Trudging a long narrow rocky path, Sarwer Ahmed joined endless stream of pilgrims, heading towards the holy cave shrine of Lord Shiva at Amarnath in south Kashmir after he completely recovered from paralysis after being bedridden for 14 years.
Dressed in a dhoti and chanting Jai Bolay Nath, Jai Shiv Shanker, the middle class Muslim businessman accompanied by his wife Abida were the part of first batch to pay obeisance at the holy ice 'lingum' of Lord Shiva.
Hailing from Bongaigaon district in Assam, Ahmed said his paralysis was cured by the grace of Lord Shiva after fourteen years of medical treatment, costing around Rs seven to eight lakhs, did not help.
"I am happy that Lord Shiva had cured my husband after we rubbed on his forehead ash from the Amarnath cave brought by a family friend last year," Ahmed's wife Abida told PTI.
"Ahmed was normal after this, and his two legs and right arm, which were paralysed since 1988, started working well," she said. "It was the miracle of 'Bolay Baba' for us as well as doctors, who had declared him an 'incurable patient'."
"We had prayed to god that if Ahmed was fully cured from paralysis, we would visit Amarnath every year and this is the first time we are going", Abid said.
Like Ahmed and Abida, Punjabi NRI couple Satinder Kaur and Gurpreet Singh married 16 years ago and now settled in California have come to seek blessings for their three-month old baby, who they believe is a 'gift from Lord Shiva'.
"We had visited Amarnath seeking a child. Now we have a baby boy born to us due to the blessings of Amarnath baba," they said.
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