Page 18 of Love after Marriage

The pilgrimage to the Holy Shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi is considered to be one of the holiest pilgrimages, popularly known as the Mother who fulfills Her children’s wishes. The temple resides in a Holy Cave located in the folds of the three-peaked mountain named Trikuta (pronounced as Trikoot). The devotees have to undertake a trek of two to twelve kilometers depending upon their conveyance mode from the base camp at Katra. At the culmination of their pilgrimage, the devotees are blessed with the darshans of the Mother Goddess inside the Sanctum Sanctorum, the Holy Cave. These darshans are in the shape of three natural rock formations called the Pindies.

Deepak and Roshni arrived at the temple complex, and Roshni bought a pooja thali for the darshan. Unless absolutely necessary, nobody made any attempt to talk to one another. Immediately, she put her pallu over her head in reverence, and both were led to the sanctorum. There was a line of devotees who had come from far and wide, and they waited in line for their turn. Finally, after patiently waiting for a few hours, they were escorted inside the sanctorum for darshan.

Roshni closed her eyes in reverence and had a mental talk with Devi Maiya. Devi Maiya, why did you have to get me married? Why do I have to go through this? Please give me strength and wisdom and guide me; I do not know where we go from here.

Deepak closed his eyes and asked for Devi Maiya’s guidance to do the right thing, and bowed in reverence. Both bowed together in reverence. Sashank bhaiya had arranged for a pooja, and the priest took the necessary paperwork and pooja thali from Roshni. He performed the rituals and returned the prasad to Roshni. Deepak and Roshni bent forward and touched the priest’s feet. After the blessings, they spent a few minutes in prayer.

They decided to relax in the temple outside the sanctorum for a few minutes and shared the prasad with each other. They were complete strangers to each other!

It was past lunchtime, and they had to trek back a couple of kilometers before they boarded the helicopter. They decided to have chai and snacks first. Roshni took the pallu from over her head and removed the shawl when an errant breeze lifted her hair and blew it across her face. She very gently pushed away the hair and held her pallu from flying away. Watching her, a thought occurred to Deepak, This red color really looks good on her! She is so simple and yet so beautiful.

After chai and snacks, they trekked back to board the helicopter. Deepak helped Roshni again, and they returned safely to Jammu and their hotel. Roshni mumbled, “Finally Devi darshan is over.”

Deepak overheard this and agreed.

Roshni and Deepak changed into comfortable clothes: him into kurta and pants and Roshni into a salwar kameez. They had not had their lunch, and they were tired, so they decided to have an early dinner at the restaurant. At the restaurant, they were escorted to a table, and Roshni very quickly decided to have dal and roti while Deepak settled on North Indian thali. While they waited for the food, Deepak tried to engage Roshni in some light conversation, but only received ‘yes’ or ’no’ responses from her.

The food arrived, and they started to eat. Deepak was very considerate of her and checked with her a few times if she needed anything more. At the end of the meal, something distracted Roshni, and she looked towards the other end of the room and recognized a couple sitting at a table.

She exclaimed loudly, “Sanjay and Neelima!”

Deepak followed the direction of her gaze and asked her who they were. At this time, Neelima also spotted Roshni, and both Sanjay and Neelima came to greet Roshni.

“Roshni, oh my God, after so long,” Neelima said, and both of them hugged Roshni.

“How are you both? What a surprise, of all the places here in Jammu!” enquired Roshni.

“Yes. Oh God, you look so beautiful, Roshni, as always!” Sanjay complimented, looking at her.

“Deepak, this is Sanjay and Neelima. We went to college together.” Roshni introduced Sanjay and Neelima to Deepak.

Sanjay and Deepak shook hands, and Neelima acknowledged his presence.

Sanjay looked towards Roshni. “Your husband?… I heard from Ravi; he sent me an e-mail.”

Roshni turned towards her friends. “And when did you get married! Did everything go well with the wedding?”

“Yes, Roshni, finally both our families agreed to our wedding. It was a wait but worth it!” Sanjay pulled Neelima closer to him and hugged her. Neelima reciprocated and smiled.

“I am so happy for you both.” She turned to Deepak. “Deepak, Neelima and Sanjay were interested in each other since college days, but Neelima’s parents had not approved of it until recently, I guess…” She looked towards both her friends.

Sanjay and Neelima nodded their heads. “Until recently. We got married last week and are here for Vaishno Devi’s darshan. Neelima’s mother wanted us to come here so…” said Sanjay.

Deepak asked if they wanted to join him and Roshni at the table. Sanjay and Neelima agreed.

Sanjay initiated the conversation. “So, Deepak, what do you do?”

“I am a design engineer and work for a company in California.”

Sanjay looked at Roshni. “When did you get married, and why are you here in Jammu?”

“Last week as well, we are here to take Vaishno Devi’s darshan. This is a tradition in his family,” Roshni replied, pointing to Deepak. She continued, “Did you both take Devi’s darshan?”

“No, we arrived today and plan to go there tomorrow. How about you?” asked Neelima.

“We had our darshan this morning. It’s a beautiful place, a beautiful mandi

r as well,” Deepak replied.

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