Rajesh Dutta
Often called as crown of India, the State of Jammu and Kashmir has been blessed with hundreds of shrines and temples placed in scenic locations all over its hilly landscape. Saints, seers and followers of all religions have come to this enchanting land since time immemorial and left it richer and more spiritually robust over the centuries. Both natural and man made religious pilgrimage centres of all faiths have come up in a good number here, symbolising the spiritual and secular character of the region.
There are several places where Gods and Goddess shower blessing to the people in one way or the other. Moreover, the hilly and treacherous terrain of the state and meandering roads despite mesmerising beauty are quite risky. They witness several tragic road accidents which have now become a part and parcel of the history across various parts of such hilly areas.
However, due to strong religious beliefs of common masses such accidental prone spots are now converted into spiritual places in the form of big and small temples along the national highway and such other busy roads where pilgrims, passengers, drivers and other private vehicles halt for a while to pay obeisance and get blessing of Almighty.
It is unbelievable and sounds strange but it is a reality that after the construction of temples at various accidental prone areas along various routes they have been turned into centres of faith for every individual who passes through it. Due to the faith of local people and commuters in such places, there were marginally any such big or small roads accidents. According to these temples were constructed by the families or relatives of those killed or by locals or to offer prayers for the peace of wandering souls.
One such glaring example is in the Kalidhar (the dense vegetative forest) area of Jammu-Poonch route. There is much revered temple in the dense forest of Kalidhar area popularly known as “Kalidhar Temple” which has now become a symbol of faith for commuters who halt here for a while to get blessing for smooth and happy journey while travelling from Jammu to twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch and vice-versa.
This famous temple along the Jammu-Poonch road stands at the tri junction of three districts including Rajouri, Reasi and Jammu and is dedicated to Goddess Shakti (Durga), Shivji and Pawansut Hanuman. It is 32 kms away from Akhnoor, about 60 kms from Jammu and 9 kms from Bhamla.
The temple lies in the lap of Shivalik range and called Kalidhar due to the dense vegetation in the area. It is believed to be built by some locals with the help of army personnel in 1960’s, when many accidents occurred at the place at a higher frequency. It is also believed that initially the temple was built by the higher officials of 3rd Bihar Regiment, when their four army personnel died in a tragic road accident.
According to locals, Kalidhar temple was constructed to reduce the tragedies as the restless souls of the accident-victims kept roaming in and around the area round the clock and were often responsible for road accidents before the construction of temple. Soon after the construction of the temple and dedicating it to Goddess Durga (Shakti) on this road at the most hazardous point, things changed completely bringing down the accidents at the said spot to virtually nil.
According to a 70-years old resident, “the souls of the victims of various tragedies restlessly roam around the Kaldihar area from Choki Chour to Bhamla for years together and if such souls are not satisfied by performing certain religious rituals, then they continue to endanger the life of people passing through it. It is only because of this reason that Kalidhar temple was constructed. “As a result of regular prayers, offerings and obeisance paid by the passengers and priests, the restless souls of accident victims heave a sigh of relief, which ultimately result in bringing down the road-tragedy graph at Kalidhar,” he added.
He further added that not only the devotees of Mata Shakti, Shiv and Hanuman hold the flame of faith but even the people from other communities stop here for a while for special prayers and paying obeisance.
According to the local priest at the temple, “the strong faith of devotees forces them to stop here and seek blessings of the deity for the welfare and prosperity of the family. He also recalled what he was told by his ancestors that the deity at Kalidhar temple is famous and much revered among the army personnel especially during the war of 1965 when the men in olive witnessed a miracle.
He briefed that our elders told us that there was a small temple here several years ago even before independence and Kalidhar is a dense forest and difficult to pass through it even during the dawn hours. At that time, commuters were stopped by a giant figure who often misled commuters resulting into great tragedies.
The priest further added that the army convoys stop here and offer their obeisance at the temple. “Kalidhar sub-sector to NWW of Chhamb remains a significant and strategic sector for the defence of the forward area, and thus a full- fledged brigade had been created in sixties to counter the infiltration operations by Pakistan who faced huge difficulty in dense vegetative area of Kalidhar. They had a strong belief and offered their obeisance at the then small temple that helped them to counter their enemies,” he stated.
Appreciating the army men, he said, “The Kalidhar Brigade of the Army is also taking up many public welfare initiatives for the cause of down trodden and poor people of the area falling under the jurisdiction of the Brigade and helped to construct the attractive and beautiful temple.
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