The Jammu Diaries - Peerkho Caves

 The Peerkho caves named after Peer saint Siddha Ghareeb Nath, are also believed to be caves where the bear King Jambavanth, from the Ramayana fame, meditated. It's a 20-30 feet deep cave.

Way to Peerkho Caves

The auto guy drove us straight there despite us telling him that we should go there last so I guess we were meant to be there. We walked up to the temple and were immediately told by a guy sitting there to wash our hands. 

Gateway

We went and washed our hands and then we were told to fill a lota (a steel tumbler, several of which were kept in a basket) with water for the deities. We carried our lotas with water and the flowers he gave us and went in.

Going up to the caves

Out of the temple

The steps led us down into a cave which is about 4 feet high at its lowest so we had to bend in half and walk in. The first temple was of Lord Shiva and that is where we poured the water and placed the flowers. On the way out we found another small aperture and went into it and found a temple of Kali.

View from the temple - Tawi river

Another temple even below that - all narrow paths and low ceilings. No one there. Once can sit and meditate for as long as one wishes in those caves. Quite a beautiful experience. 

The Jammu Diaries - Mubarak Mandi Palace

 Though I did not actually visit the Mubarak Mandi palace, it is so imposing that I decided to dedicate a whole blog to it. Standing atop a hillock looking over the Tawi river and the Bahu fort on the other side, the Mubarak Mandi palace was built within the walled city of Jammu. Construction was started i 1824 by the Dogra dynasty and it remained the dynasty's main seat of power until Maharaja Hari Singh moved to Hari Niwas Palace.

The Mubarak Mandi palace

The palace, massive as it is, had multiple palace complexes, inside - Darbar Hall, Gol Ghar, Pink Palace, Sheesh Mahal among others. The palace was neglected once Maharaja Hari Singh moved away and it is said that he was particularly not attached to this palace as he had some unpleasant memories of it.

From my vantage

The Dogra dynasty was founded by Raja Dhruv Dev (1707-33) and then went to Maharaja Ranjit Singh who captured Jammu until it came back to Maharaja Gulab Singh of the Dogra dynasty who ruled from here.

Lost glory

More on this when I find it.

The Jammu Diaries - Long Walk to Mubarak Mandi Palace

 I set off for a walk and decided to trek the 6 kms to Mubarak Mandi Palace. The frist sight along the way was the Maharaja Hari Singh Garden which was a mere 10 minutes form the hotel. I went in and found some morning walkers - very few by other city standards. the garden is situated right next to the River Tawi and is a rather small place.

Statue of Maharaja Hari Singh

Sunrise over the Tawi river

I trekked up the road which gradually became  a steeper incline and came to an area where there was baking of buns and biscuits and stuff going on. 

Baker at work

Sunrise over a silhouette of the Bahu Fort 

I also passed the bridge that connects this part of the city with the other part across the Tawi (there are several all lit up by bright colours at night). The other side has the Bahu fort, Bagh-e-Bahu and the Mahakali temple.

Way to Peer Kho caves or Jamvanth caves

Further up I came to a hilly terrain from where the road to the Peerkho caves showed up. I passed it and went down the road and soon found the Mubarak Mandi Palace located high up on the hill. It is clearly in ruins, is massive and needs another day to check out. 

The majestic Mubarak Mandi Palace

A Beauty Parlour

Dry Cleaners - at work

It being more than 5-6 kms that I walked I decided to take a rickshaw back (they charge 100 bucks for any drop looks like) and went back to the hotel.  

The Jammu Diaries - Raghunath Temple

The Raghunath temple was about a km from our hotel and one fine morning I took off for a walk to explore the area and visit the temple. The entire area around the temple is called Raghunath market and its a busy bazaar where one can find dry fruits, clothes and all sorts of stuff that Jammu is famous for.

Raghunath temple at night

I entered the temple rather early in the morning and was quite pleasantly surprised to find not many people inside. Another cause for surprise is that it was a huge complex with several shrines and lots of place and gardens etc. The temple construction was started in 1835 by Maharaja Gulab Singh of the Dogra dynasty.

The temple complex during day

The presiding deity is Lord Rama. There are seven shrines and all around the main temple are corridors inside which there are smaller shrines. Overall there are some 300 idols of gods and goddesses inside the complex.

The main shrine

Mata Vaishno Devi shrine behind the main shrine

With no devotees around, the main pujari was free and he gave me a small introduction to the history of the temple and gave me prasad. I went out and explored the complex a little,. I found a beautiful Shiva temple to one side.

The main shrine

The complex also has a school and a library which has some 6000 manuscripts of ancient times.

Shiva temple

The Raghunath market

While reading up on the temple I read that in 2002 there were two terrorist attacks on the temple - in March and November - where terrorists indiscriminately fired and killed 20 devotees and injured 40. The temple is well guarded with security personnel now.

It was a beautiful experience and once again, one can sit here for hours in peace.  

The Jammu Diaries - Gurudwara Shri Guru Nanak Sahib

 The road from the Jammu airport to our hotel took us over a bridge across the river Tawi. I remember the train Jammu Tawi Express which in our childhood was one long connection to the distant land of Kashmir. Seeing the broad Tawi river was interesting. Apparently it had filled up almost to the level of the bridge in last March's floods.

Gurudwara Shri Guru Nanak Sahib, Jammu

But the highlight of day one was the Gurudwara right next to our hotel - a fantastic view form my window. It's a beautiful structure, so well maintained that every day I would see a person climb up and clean the golden domes. The Gurudwara is a symbol of Guru Nanak Dev ji's teachings and spiritual legacy.

Gurudwara at night

The entrance from within

Though we did not visit the Gurudwara on day 1, Chatterjee, Jyothi Shetty and me went there a day later. All are welcome in Gurudwaras irrespective of religion or creed. We left our footwear outside, tied the cloth on our head and walked into a beautiful, large hall. One can sit there for hours in peace and quiet leaning against the wall.

Find the man cleaning the domes - everyday

The complex

We ate some prasad and listened to a prayer and left the Gurudwara. Beautiful experience.    

21 Days to Jump Start Your Intuition - Sonia Choquette

Sonia says that intuition is our natural sixth sense which is our super sense, our divine intelligence. It's about trusting our heart. It helps you create, nudges you to do what you love most. Much of intuition is common sense - comes from the body - create body awareness to get more intuitive. Understand what supports it and what does not.

Week 1 - Tune in

One way to get more intuitive is to get more grounded - and that can be done by knowing what ungrounds you (poor boundaries, change, arguments, power struggles, violence, bullying etc). (I think I am fairly ok here) 

To ground yourself connect to nature. (Need to do more of that)

Be aware of your breath to ground yourself -  breathe in through the nose, breathe out through the mouth. (Will start this)

Sonia says - be kind to your body - don't criticise it, compliment it. (I catch myself thinking critically, but I can push myself to compliment my body - its beautiful) 

Meditation is another way to develop intuition. Sonia's meditation technique involves putting one hand on the chest and other on the belly - breathe into the hand on heart, count to four, hold, breathe out through the hand on belly, hold, and count to four. (can start off tomorrow)

Be mindful - while breathing, walking, typing, eating, listening. (Ok, done - starting now - actually I realise that being mindful actually is being aware of the breath)

Week 2 - Own it

Remove blocks such as religion, intellectual biases, social blocks and allow free flow. (Can do that)

Write down your gut feelings. (Start today)

Don't seek others approval, take 100% responsibility for your decisions. (Again, be more aware of the same - and do it more)

Read the vibe in the room - the place and the people. (I think I am good here)

Speak up when you feel like saying something. (I don't many times, will do)

Identify your angels and talk to them. (I don't - have to name my angel)

Observe, don't absorb - mind your own business, get clarity on your priorities, stay away from bad vibes, establish energetic boundaries. (Doing this a bit now - otherwise too involved in others business) 

Be spontaneous - be open, receptive and more. (Need more spontaneity, new stuff, too much habit) 

Laugh a lot - it opens creativity. (Need to do this)

Ask your spirit for guidance - what does your spirit say? (Can do)

Go on a long walk. (Yes - on the job)

Seek 19 solutions to every problem! (Should try this)

One thing I liked most and will start practicing is how she says one must exercise more intuitive choices - like placing an order in a restaurant. Trust your gut and go with it. I used to hate ordering in restaurants or making up my mind but these days I am and seem to be doing a fair job of it - got a couple of compliments on my choices too!

But yes, I will practice most of these, try to jump start my super sense, my intuition. Thanks Sonia.    

 

Ranji Team at Himachal Pradesh - Great Win

The Hyderabad team conceded a 40 run lead in the first innings, bowled HP out for 303 and chased down a mammoth 343 in 75 overs. One of my all time favorite games.