8/6/2019 Celebrate India – Mela Kheer Bhawani in Kashmir!

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Celebrate India – Mela Kheer Bhawani in Kashmir!

Witnessing a miracle of the Divine with your naked eyes is experienced, seldom by a human

being. Luckily enough, I was fortunate to witness something like this (which is usually once in a

life time opportunity), thank God (in this case Goddess) for it. However, I feel that this

experience will not be complete, until and unless I

share as much as I can, with as many as I can.

The temple of Kheer Bhawani is built around the

spring of the same name, and is situated at a

distance of 14 miles east of  Srinagar, near the

village of Tula Mulla. The Goddess Ragnya Devi is

symbolized in a sacred spring at this temple. It is

said that Maharagya (one of the goddess’ many

names) became displeased with Ravana and asked Hanuman to take her image from Lanka and

install it at the holy spot of Tula Mulla.

If the origins of the temple are taken into consideration, it is no wonder that the temple houses

so many mysteries within its belly. And knowing this, one cannot deny the kind of importance

this holy spot holds in the hearts of Hindus and especially the Kashmiri Brahmins. Although the

spot itself has been worshipped for thousands of years, the marble temple itself was built quite

recently by Maharaja Pratap Singh and was completed in 1920.

I have been to Srinagar a couple of times before, but on both occasions my visit was restricted

to places like Dal Lake, Gulmarg, Shalimar Bagh, etc. It wasn’t until last year when I visited

Srinagar especially for the Kheer Bhawani Mela. And this time I made it a point to land there a

few days before the melaactually begun, so that I could follow the build up to the mela.

The mela is celebrated on Jyeshta Shukla Astami (this time it is on 9th

June, 2011). It is a pretty

big event and thousands of pilgrims throng the valley during the festival. And Hindus and

Muslims alike benefit from the business that tourists and pilgrims bring with them. However,

my primary reason for visiting early was to enjoy the quiet stillness in the temple and its

surrounds; something that would definitely be lost during the festival.

During that time, I had the opportunity of talking to a lot of  pundits in the temple who educated

me on the religious and historical importance of theKheer Bhawani temple. You can find all this

info on the Internet or from books. But then there is one thing about the temple that has to be

seen with your own eyes to be believed. And that is the spring itself over which the temple is

8/6/2019 Celebrate India – Mela Kheer Bhawani in Kashmir!

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built. Words don’t do justice to the peculiarities and the beauty of the spring. It is the mystery

of the spring that has baffled so many or so long; that steals the show.

The mysterious holy spring of Kheer Bhawani is widely known to change its color from time to

time. It takes on various hues like red, pink, orange, green, and blue. Each color is assigned to

diverse manifestations of the Goddess. Any shade of black color is supposed to be inauspicious

for the inhabitants of the valley. This color was prominent in the year 1947 when the valley was

attacked. Many times, rising of bubbles have been observed which form the mystic Chakra on

the surface of the water. Such a sacred and mysterious spring is unique in India. 

It was this bizarre mystery that had me completely riveted. And yes, it is this very peculiarity

that represents this spot’s divinity. Fortunately, I was all

by myself, when I witnessed this a couple of days before

the festival began, so I had the luxury of time. By God, I

sat there for HOURS that day staring at this spectacle. Of 

course, as expected, it was back to normal the next day.But despite sitting for hours admiring it, I still went about

perching myself there, hanging around for the next two

days hoping it would happen again, but it didn’t. I am just

soooo glad to have witnessed my ‘once in a life time

moment’. 

P.S: Folks, drop me a mail at joy@yatraonline.com, connect with me on Facebook and follow

me on Twitter to share your weird travel stories with me. See my videos on YouTube. Looking

forward to connect with you.