Peerzada Masarat Shah:
Tulmulla stands ready on this quiet evening before Jyeshtha Ashtami. Volunteers finish sweeping the paths around the temple. Families who travelled from Jammu settle in with quiet conversations and shared meals. Tomorrow, thousands of Kashmiri Pandits will offer kheer at the sacred spring and perform pooja to Mata Ragnya Devi. This gathering is no ordinary festival. It honours the quiet strength of a community that held fast to its roots through years of loss.
The temple in Ganderbal district sits about twenty seven kilometres from Srinagar. Its spring has drawn worshippers for centuries. Old records in Kalhana’s Rajatarangini mention the site. Stories tell of the goddess arriving in Kashmir and becoming protector for many Pandit families. Before the troubles of the late nineteen eighties the Valley knew a different rhythm. Neighbours from different faiths joined in daily life. Pandits brought scholarship and administrative skill. They helped shape the region’s history and culture alongside their Muslim brothers. Festivals like this one at Kheer Bhawani felt natural. People came together without fear.
Tomorrow’s pooja revives some of that memory. Devotees will fast through the night and morning. They will circle the spring and place offerings of sweet rice pudding into its waters. The spring often changes colour. Some see these shifts as signs from the goddess. Clear waters bring hope. Darker tones have sometimes warned of difficult days ahead. For those returning now the ritual carries weight. It reconnects them with soil their elders walked and with a way of life they kept alive in exile.
The years after nineteen eighty nine changed everything. Militancy swept through the Valley. Targeted killings and threats forced more than three hundred fifty thousand Pandits to leave their homes. Many packed what they could carry and never returned. Temples emptied. The spring at Kheer Bhawani reportedly turned black around that time. Priests stayed on despite the dangers and kept the lamps burning. In cramped camps in Jammu and scattered homes across India the displaced families lit their own lamps on Jyeshtha Ashtami. They told children stories of the goddess and the Valley. They refused to let the traditions fade.
That persistence defines them. Pandits had given Kashmir much over the centuries. Scholars like Kalhana recorded its past. Thinkers enriched philosophy and literature. Families served in courts and schools. Their language and customs wove into the fabric of Kashmiriyat. Even in exile they guarded these threads. They taught the next generation about Achabal springs and shared Eid feasts. They carried the ache of separation but never surrendered their bond to this land.
The mela itself suffered for years. Large crowds became impossible. Security concerns kept many away. Yet small returns began in the late nineteen nineties. Pilgrims came in modest numbers at first. Security forces helped create safe passage. Over time the gathering grew. Priests and local residents kept the temple alive. This year the scale feels encouraging. Nearly nine thousand Pandits arrived in buses from Jammu in recent days. Government teams arranged medical help meals and smooth travel. Community members cleaned the grounds beforehand. The effort shows care and ownership.
What strikes visitors most is the welcome from local Muslims. Residents of Tulmulla set up stalls. They bring milk and flowers for the rituals. They help prepare kheer and offer water to tired travellers. Conversations flow easily between old neighbours and new arrivals. This is not staged goodwill. It reflects older patterns of life in the Valley. Many locals say the place feels fuller when Pandits return for the mela. They speak of shared heritage and the need for everyone to feel safe here. Such words matter. They point toward the possibility of trust rebuilt one gesture at a time.
Mata Kheer Bhawani stands at the centre of all this. Her name comes from the simple offering of kheer. Devotees see her as a mother who protects and guides. Legends say she appeared in dreams to direct people toward the spring after floods. For returning families the pooja tomorrow feels like a conversation long postponed. They ask for safety for their children. They pray for peace that includes every resident of Kashmir. The spring receives each bowl of kheer like a promise kept. Its waters carry the hopes of people who refused to forget.
The larger meaning goes beyond one day of worship. Pandits who kept faith deserve more than pilgrimage rights. They deserve the chance to return and rebuild if they choose. The Kashmir of pre nineteen eighty nine had room for everyone. Children studied together. Neighbours helped during harvests and festivals. That shared life produced a culture known across India. Restoring it requires practical steps. Secure homes jobs and education matter. So do honest conversations about the past. Development that benefits all communities can create new reasons to stay and thrive.
Tomorrow’s pooja offers a moment to reflect on these things. As lamps glow around the spring and chants rise the air will feel thick with memory and possibility. Elders will recall older melas. Younger ones will see the temple for the first time. In that mix lies the seed of renewal. The goddess does not belong to one group alone. Her blessings reach across divides if people open their hearts.
Kashmiriyat was never an empty slogan. It grew from real relationships and common respect for the land. The Pandits who maintained their connection to Mata Kheer Bhawani despite everything kept that spirit alive. Their presence at the mela reminds us that the Valley remains incomplete without them. Local support shown through small kindnesses during the festival shows the other side of the same truth.
As preparations wind down this evening the temple waits. Tomorrow the pooja will unfold with devotion and dignity. May the waters of the spring run clear. May the goddess grant strength to those who pray and wisdom to those who lead. The road to full restoration will take time and effort from every community. Yet days like this one prove that faith and goodwill can light the way.
The Kashmiri Pandits have shown remarkable patience and attachment to their home. They deserve recognition for that endurance. Let tomorrow’s rituals mark not only remembrance but a step toward the Kashmir that once was. A place where different faiths lived side by side and the Valley bloomed in peace. Mata Kheer Bhawani’s grace can help heal old wounds. The rest depends on us all choosing the path of inclusion once more.
