treat should figure on your bucket list.

Double crunch chocolate pastry