Fire in Gulmarg’s 109-year-old temple: Rajesh Khanna’s song ‘Jai Jai Shiv Shankar’ was filmed here, a Muslim man took care of it for 23 years

The 109-year-old Shiva temple situated on a hill in Gulmarg, a tourist place in Jammu and Kashmir, was completely burnt down. Many Bollywood films were shot here. Rajesh Khanna-Mumtaz’s song ‘Jai Jai Shivshankar’ was filmed here. According to media reports, the fire broke out on Wednesday (5 June) morning. Locals controlled the fire with the help of police, but by then the temple was completely burnt. The priest said – the fire was caused by a short circuit. According to the police, there is no information about any casualties due to the fire in the temple. The cause of the fire has not been ascertained yet. According to the temple priest Purushottam Sharma, the fire broke out due to a short circuit. The police have registered a case and started investigation. A Muslim man took care of the temple for 23 years. After the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the state in the 90s, Ghulam Mohammad Sheikh of Baramulla district took care of this temple for 23 years. Everyone lovingly called him Panditji. Mohammad Sheikh used to get a monthly salary from the charitable trust for looking after the temple. Earlier he was given the responsibility of the temple as a watchman, but later he learned the worship, rituals and also used to worship in the absence of the chief priest. Ghulam Mohammad retired in 2021. Purushottam Sharma has been working as the chief priest of the temple since November 2023. See the pictures of the destroyed temple after the fire: Many films were shot in this temple Many Bollywood films were shot in this temple. The song ‘Jai Jai Shivshankar’ from the 1974 Rajesh Khanna-Mumtaz film ‘Aapki Kasam’ was also filmed here. Apart from this, films like ‘Roti’, ‘Andaz’ and ‘Kashmir Ki Kali’ have also been shot in this temple. Omar Abdullah expressed regret Former Chief Minister of Kashmir Omar Abdullah expressed regret over the incident of burning of the temple and wrote on the social media platform X, ‘It was very sad to hear the news of fire in the famous Shiva temple of Gulmarg. I hope that the administration will find out the reasons of the fire as soon as possible and rebuild the temple, because this temple is very important from religious as well as tourism point of view.’ This temple of Lord Shiva was built in the year 1915 by Queen Mohini Bai Sisodiya, wife of Jammu & Kashmir’s last Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh. This is the reason why it is also known as Mohineshwar Shivalaya and Rani Mandir.

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