By Shobha Rao Smilemaker

Mar 22: It was an intense feeling to see the sacred Narmada river from the entry bridge, as it is the only Indian river that flows from east to west. I could feel the piety in the air as I stepped down on the holy land of Omkareshwar, the site of one of the 12 powerful Jyothirlingas in India.

The main temple is situated on the Mandhata island named after an Ikshvaku clan King who had meditated here. Since the island is in the shape of the devnagri word Om the Shiva linga temple here is called Omkareshwar.

We were greeted with devotees applying sacred symbols on our forehead. We approached the temple from afar by walking across another bridge on the river, with lots of monkeys for company.

With a local priest for guidance, who told us about the Vindya mountain range aroind us, we made our way among narrow lanes with shops on either side. Only flowers could be offered in the mornings and luckily it was not too crowded.

The first sight of the jyothirlinga was courtesy on a live TV screen, where the priest kept removing the flowers and we tried to get a better glimpse. I saw a shrine dedicated to Adi Shankaracharya who had met his Guru in the cave below the main temple.

I stood staring in admiration at the wonderful sculpted pillars on the way to the main shrine, praying in anticipation for a blessed future.

And was again lucky to stand for long in silence in one corner of the main diety, oblivious of the teeming crowds around me. After that, we ladies gathered at a room behind and performed a joint abhisheka to a linga, it was the devotion on the faces of my travel mates that gave extra power to the sanctity of this place.

We returned to our bus for a local meal, but before that I just had to make a secret rendezvous with the Narmada waters. Arif Bhai my bus attender volunteered to quickly walk alone with me down the steps next to the entry bridge and I was thrilled to be the only one from our bus groups to put my feet in the holy waters and sprinkle some drops on my head at Omkareshwar.

Yes I felt as if Shiva himself had called me to visit this Jyothirlinga, the beauty and mysteries of ancient temples of India will always continue to amaze me with a smile!

Shobha Rao Smilemaker has a vision of living in a world where people use their ability to find and make smiles in any situation. She is a lawyer by qualification, a soft skills trainer by passion, a motivational speaker, a freelance journalist, a bestselling author, an avid traveler and founder of 'Smilemakers Trainings'. She can be contacted at www.shobhasmilemaker.com.