Shiv Shankar Tirth Yatra

Description

5 decades back a man named Shiv Charan Lal Agarwal used to sell beans and holy books at Laxman Jhula Rishikesh has now become a famous personality who conducts the holy journey for the pilgrims by the way of trains. Now a days this man is renowned as the owner of Shri Shiv Shankar Tirth Yatra Group. He was born on 22nd December 1932 at Hindon City in Rajasthan and he was not even highly educated. His father owned a shop of daily need items. His father was a religious man. He used to get woods from the forest for cooking purposes and then distributes the food in poor and hungry people. He used to curse him that you are giving away your food to villagers but you don't even care about your son whether he has eaten food properly or not? Shivcharan used to hear all these tantrums of people.

He thought to achieve something good in his life so he left his village and went to Agra. He became a vegetable dealer and did this work for at least 2 years in the meantime his cousin's brother helped him financially and then on 1960 he came to Rishikesh with his two sons Laxmi Narayan, Bhagwan Das and his one daughter Rukmani devi and his wife Sampati devi. Now they started to sustain their life in a small cottage named Taalvali Dharamshala.

In 1960 he started a business to sell beans for monkeys. At That time the bus stand used to situate on Laxman Jhula marg Ludinga Mandi. Shivcharan used to tell that the whole family was living in a single small room and it was congested so he used to sleep under a tree near state bank of India. After a year later he started a business to sell religious books. In 1962 he was able to get some space for his own stall at bus stand for selling purposes.

His wife always appreciated and supported him on the path of his life. His wife also used to work off making frames for books in the same position for about 12 hours. After some time he got a room in Chameli Mai cottage and there he expanded his work of selling religious books. Religious nature Shivcharan made the construction of two rooms in a Sanskrit College at Muni ki Reti.

In 1963 he affords a place for his stall on Railway station and his business was kept on expanding. He used to live far from the stand so he had to visit the railway stand at 04:00 am everyday walking and carrying 20 to 30 kgs of books on his shoulders. Shivcharan used to say at that time there used to come to a special train. In 1967 he booked a single compartment on a train and sent on a tirth yatrawith people. But due to insufficient financial resources, he had to close down the work. After that, in 1980 the owner of Gita Bhawan Swargashram Swami Vad Vayasanand Ji sent a special train on tirth yatrafilled with people and Shivcharan was appointed as the manager of the journey. With that journey, Shivcharan earned 15 thousand bucks.

Same as before in 1980 again a special train booked for tirth yatrafrom Parmarth Niketan and sent away and again Shivcharan appointed as the manager. Shivcharan discussed that at first he appointed as a manager and sent away on a journey, he met with a businessman named Bhagwan Das Goyal in Delhi. This businessman encouraged him a lot. He has provided funds for the tirth yatraas well as arranged pilgrims for the journey. From that day onwards his business started prospering and now the time has arrived when Shivcharan has been known as the Dhoti Vala Babaa all over the place. His company has prospered over the time and became very popular and now there are around 13 other companies which are having an almost similar name asShiv Shankar Tirth Yatra. His son Bhagwan Das disclosed that until now he has been helping his father on his business and they had taken more than 2 lakh people to their destined places over the span of 44 years.