While we
were spending four blissful days in the hills of Uttarakhand last week, one
thing on our itinerary was to hike up to the Surkhunda Devi Temple. We were
told by the lady at the resort we were staying in,that there were two ways
leading up to the temple. One was the cemented path ,leading up to it and the
other was a beautiful trail. Obviously, we intended to follow the latter route.
Now, I am
not a religious person. I love reading the Hindu mythology though .I have fond
memories of how I used to read out all the stories from Hindu mythology to my son when he was 6-7
years old as bedtime stories and otherwise, dramatizing on everything. He would
listen wonder eyed. There were superheroes galore in all the stories after all.
Another matter now that The Avengers, Justice League and likes have taken over
and are saving the world.
Here’s the
legend about Surkhunda Devi!
My friend
Kalpana, with whom I was holidaying is not an overtly religious person either
but yes, prays to a God now and then. I don’t!
Anyhow, our
main agenda to go to Surkhunda Devi, like everything else during the trip was
to enjoy the views and take in the lovely weather in the hills.
We set out
the second day for Surkhunda Devi. The base to the trail was just 4kms from our
resort. We walked till there, talking to the locals, taking in the views and
generally having a good time.
 |
| The entrance to the trail we could not complete! |
Just as we
marveled at how pretty the trail looked from there itself and started hiking up…..passersby
in a car (on the road below) honked incessantly to get our attention. When we
looked down, there was a family in the car, likely tourists as us. The gentleman
at the driver’s seat told us they had a very bad experience on the trail the
previous day and that we should not go up that way. The lady sitting behind,
told us in so many words “please go back”.
Ouch! What
a dampener! We contemplated whether we should pay heed to their warning or just
go ahead. It was just a 45min-1hr hike up we were told, after all. The hills
seemed safe; the locals seemed harmless. There was no one else on the trail.
But then it was complete off season and the rains had made the trail slippery
and mucky. We climbed up a couple of meters more and decided not to go further
and play it safe.
 |
| Even the retreat was pretty-no regrets! |
On way back
to the resort, we asked the local shopkeepers if they had heard of any untoward
incident happening on the trail the previous day. They vehemently disagreed
that there could be anything to feel unsafe about on the trail. In fact, they
were offended at the very suggestion.
Back at the resort, we repeated our story to
the lady there and she jokingly announced,” you see, like they say, abhi aapko
Mata ka bulawa nahi aaya hain”(Your calling is not here yet!)
And that’s
when our fun started. Kalpana and I decided Surkhunda Devi had to be said hello
to, come what may. We kept joking about manipulating that calling and blah
blah.
Anyhow, the
day we were leaving , we went up to the temple via the cemented route. It was a
short, yet tough climb up. No views to be seen, because it was a very misty morning.
And we were in a rush. We had to check out soon and return to Delhi.
 |
| Kalpana trotting up:) |
Hello Mata Surkhunda😊 Humara bulawa aa gaya. Our calling is here!!
 |
| Hello Mata! |
The mystery
of what happened there the day we had to retreat remains. We figured, one of
them might have taken a fall on the slippery trail or something. But when
someone says 'bad experience', a lot of things come to mind. So, well! We
chickened out that day.
It was
Kalpana’s younger son’s Birthday and as she bowed before the deity,
she told me she was glad she came to the temple on Robin’s birthday. I am not sure if it was the religious her or just mommy her saying that,but it was rather sweet😊
Local
legend has it that whatever wish you make there comes true. I had one wish
-peace for all! So, I bowed too…and followed the works. Tika! Halwa! Daan! Who
knows magic might happen?
“…there is
no valid difference between religion and magic,no matter how many books are
written to support the distinction…magic is religion we don’t believe in ,and
religion is magic we believe in”-Ernest Becker
