Day 3(Sat, 22nd Oct): Possessed by the Deity
Woke up around 7:00 am after a long and sound sleep. My body and mind felt great, I was happy to be alive after the ordeal I went through yesterday and thanked god for protecting me. Last night's sleep healed up pretty much everything. But I was getting all the signs from my body that it badly needs some food as I had not eaten much yesterday. And, whatever food the kind lady tried giving me last night, my body refused to accept it and I just threw it out every time. Now I was extra hungry, so I ate 2 Aloo paranthas with milk tea and then devoured some apples while absorbing the bright sunlight outside the lady's tented dhaba. I spent some more time basking in the sun and then decided to head towards the temple. But before I leave, I had to pay the lady for the food and the night's stay and no matter how much I tried convincing her, she would not accept the money. She told me that I was like her son and she only took care of her son. That's the beauty of village people in the mountains, they live a tough life yet they're so humble, selfless, always smiling and always ready to help. Every time I meet such people I get inspired and learn from them to be a better person. I could only imagine how challenging it would be for this lady to get all the supplies from her village located miles away and staying alone and running this dhaba all by herself for most part of the year. She only earns by selling food and some items she has kept as offerings for the temple. And this place does not attract many tourists, only few people visit this place, mostly pilgrims from Himachal and nearby villages and occasionally some travelers like me. So I bought a red chunari(scarf), a coconut and dhoop batti as offering to the deity. And she handed me some more apples before I left for the temple.
Me with my savior, Ram Pyari, the dhaba lady
Munching apples outside the lady's dhaba
Rules that needs to be followed while visiting the wildlife sanctuary.
I started climbing the 600 odd temple stairs, covered by thick shade of pines and deodars. When I was near the temple I saw some devotees, they were about 15, consisting of men, women and children. They also brought a goat for sacrifice to the deity. Animal sacrifice is an age-old practice that still happens in some temples in Himachal, Uttrakhand and in other parts in India. People sacrifice animals for many reasons, sometimes to appease the deity, sometimes it happens on some festivals, sometimes when their wish gets fulfilled which they had submitted earlier before the deity and so on. Although, the High Court put a ban on animal sacrifice in 2014 in any place of religious worship, but sadly, it still happens, just not inside the temples and not as often. Finally I reached the temple, I was the first visitor and the only tourist and soon after came the devotees. The temple is situated at around 11000 feet from sea level, the highest point in Mandi district, offers awe-inspiring 360 degree views of the surrounding landscape and mountain peaks. I went inside the temple, offered my prayers, handed my offerings to the priest and then just spent some time observing the captivating natural landscape. The never ending green pastures, the sight of countless peaks, large and small, all confused and mixed together, the beautiful horizon, the sky offering different shades of blue. That's not a common sight for a city dweller like me, so whenever I get a chance to travel and I come across such sights, they just overwhelm me and I feel the most happy and fulfilled. Its experiences like these that makes me keep coming back to the mountains. There's a forest rest house(FRS) 200 meters from the temple, there's just one room and it needs to be booked in advance. I strolled down to have a look at it and found it to be under renovation. There's another lesser known beautiful trek from Shikari Devi to Kamru Nag Lake, a distance of 17 kms, which I would love to do sometime in future. And when I do this trek, I'll definitely try to spend a day or two in the FRS.
Temple stairs under thick shade of pines and deodars
Fresh apples, yummy and full of energy
Sharing is caring
The roofless Shikari Devi temple
The sacrificial goat
some stone idols at the temple
One of the many snow-clad peaks that are visible from the temple
Forest rest house as seen from the temple
It was time to head back to Janjehli, when I returned to the temple, I witnessed a bizarre scene, something I've only seen in movies or on television or heard or read about before. There was a paranormal activity going on, one of the devotees, a lady, was possessed by the deity. She was swinging her head and chanting something in local pahari language. I saw this woman couple of hours back, she was fine and normal, but now she was transformed into something else and seemed like she had no will of her own. As if something powerful and supernatural took control over her mind and body. I went closer and asked one of the devotees about it and he told me that they've brought this woman here to confess to all her wrongdoings and ask for forgiveness before the deity. So, this is how it started, the temple priest recited some verses before the lady, soon the Hunter Goddess(Shikari Mata) took over the lady's body, the deity made her confess to all the acts she has committed and made her apologize. Now with the blessings of the deity, she would be cleansed. Well, I don't believe in spirits, ghosts or any paranormal stuff but this subject that always interests me. I've listened to many ghost stories since childhood from many people, I'm sure everybody has. Some of them seem very convincing, be it the ghost of a lonely woman in 'Sanjay Van' in Delhi, ghost of a woman in white dress hailing motorists for a lift in Delhi Cantonment area, the ghost of British 'Colonel Barog' haunting Tunnel No. 33 in Himachal and many more. But I love listening to them because I find them fascinating and amusing.
It was early afternoon, when I left the temple, I had to get down the stairs and cover a lot of distance on foot, 15 kms to be precise and reach 'Sandhya Guest House' in Janjehli before it gets dark. I got down the temple stairs and went to meet my savior, the dhaba lady, to bid her goodbye with a promise to meet her again. She insisted me not to take the forest route and that I must go back via the road, which was the longer but safer route. But I was able to convince her that I learnt my lesson yesterday and I will not continue further in case I'm unable to find the trail and I'll just come back to her dhaba. I reached Janjehli before dark and spent the remaining day eating and resting in the room.
Heading back to Janjehli
The rocky trail going to the road's end up above, near the lady's dhaba
Water tank, few hundred metres below the lady's dhaba. It was not just a water tank but a tank of hope for me that day. It was glowing like a jewel in the dark, just the sight of it gave me relief that I've reached some human settlement.
A final look back at the water tank(in the middle)
Some partially built stone and wooden structures in the middle of the forest
End of forest trail near Bhulla. The road on the right is the jeepable road that goes towards the temple.
Approaching Janjehli
Day 4(Sun, 23rd Oct):
Last day of the trip is always difficult, leaving these heavenly places and going back to the concrete and crowded jungle, knowing that it would be months before I see them again, this separation is always painful. Every journey I've embarked on has been great and special in some way or the other. In every journey, I've learnt and gained something new, experienced something new and created unforgettable memories. My trek to Shikari Devi taught me that mother nature can be beautiful and ruthless at the same time and my respect for her has increased multi-fold after this trip. I started from Janjehli at 10:00 am and reached home around 1:00 am.
My only dinner that night, a pack of chips and a litre of mix fruit juice
Woke up around 7:00 am after a long and sound sleep. My body and mind felt great, I was happy to be alive after the ordeal I went through yesterday and thanked god for protecting me. Last night's sleep healed up pretty much everything. But I was getting all the signs from my body that it badly needs some food as I had not eaten much yesterday. And, whatever food the kind lady tried giving me last night, my body refused to accept it and I just threw it out every time. Now I was extra hungry, so I ate 2 Aloo paranthas with milk tea and then devoured some apples while absorbing the bright sunlight outside the lady's tented dhaba. I spent some more time basking in the sun and then decided to head towards the temple. But before I leave, I had to pay the lady for the food and the night's stay and no matter how much I tried convincing her, she would not accept the money. She told me that I was like her son and she only took care of her son. That's the beauty of village people in the mountains, they live a tough life yet they're so humble, selfless, always smiling and always ready to help. Every time I meet such people I get inspired and learn from them to be a better person. I could only imagine how challenging it would be for this lady to get all the supplies from her village located miles away and staying alone and running this dhaba all by herself for most part of the year. She only earns by selling food and some items she has kept as offerings for the temple. And this place does not attract many tourists, only few people visit this place, mostly pilgrims from Himachal and nearby villages and occasionally some travelers like me. So I bought a red chunari(scarf), a coconut and dhoop batti as offering to the deity. And she handed me some more apples before I left for the temple.
Me with my savior, Ram Pyari, the dhaba lady
Munching apples outside the lady's dhaba
Rules that needs to be followed while visiting the wildlife sanctuary.
I started climbing the 600 odd temple stairs, covered by thick shade of pines and deodars. When I was near the temple I saw some devotees, they were about 15, consisting of men, women and children. They also brought a goat for sacrifice to the deity. Animal sacrifice is an age-old practice that still happens in some temples in Himachal, Uttrakhand and in other parts in India. People sacrifice animals for many reasons, sometimes to appease the deity, sometimes it happens on some festivals, sometimes when their wish gets fulfilled which they had submitted earlier before the deity and so on. Although, the High Court put a ban on animal sacrifice in 2014 in any place of religious worship, but sadly, it still happens, just not inside the temples and not as often. Finally I reached the temple, I was the first visitor and the only tourist and soon after came the devotees. The temple is situated at around 11000 feet from sea level, the highest point in Mandi district, offers awe-inspiring 360 degree views of the surrounding landscape and mountain peaks. I went inside the temple, offered my prayers, handed my offerings to the priest and then just spent some time observing the captivating natural landscape. The never ending green pastures, the sight of countless peaks, large and small, all confused and mixed together, the beautiful horizon, the sky offering different shades of blue. That's not a common sight for a city dweller like me, so whenever I get a chance to travel and I come across such sights, they just overwhelm me and I feel the most happy and fulfilled. Its experiences like these that makes me keep coming back to the mountains. There's a forest rest house(FRS) 200 meters from the temple, there's just one room and it needs to be booked in advance. I strolled down to have a look at it and found it to be under renovation. There's another lesser known beautiful trek from Shikari Devi to Kamru Nag Lake, a distance of 17 kms, which I would love to do sometime in future. And when I do this trek, I'll definitely try to spend a day or two in the FRS.
Temple stairs under thick shade of pines and deodars
Fresh apples, yummy and full of energy
Sharing is caring
The roofless Shikari Devi temple
The sacrificial goat
some stone idols at the temple
One of the many snow-clad peaks that are visible from the temple
Forest rest house as seen from the temple
It was time to head back to Janjehli, when I returned to the temple, I witnessed a bizarre scene, something I've only seen in movies or on television or heard or read about before. There was a paranormal activity going on, one of the devotees, a lady, was possessed by the deity. She was swinging her head and chanting something in local pahari language. I saw this woman couple of hours back, she was fine and normal, but now she was transformed into something else and seemed like she had no will of her own. As if something powerful and supernatural took control over her mind and body. I went closer and asked one of the devotees about it and he told me that they've brought this woman here to confess to all her wrongdoings and ask for forgiveness before the deity. So, this is how it started, the temple priest recited some verses before the lady, soon the Hunter Goddess(Shikari Mata) took over the lady's body, the deity made her confess to all the acts she has committed and made her apologize. Now with the blessings of the deity, she would be cleansed. Well, I don't believe in spirits, ghosts or any paranormal stuff but this subject that always interests me. I've listened to many ghost stories since childhood from many people, I'm sure everybody has. Some of them seem very convincing, be it the ghost of a lonely woman in 'Sanjay Van' in Delhi, ghost of a woman in white dress hailing motorists for a lift in Delhi Cantonment area, the ghost of British 'Colonel Barog' haunting Tunnel No. 33 in Himachal and many more. But I love listening to them because I find them fascinating and amusing.
It was early afternoon, when I left the temple, I had to get down the stairs and cover a lot of distance on foot, 15 kms to be precise and reach 'Sandhya Guest House' in Janjehli before it gets dark. I got down the temple stairs and went to meet my savior, the dhaba lady, to bid her goodbye with a promise to meet her again. She insisted me not to take the forest route and that I must go back via the road, which was the longer but safer route. But I was able to convince her that I learnt my lesson yesterday and I will not continue further in case I'm unable to find the trail and I'll just come back to her dhaba. I reached Janjehli before dark and spent the remaining day eating and resting in the room.
Heading back to Janjehli
The rocky trail going to the road's end up above, near the lady's dhaba
Water tank, few hundred metres below the lady's dhaba. It was not just a water tank but a tank of hope for me that day. It was glowing like a jewel in the dark, just the sight of it gave me relief that I've reached some human settlement.
A final look back at the water tank(in the middle)
Some partially built stone and wooden structures in the middle of the forest
End of forest trail near Bhulla. The road on the right is the jeepable road that goes towards the temple.
Approaching Janjehli
Day 4(Sun, 23rd Oct):
Last day of the trip is always difficult, leaving these heavenly places and going back to the concrete and crowded jungle, knowing that it would be months before I see them again, this separation is always painful. Every journey I've embarked on has been great and special in some way or the other. In every journey, I've learnt and gained something new, experienced something new and created unforgettable memories. My trek to Shikari Devi taught me that mother nature can be beautiful and ruthless at the same time and my respect for her has increased multi-fold after this trip. I started from Janjehli at 10:00 am and reached home around 1:00 am.
Sundernagar lake
My only dinner that night, a pack of chips and a litre of mix fruit juice
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