Amritsar Trip: The funnest temple ever!!!

One of the places I was told to check out was the "Vaishno Mata" mandir, which was supposed to be related to the Vaishno Devi mandir in Jammu. It was last on my list of priorities but the cab driver to the Wagah border offered to take me there before we headed out to the border, so I went. At glance it looked like a regular temple, with idols in recesses in the walls etc. Then I saw a sign that said, "Way to Vaishno Mata temple" and it led me to stairs. What followed can only be described as a combination of a jungle gym and an obstacle course, with Hindu Idols thrown in! We climbed up ramps, climbed down stairs, crawled through caves and even waded through a small river - all inside the building. Apparently the idea behind the temple was to simulate the trip to see the Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu, so they included all these ramps and caves. I kept thinking to myself as I walked around the temple - if I was a kid, I would insist on coming to this temple everyday! Apart from the fun factor, they included pretty much every deity from all over India - Kanyakumari, Balaji, the 12 Jyotirlingas etc. Very secular, within a Hindu context.

I actually found out that you were allowed to take pictures in this temple very late, toward the end of the "ride". So I came back to this temple a second time, just to take pictures and videos! But I realized why they should ban cameras in temples when I saw some people actually POSING next to the idols to take their pictures with the idols. One guy was doing a "namaste" to the idol, with his eyes on the camera - real classy!

 

Definitely worth checking out for anyone who goes to Amritsar.