A Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose!

Things are as they are, not as they should be!

J for Jaunt, J for Jai Mata Di, J for Jammu

Team

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Glorious is the tumult of the waves that crash against a vessel, preparing it for the seas of life.

June 3rd

Aha! Plans to visit the exotic Jammu and Kashmir have been finalized, at last. Rishi and Jassi would be joining me at Jammu. Leaving tomorrow.

Busy day. Last minute ‘suggestions’ in the PPT by the Big Boss irked me to no end. Endless calls to the travel agent (one slimy guy!), and harried ‘discussion’ about confirmed seats and finally the final printouts of tickets, exhausted me. Phone calls to the Tiffin Centre, Milkman, and a 2 minute chat with Aunty (Landlady… to brief about my absence), lasted for 39 minutes. Gosh! she talks a lot!! Finally, all done and I am bushed!

June 4th

Got up pretty late. And am refreshed and looking forward to my holiday. Meticulously packed for the trip. Chatted with R & J and discussed some route plans and stay arrangements. They meet me at Jammu on 6th. Wish we were travelling together, but business ‘exigencies’ prevent them for doing so!
Not an issue, it’s just a day without them. Jammu, here I come. The train is at 8.30 pm.

June 5th

A bad beginning makes a bad ending??

10 am
A very irritating start of the day. At the ungodly hour of 5.30 AM, the train reached Jammu. I was rudely woken up by the attendant. In a sleepy daze, I gathered all my stuff and got down the train. Looked right, then looked left, and then stood on tiptoes, craned my neck to  look for the gentlemen in red. And can you beat it, none was to be seen. I looked at my luggage. 09052007002Cursed myself for packing so much stuff. But woolens are needed too, here (in Kashmir). Thank God for small mercies, that I didn’t pack the raincoat (I didn’t had one, in the first place!), though the travel agent had strongly advised. While I was in self-cribbing mode, one porter miraculously was walking towards me. I smiled and was about to beckon him. And he detoured towards a big family with luggage which could fill the entire space of my Wagon R. The rational mind understood his business sense, but the irrational me, cribbed and cursed some more. And don’t ask, how I carried the 2 loaded, heavy beasts of burden!

Found an auto to take me to the hotel. And he charged an exorbitant Rs 150 for hardly 4 kilometers!

A neat and clean hotel (yeah, for a guy, cleanliness features in my dictionary!) and a sumptuous breakfast of paranthas and curd soothed my ruffled feathers of the morning. It’s time to explore Jammu.

8: 50 pm
Fascinating city. My first visit was to the famous Raghunath Temple. jammu-raghunath-templeNah, I am not too religious, but this was in close proximity to my hotel. Yeah, this is the same temple which was attacked by the militants twice in 2002, killing many devotees. And since then, there is heavy security in and around the temple premises. Apart from money (for obvious reasons), they do not let you take anything inside the temple. Mobile, camera, wallet or anything else has to be deposited in the cloak room. 

Finance is the art of passing money from hand to hand until it finally disappears.

Normally, in all temples or Gurudwaras, either there is a no fee or a nominal fee of Rs 5 or 10 for safekeeping of the shoes. But here the attendants were saying, “Give whatever you desire”. Why can’t there be a system instead of this sophisticated extortion??

Now, this temple has separate rooms for the various Gods, with a priest each. And all urge you to donate money (of course in the name of God), everywhere. Now, I am a god fearing person, and I did ‘donate’ at all the places, but somehow, it left a bad taste. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a miser!

Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.

Checked the shops in the Raghunath Bazar. Most of them sell Dry-fruits,  Rajmah,  Kashmiri embroidered garments and rugs, idols of Vaishno Devi Mata and the Prasad from the shrine, Cricket bats (made of willow wood), Pashmina and semi-Pashmina shawls, woolen garments and blankets (in this hot 40 degree heat too). And tourists were seen shopping for the woolen stuff too. God, the very sight of blankets made me sweat like a pig! And let me add, these blankets are no different from what you’d get in your city!
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Food is an important part of a balanced diet!

I passed a vegetable shop and was I amazed. There were so many vegetables which I was seeing for the first time. There was Kadamb (pronounced as Ka-Dumb); Nandroo, Haak-Saag, Kasrod. I was told about Guchhi (not Gucci) which is a morel and costs upto Rs 2000 per kg!! Ooh la la…a mushroom costing sooo much!!
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Saw a stall which was selling Kaladi, a patty of fried sour cheese. Oh, that would be too fatty!

The sight of veges and street food made me hungry. So, took a turn to J&K TDC Wazwan & Vegetarian Restaurant for some authentic Wazwan. Wazwan is a grand feast, characterized by 36 different kinds of meals, out of which fifteen to thirty dishes are the varieties of meat!! I ordered what the Chef recommended… Rista (mutton made in a saffron gravy) and Gushtaba (mutton made from pounded meat in a curd gravy, no, it’s not keema) and needless to say, it was a lip-smacking treat. R would freak out at such non-veg dishes; though J would cringe (he is a vegetarian!).

Different strokes for different folk

Another fascinating (I find it weird, actually) observation I made while roaming in the city, that women wear very loud gaudy suits (that looked expensive too) here, the kind you see your relatives wear in ‘Ladies Sangeet’ or at a wedding. And they were shopping in those clothes and they looked from decent families. So, either they have lots of money or no dressing sense. I mean who wears such suits in hot sweltering summers! But most of the women wearing such attire?? …must be the tradition then!

A beautiful sunset that was mistaken for a dawn.

Chatting with the hotel manager reaffirmed some thoughts. Most of the people think that Jammu and Kashmir has pleasant/cold weather the whole year through. It’s a misconception. Jammu is like any other city of the north and has the weather similar to Delhi/Jaipur/Lucknow… with hot summers and cold winters. It’s the Kashmir Valley which has cold to cool weather the whole year through, which is my next destination with R & J.

June 6th

It’s a brand new day!

11: 10 am
Got up early to visit the Bahu Fort. bahuIt’s an impressive and magnificent fort with a majestic garden, an aquarium and Bawey Wali Mata Temple. Was in time for the morning aarti. In Jammu, Goddess Durga and her various forms are beacon of faith and fulfillment to millions of devotees from all over the world.
By the way, Jammu is the City of Temples!!

Breakfast was at Hotel Hari Niwas Palace, a hotel-hari-niwas-palacemajestic palace by the banks of river Tawi which overlooks the city and has a panoramic view of the Trikuta hills. A museum which ends even before it starts, left me with a funny smile.



Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.

It’s time to pack up from here and reach the railway station to meet my buddies.
It’s time to explore the paradise of earth, the Kashmir Valley… Srinagar, Palagam and Gulmarg… by road.

Of course, we will come back to Jammu in a week’s time for the Vaishno Devi Mata darshan!
Jai Mata Di! vaishno-mata1
To read posts by other members of The Wordsworth Legion in the Super 4 Round, click here: Hitesh, Kshitij, Lazy Pineapple, Parth, Smitha and Tavish.


24 Responses

  1. excellent post Shilpa..I travelled with you to all the places..such a vivid description..loved the images especially the jammu Tavi station board..good luck 🙂

  2. I can sure say I know J&K a bit now, having traveled with you. Described very well and thanks for the journey coupled with beautiful photos.

  3. You wrote it so well that i feel like i know the place. A very good post and amazing description. I loved the pics Bahu fort looks so beautiful :).

  4. Haven’t been to Jammu myself but heard of how it is from my parents…it was lovely to read your experiences too!! 🙂

    ATB for this round! 🙂

  5. That was one good read 🙂 Enjoyed the trip and the pictures to make the trip even more real 🙂

    Also loved these lines!!

    Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.

  6. Simply outstanding post, Ma’am!

    Jammu never read so beautiful in travelogues…hats off to you! Also, the placement of those quotes is just perfect!

    All the best! 🙂

  7. Brilliant Shilpa 🙂 Loved the post. Now i really want to visit the place 🙁 I especially loved the way you put the quotes in between. I have now added it to my must-see-before-I -die list!!!

  8. You took us on such a wonderful vibrant tour of your city, Shilpa! Jammu is on my wishlist, when we come back to India. The pictures being us such an authentic feel to the place!

    And now, I also want to taste that morel! I love mushrooms! And this one must be oh so delicious if it is priced at that 🙂

    All the best!

  9. Very well described. I have been to Jammu twice. Once on work and once on way to Viashnodevi.
    At Vaishnodevi, my wife had an experience which would be difficult for one to believe. But some day, will tell you personally

  10. this post reminds me of my Vaishno Devi trip…….Jammu Tavi station…..the willow bat….i bought one…….J&k is famous for them…..and my friend told me…..”Prasad nahi layega toh chalega…..lekin bat le kar aaio..”

    though i just spent my noon at Jammu and then we moved forward……but it’s a peaceful city….or may it was a holiday…… love to be back someday…..and to Vashino Devi for sure…….

  11. the new north 🙂 i’ve never travelled to Jammu of course.. the nearest i’ve been to the place is Delhi..

    ur post described it nicely! 🙂

  12. How do u manage to write so often & so beautifully? 🙂 This post of yours goes down as one of my new favourites! I loved the underlined bold headings, the descriptions, the wit, the humour, the moral.. Outstanding! 🙂 You have managed to prove u know 2 things very well – Blogging and Jammu!! 😀

  13. Hi Shilpa, could you please suggest me the name of the hotel, where you’ll stayed in Jammu, planning to visit Jammu this september, thanks

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