Hundreds of Kashmiri Pandits settled across Delhi-NCR gathered on Monday, 22 June at the Mata Ragnya Bhagwati temple in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, to observe Zyestha Ashtami — the annual festival dedicated to Mata Kheer Bhawani. The occasion blended devotion with a deep, collective mourning for a homeland left behind more than three decades ago.

A Temple Built on Memory

The Mata Ragnya Bhagwati temple in Ghaziabad is modelled on the revered Mata Kheer Bhawani shrine at Tulmulla in Ganderbal district, Kashmir — one of the holiest sites in the Kashmiri Hindu tradition. The original shrine, nestled beside a natural spring and shaded by Chinar trees, is so ancient that its precise origins are unknown. It finds mention in Kalhana's Rajatarangini of the 12th century and in the 16th-century Ain-i-Akbari. Spiritual figures including Swami Vivekananda and Swami Rama Tirtha visited the shrine in the late 19th century.

The original temple is particularly noted for its unique septagonal spring, which flows from west to east. Devotees over centuries have recorded the spring changing colour — displaying shades of red, pink, orange, green, blue, and white. Historical accounts by Abu'l Fazl and Swami Vivekananda both reference this phenomenon. A dark or black hue in the water is traditionally regarded as inauspicious.

What Ghaziabad's Tulmulla Represents

The Ghaziabad temple does not replicate the grandeur or the spring of its Kashmiri counterpart, but it has become far more than a replica. It is, in the words of community members, a physical expression of longing — a tribute to those killed by militants in Kashmir after 1989 and a living reminder that justice, they argue, has remained elusive despite decades of suffering linked to what the community describes as Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.

The temple symbolises the story of nearly seven lakh people who were forced to flee their homes in the 1990s and spent years struggling to find a platform from which to tell their story. Scattered across India and beyond, the community has continued to sustain itself with limited political and economic support, according to community representatives.

The Festival Atmosphere

On Monday, conch shells and temple bells filled the air as devotees offered prayers and traditional kheer to Mata Bhawani. Flowers covered the pond, and the aroma of traditional dishes — including nadir monje and lucchi — drifted through the gathering. Community members dressed in traditional attire sang Kashmiri bhajans and devotional songs. For many, tears surfaced alongside the prayers as memories of the Valley resurfaced.

The majestic Chinars of Kashmir were absent, but sprawling canopies offered shade in the summer heat — a small but telling detail of the distance between the original and its diaspora echo.

A Community Still Waiting

Those gathered at Ghaziabad's Tulmulla are acutely aware that the original shrine — and the roots of their civilisation — lie far away in a Kashmir where hopes of large-scale return and rehabilitation remain uncertain. The community has worked to preserve its traditions, customs, and rituals for future generations, viewing gatherings like Zyestha Ashtami as essential acts of cultural continuity.

As long as the question of return remains unresolved, temples like the one in Ghaziabad will continue to serve as both sanctuary and symbol — keeping alive the memory of a homeland that nearly seven lakh Kashmiri Pandits were forced to leave behind.