Mumbai / Srinagar: Reliance Jio has introduced an immersive virtual experience of Shri Amarnath ji Shrine with live streaming of Aarti on JioTV and a host of other services through its various apps to benefit millions of devotees across the country.
The Amarnath Yatra has been cancelled for 2021 by the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) on account of the ongoing Covid19 pandemic phase due to which the devotees cannot participate in the sacred pilgrimage to the holy shrine this year. To ensure that devotees can continue to connect with and participate in this sacred pilgrimage, Jio has created an immersive virtual experience, powered by Jio Digital Life, which includes live streaming of aartis on JioTV on a dedicated channel ‘Shri AmarnathJi Shrine Board’; virtual Pooja & Hawan through JioMeet that allows devotees to join a virtual Puja room with the priest at the shrine and have a hawan / Pooja performed in their name and gotra; Chalo Amarnath, a curated playlist on JioSaavn comprising songs and bhajans dedicated to Shri Amarnath ji and Amarnath Darshan Channel on JioChat providing information on live Darshan, Aarti timings, methodology for offerings and donations as well as live and recorded Aarti broadcasts.
Despite extremely difficult terrain and challenging conditions, Jio has set up the infrastructure, systems, and bandwidth required to deliver Live Aarti feed and also developed other services across various platforms and apps within a very short turn-around time for the devotees of Shri Amarnath ji.
Devotees can access Jio-powered Shri Amarnathji services on JioTV, the live and catch-up TV app, wherein “Shri Amarnath ji Shrine Board” Darshan channel has been introduced on JioTV to live stream aartis from the sacred shrine. Viewers can watch live aarti as per specific timings and see the recorded version during balance of the day on JioTV. There are two main Aartis daily during the day, at Morning 6am to 6.30am and Evening 5pm to 5.30 pm.
Devotees can also perform a special Pooja and Darshan of the holy ice ‘lingam’ in their name in a virtual online room, for which they can book the service offered by the shrine board by visiting the ‘Book Online Pooja / Hawan / Prasad’ section on their website www.shriamarnathjishrine.com or through the board’s mobile app. Once the booking process is completed, devotees will receive a link for the virtual online room on JioMeet. Devotees can join this room at the specific time and the virtual Pooja / Hawan would be carried out by the priest at the holy cave by pronouncing the ‘name’ and ‘gotra’ of the devotee along with chanting of ‘mantras and shlokas’.
Similarly, JioSaavn, the music streaming app, has hosted a Chalo Amarnath playlist which offers specially curated songs, aartis and bhajans dedicated to Lord Shiva and Sh Amarnathji. Listeners can access this curated list of Lord Shiva songs and bhajans through the JioSaavn app. This curated playlist is also a play along on the live Darshan channel during “non-aarti” hours.
For the benefit of those who may not have access to JioTV, a comprehensive information and broadcast service has been introduced on JioChat – the instant messaging, video calling and conferencing app from Jio. The app has introduced a dedicated Amarnath Darshan Channel for Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, wherein the board can broadcast information and videos to its numerous followers, including information on live darshan, aarti timings, details on donation methodology and prasad home delivery dispatch. The JioChat Channel also facilitates a two-way communication between the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board and followers. The JioChat Channel will continue to be of great help in future Yatras to Shri Amarnath Ji as well. This app is freely available across all App stores and is agnostic to mobile service provider thus delivering these virtual services to the devotees of Sh Amarnathji from across the world.
-OdishaAge
