Yatra concludes smoothly

Yatra concludes smoothly
Amidst the chanting of Vedic mantras— the oldest hymns known to mankind— the 39-day long pilgrimage to the icy lingam symbolizing Lord Shiva in a cave perched at about 3880-meter atop the Himalayan cliff came to an end on Shravana Purnima August 2. The concluding ritual is usually performed by the high priests carrying the Chhari Mubarak or the Holy Mace of Lord Shiva. This is a message that the formal pilgrimage for the current year has come to an end.
Pilgrimage to the holy cave has been gaining widespread popularity in the country. Previously, by and large, it remained confined to the local Hindus of the State. But as the administration of the shrine passed into the hand of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board chaired by the Governor of the State, many facilities and comforts flowed for the pilgrims. More and more people in the country cherished pilgrimage to the difficult heights. The middle class of Indian society found it financially affordable to undertake the visit. Transport and communication facilities further whetted the desire of prospective pilgrims. In this way, there was sudden spurt in the number of pilgrims to the holy cave. Thus for the new generation of the Hindus in the country the spirit of pilgrimage to Shri Amarnath Ji adopted spiritual as well a touristic contours. For a long time, this pilgrimage was essentially attributed to the sadhus who till date find glorification in calling themselves the closest devotees of Lord Shiva. Their life style, peculiar to unaccustomed onlooker, reflects the style of Shiva. Clad to the brink of nudity, carrying a trident, body besmeared with ashes, bare footed, a beggar’s scrip slung from shoulder and long dry plaited hair tied up in lump at the top of the head, chanting the mantras as they inch over the mountain heights, passing the cold night by bonfire at which they smoke chars and feign spiritual intoxication. But now the number of pilgrim- sadhus to Amarnath cave shrine is far less and that of non-sadhus is increasing.
Ever since the Shrine Board was constituted and took into its hands the conduct of the pilgrimage, things have immensely changed. The number of pilgrims this year has gone up to 6.2 lakhs, perhaps the highest so far. Taking into account the dimensions of the pilgrimage, arrangements needed to be made, accommodation, transportation, medical assistance, police assistance, security, sanitation, eateries and supplies arrangement, one can say that the Shrine Board with the assistance of concerned Government departments like Health, Tourism, Transport, Food Supplies etc. has done excellently well. A good deal of thinking and planning had gone into making the pilgrimage smooth for the devotees. On the concluding day, the Governor, who  is the Chairman of the Shrine Board also joined the concluding ceremony at the holy cave and instructed its caretakers and stakeholders to begin looking to the arrangements for the next year’s pilgrimage right now without wasting any time. It reflects his liking for meticulous planning well in time and the sensitivity about the responsibility put on his shoulders. He has also directed the Shrine Board staff to ensure cleanliness of the route and resting places and eateries along the route of the pilgrims so that ecology of the Himalayan shrine is not destroyed.  One should also appreciate the attitude of the Government towards this event. Its various departments have shown great sense of responsibility and performed their role with efficiency. The good thing is that there has been good cooperation between the Shrine Board and the Government authorities and that has made the pilgrimage very smooth this time. However there have been some fatalities; about 130 pilgrims died during the course of pilgrimage owing to various reasons. But there was no case of a death owing to lack of medical facilities. One important lesson that has to be derived from these fatalities is that there must be a thorough medical check up of the prospective pilgrims before they are allowed to proceed on trekking venture. First the pilgrims themselves should be confident that they have no serious ailment of heart  breathing or arthritis etc. that would endanger their pilgrimage. If they have any ailment they should desist from undertaking the journey. Secondly the conductors of pilgrimage should also have a plan of minute examination of prospective pilgrims before the start of the journey. This is to save their life from any mishap. The death of 130 pilgrims is regretted, and the Chairman of the Shrine Board was keeping an hour to hour watch on what was developing about the pilgrimage. His intervention also supplemented the efforts of the concerned to make the pilgrimage as smooth as possible.

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