Living the life in a magic world

27/07/2025 We checked out the hotel at 7 am. They had arranged the drop at the railway station. The railway station was near to the hotel, hence it took hardly 6-7 minutes.  Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Railway Station at Katra, is a newly developed station. The station is made at two or three levels. The front area of the station looks liek a railway station in a foreign country. Spacious and aesthetically designed.  Passengers boarding Vande Bharat Express to Srinagar had to undergo two levels of checking. First they check the baggage and then the confirmation of the seats in the train. After due process, we moved to platform no. 1 to board the train. All passengers were in great excitement as the Hon'ble Prime Minister inaugurated the first train to Srinagar in Kashmir Valley on 06 June 2025.  There was extra security coverage for this train, and we could find J & K Police as well as RPF personnel who were well prepared for any possible eventualities.  When the trai...

We reached Jammu Tawi station at the right time, i.e., 11 am approx., on 26 July 2025. It was a humid and hot day. Earlier I contacted PRof. Anil Gupta at the University of Jammu, and he told me that he would try to meet us in the station. We waited for Prof. Anil Gupta. As we couldn’t see him, we moved to the waiting room. I wondered how poorly equipped Jammu station in comparison with other railway stations in India. This station is very important for India in many terms. Millions of pilgrims arrive and depart from this station every month. In the mean time, I had to get a new SIM card as prepaid mobile numbers from other states do not work in Jammu & Kashmir.  I got a new SIM card and contacted Anil, sir. He was already there in the station searching for me. He came to the waiting room. He also brought food and some sweets and Namkeen for us.  After briefing him about our plan, we waited for the train which leaves at 2.30 from Jammu to Katra. When we looked at the statu...