Trek of Faith
They limp, they cripple, they crawl, but they still are a cut above the able-bodied, reports Ravi Krishnan Khajuria from Amarnath shrine
By now, Raju, Kabira and Rahul would have paid obeisance at the sanctum sanctorum here. So, what’s the big deal, one may ask.
Well, both 26-year-old Raju and 36-year-old Kabira have lost a leg each in road mishaps while 28-year-old Rahul is polio-ridden since birth.
While able-bodied think twice before embarking upon the arduous pilgrimage, this trio from Sai Mandir on Lodhi Road in New Delhi has been visiting the shrine since 2003.
“I lost my left leg in a road accident in Delhi, but undeterred by the physical disability, I have been visiting the shrine since 2003,” said Raju while supporting his feeble body with crutches.
Kabira, who was a driver by profession, also lost his right leg in a road mishap while Raju has been crippled by polio.
“Being staunch devotees of Lord Shiva, we all met at Sai Mandir in Delhi in 2002 and since 2003, we have been coming to the cave shrine to pay obeisance,” said Rahul.
To them worldly affairs do not mean anything. “We have devoted our lives to Lord Shiva and would keep coming here again and again till we our last breath,” said Kabira.
One of the six siblings, born in a penury-ridden family of a farmer in Kerala, Kabira had neither qualification nor a job to support his family. Subsequently, he moved to Delhi where he became a truck driver, but destiny had something else in store for him. In 2001, he met with a road accident in which he lost his right leg.
“The accident shattered me completely, but somehow I gathered courage and devoted my life to Lord Shiva. In 2002, we (Kabira, Rahul and Raju) met at Sai Mandir, from where our rendezvous with Lord Shiva started,” Kabira said smilingly.
“We do face a lot of difficulties in covering the arduous journey, but it’s our unflinching faith in the Lord that keeps us going,” said Rahul, who uses a pair of chappals in his hands to cover the distance.
When asked about his disease, he said, “Born in an illiterate and poor family, someone had to pay the price and it was me”. He was, however, more interested in talking about the pilgrimage.
“I still remember when initially I thought it to be an impossible task but Raju and Kabira encouraged me and once I reached the cave, I was on cloud nine,” he said, adding that, “Soon I realised that it was Lord Shiva, who had given me the strength to have a glimpse of one of His many manifestations”.
Physically challenged pilgrims like Raju, Rahul and Kabira do invite attention of other pilgrims who salute them for their infallible faith in the Lord of the Lords.
They limp, they cripple, they crawl, but they still are a cut above the able-bodied, reports Ravi Krishnan Khajuria from Amarnath shrine
By now, Raju, Kabira and Rahul would have paid obeisance at the sanctum sanctorum here. So, what’s the big deal, one may ask.
Well, both 26-year-old Raju and 36-year-old Kabira have lost a leg each in road mishaps while 28-year-old Rahul is polio-ridden since birth.
While able-bodied think twice before embarking upon the arduous pilgrimage, this trio from Sai Mandir on Lodhi Road in New Delhi has been visiting the shrine since 2003.
“I lost my left leg in a road accident in Delhi, but undeterred by the physical disability, I have been visiting the shrine since 2003,” said Raju while supporting his feeble body with crutches.
Kabira, who was a driver by profession, also lost his right leg in a road mishap while Raju has been crippled by polio.
“Being staunch devotees of Lord Shiva, we all met at Sai Mandir in Delhi in 2002 and since 2003, we have been coming to the cave shrine to pay obeisance,” said Rahul.
To them worldly affairs do not mean anything. “We have devoted our lives to Lord Shiva and would keep coming here again and again till we our last breath,” said Kabira.
One of the six siblings, born in a penury-ridden family of a farmer in Kerala, Kabira had neither qualification nor a job to support his family. Subsequently, he moved to Delhi where he became a truck driver, but destiny had something else in store for him. In 2001, he met with a road accident in which he lost his right leg.
“The accident shattered me completely, but somehow I gathered courage and devoted my life to Lord Shiva. In 2002, we (Kabira, Rahul and Raju) met at Sai Mandir, from where our rendezvous with Lord Shiva started,” Kabira said smilingly.
“We do face a lot of difficulties in covering the arduous journey, but it’s our unflinching faith in the Lord that keeps us going,” said Rahul, who uses a pair of chappals in his hands to cover the distance.
When asked about his disease, he said, “Born in an illiterate and poor family, someone had to pay the price and it was me”. He was, however, more interested in talking about the pilgrimage.
“I still remember when initially I thought it to be an impossible task but Raju and Kabira encouraged me and once I reached the cave, I was on cloud nine,” he said, adding that, “Soon I realised that it was Lord Shiva, who had given me the strength to have a glimpse of one of His many manifestations”.
Physically challenged pilgrims like Raju, Rahul and Kabira do invite attention of other pilgrims who salute them for their infallible faith in the Lord of the Lords.
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