Performing aarti at Shiva Temple

The Shiva Temple or the Maharani Temple was built by Mohini Bai Sisodhia, the wife of the erstwhile Maharaja of J&K’s Maharaja Hari Singh, in 1915. The temple is located atop a hillock in the middle of Gulmarg and is visible from all corners of the hamlet. Visiting hours of the temple are from 6 am to 9 pm everyday and Aarti is performed twice daily at the temple.

An interesting fact about the temple is that the priest here is Muslim. Ghulam Mohammed Shiekh performs aarti everyday at the temple and offers prasad to devotees. After the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits during militancy in the valley, there was nobody left to take care of the temple. This is when Sheikh’s father, Ghulam Rasool Shiekh, who was the chowkidaar at the temple for 40 years started performing the duties of the priest. Both father and son are equally well versed with the Bhagwad Gita and the Quran-e-Sharif and are a rare sign of communal harmony.

A number of famous movies and songs have been filmed in Gulmarg and a famous yesteryears song “Jai Jai Shiv Shankar” from the move Aap ki Kasam starring Mumtaz and Rajesh Khanna was shot at the Shiva temple in Gulmarg.