Paradise Here: Kashmir Chronicles – Part III

Kashmir has been on my mind for years. I just never thought it was possible. With stories of unparalleled beauty of nature and the risk of terrorists—I just didn’t have the guts to plan a trip. All that changed when the Government of India took a huge step to demonetise and abrogate Article 370. Terrorist groups lost their funding and people felt safe to travel again. I was one of those many people.I organised a retreat there with a few students of mine and it was the most incredible journey. Our flight rolled into the picturesque Srinagar airport. The flight was packed, and you could hear at least seven different languages being spoken on board. As we were taxi-ing into the runway, I turned to my co-passenger and asked what brought her to Srinagar. Yatra, she said - I am going to Amarnath and Vaishno Devi. As I looked around, I realised the vast majority of travellers were pilgrims or honeymooners. I didn’t fit into either category. We were there to do yoga and understand the cultural, natural and religious landscape of this state. The welcome from the airport got all of our hearts racing. Commandos and army tanks roaming on every street corner—the news wasn’t lying. The government was doing everything in its power to ensure the safety of travellers..Our first stop was the picturesque Dal Lake. We took a million pictures of the still water and then went to climb up the Shankaracharya Hill, which is situated at 1000 ft above sea level. Lord Shiva is the main deity of this temple—so I wondered why it was called Shankaracharya hill and not Shiva hill.As I climbed the 250 steep steps, I saw a few pundits and so I asked how the name had come about. He smiled and said the story of this temple is like a game of thrones episode. But in short, people believe that Jaluka, the son of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, built it in 200 BC. Then Sultan Sikandar, the ruler of Kashmir, destroyed the Shiva Lingam of the temple and several other idols of Hindu gods. Later, different rulers at different times restored the temple destroyed by natural disasters and several attacks.As to why the name, well, a lot of stories and history are associated with the Shankaracharya Temple. The name is given because the great saint Sri Adi Sankaracharya composed his well-known spiritual text ‘Saundarya Lahiri’ here.Devotees also believe that Jesus Christ had visited this temple during his time. The temple stairs leading to the inner shrine mention this story. If you ever travel to Srinagar, I highly recommend this place. After the big climb up and down, a lot of singing, kirtan and chanting Lord Shiva’s name, we got into our bus and made our way to our next location. A location whose name was entrenched into my mind and heart when I first heard about it on television—KARGIL. Battles were fought here, heroes died and were born on these harsh mountainous areas, and I couldn’t wait to see, feel and understand the history of this area.