Kartik Yatra
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Kartik Yatra 2014
ISKCON Chowpatty
Dear Devotees,
Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
The Yatra Committee is glad to inform you that the Annual Yatra of Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Congregation for the year
2014 will be to visit holy places in and around Sri Hampi Dham and Sri Udupi Dham, starting from 21
st October and
ending on 30
th October, 2014.
Devotees have the option to attend the full yatra i.e visit both Hampi and Udupi OR attend part yatra i.e visit either
Hampi or Udupi as per their choice.
Please read the following details carefully before applying for the Yatra.
Important Dates (All timings are as per Indian Standard Time)
Starts on Ends on
Registration for all categories 13th April 2014, 10:00 am 13th May 2014, 6:00 pm
Details of accommodation available on
website from 22nd May 2014
Last date for cancellation of Registration with
full refund (less handling charge Rs. 300) 29th May 2014
Late Registration (with a late fee of Rs. 500)
(depending on availability of accommodation) 29th June 2014 25th August 2014
Substitution 29th June 2014 20th Sept 2014
Last date for settling all accounts related
matters Sunday, 16th November 2014
Full yatra Accommodation
Exclusive accommodation for Varishtha
Vaishnavas (For full Yatra only) 1st June 2014, 10:00 am 3rd June 2014, 11:59 pm
Exclusive accommodation for Matajis with
children (For full Yatra only) 5th June 2014, 10:00 am 6th June 2014, 11.59 pm
Exclusive accommodation for Families with
children (For full Yatra only) 8th June 2014, 10:00 am 9th June 2014, 11.59 pm
Exclusive accommodation for Single Matajis
(For full Yatra only) 11th June 2014, 10:00 am 12th June 2014, 11.59 pm
Accommodation for Single Prabhujis (For full
Yatra only) 13th June 2014, 10:00am 14th June 2014, 11:59 pm
Part yatra Accommodation
Accommodation for part Yatra for all
categories
16th June 2014, 10:00 am 26th June 2014, 11:59 pm
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Yatra Itinerary
Arrival of devotees at Sri Hampi Dham Tuesday, 21st October 2014
Yatra starts at Sri Hampi Dham Wed, 22nd October 2014, 6:00 am
Hampi part of Yatra ends on Sat, 25
th October 2014, 9:00 pm
Arrival of devotees at Sri Udupi Dham Sun, 26th October 2014
Yatra ends at Udupi on Thu, 30th October 2014, 9:00
pm
Departure of devotees from Sri Udupi
Dham
Friday, 31st October 2014, 8:00
am
Important Contact E-mail IDs
Registration of Indian Devotees
reg.india@rgyatra.com
Registration Overseas Devotees
reg.os@rgyatra.com
Accommodation
acco@rgyatra.com
Payment related
pay@rgyatra.com
General info
info@rgyatra.com
Cancellations
cancel@rgyatra.com
Travel arrangements
travel@rgyatra.com
Complaints / feedback /
suggestion
suggestions@rgyatra.com
Eligibility
The minimum qualification for applying for the Yatra are as follows:
1. Chanting minimum 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna Mahamantra daily and following the four regulative
principles including restraint from tea and coffee from date of Registration.
2. Applicant should also be attending weekly ISKCON satsang programs on a regular basis for at least one year.
3. Applicant should follow the prescribed dress code of Dhoti-kurta for men and Sari for women.
4. Additionally, devotees applying for the Yatra have to obtain prior recommendation from their respective
Counselor/ Yatra Sevak.
Yatra Sevak
The yatra sevaka is an individual who can propose the eligible devotees for attending the Yatra & means:
1. The Counselor body (including Mentors) of ISKCON Chowpatty and ISKCON Pune (YS-1).
2. Authorized devotees from other centers (India and abroad) and brahmacharis travelling abroad (YS-2) and,
3. Yatra Committee members (YS-3).
The final decision in all matters will be at the sole discretion of the Yatra Committee.
Yatra Itinerary
The devotees are requested to report at Sri Hampi Dham (accommodation are booked at Hospet, which is 12
km from Hampi) on 21st October, 2014 from 08:00 am onwards.
The Yatra starts at Sri Hampi Dham on 22nd October, 2014, 06:00 am.
We will be staying in Sri Hampi Dham till the morning of 26th October 2014.
The devotees attending full Yatra will depart for Sri Udupi Dham on 26th October, 2014 at 5:00 am (checkout).
The devotees attending part Yatra at Hampi only will have to vacate their rooms by 8 am on 26th October,
2014
The devotees attending part Yatra at Udupi only have to reach Udupi after 12 noon on 26th October 2014.
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The Yatra ends on 30th October, 9:00 pm at Sri Udupi Dham.
The devotees will have to check out of their rooms by 12 noon on 31st October 2014
Yatra Charges
The Yatra charges for Full Yatra will be
Rs.4000/-. This includes registration, prasadam (Break Fast and Lunch only),
and internal travel arrangements during the Yatra and donations to various temples in the holy Dham.
Limited accommodation is available in Hampi and Udupi. They will be available on first come first served basis.
The sooner devotees register for the Yatra, the earlier Yatra committee can book more accommodation if required /
available.
The Yatra charges for Part Yatra (Either Hampi or Udupi) will be
Rs.2400/-. This includes registration, prasadam (Break
Fast and Lunch only),
and internal travel arrangements during the Yatra and donations to various temples in the holy
Dham.
Children under 5 years of age (
as on 1stOctober 2014) are waived of registration charges. However, they need to be
registered separately.
For those children, less than 5 years of age, registering for full yatra, a nominal charge of Rs. 400 will be charged for
travel from Hampi to Udupi, where they will get a individual seat.
Please note that they will not be eligible for a separate seat during internal bus travel etc. In case a separate seat is
required, they have to pay for the full Yatra charges.
Accommodation charges WILL be charged for children less than 5 years of age also.
Yatra charges shall not be reduced in proportion to the number of days you wish to attend the Yatra.
Dinner Prasadam
Those Devotees desiring Dinner Prasadam will have to make their own arrangement.
However following options are available:
Devotees can buy coupons and have dinner at the pandal itself.
Govinda's will have a stall at the Pandal site at extra cost.
Online registration
From 13th April to 13th May registration should be done online.
Devotees who doesn’t have user id / password to login
www.rgmdatabase.com should get the same from their
respective yatra sevaks and register as single / family / group. Payment has to be made online immediately with a
Credit / Debit card or Net Banking. Registration will be confirmed only after the payment process is complete.
Registration is
COMPULSORY for all devotees attending the Yatra including brahmacharis, children less than 5 years of
age etc.
Details of banks that allow net banking facility are available at www.rgmdatabase.com
Devotees should note that only Debit / Credit cards issued in India are acceptable for payment.
Limited accommodation is available in Hampi and Udupi. In case accommodation is exhausted, the registration will
start on Waiting List. If Yatra Committee is able to arrange for additional accommodation, waiting list will get
confirmed. Otherwise these devotees will have to try for Substitution.
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Online Accommodation booking
Please read the following very carefully, as the method of booking accommodation has changed significantly.
In brief:
Devotees will be asked to choose the room where they would like to stay and with which other devotees. Once one of
the available rooms is selected, payment has to be made online immediately for the room. For online payment credit
cards / debit cards or net banking have to be used.
In detail:
The complete detailed procedure for accommodation booking and payment methods will be updated on our
website in the first week of June 2014.
Step 1
: All devotees should update their details on the database by 12th April 2014.
Step 2
: By 22nd May 2014, the accommodation details of all rooms at Hampi and Udupi will be available on the
website.
Step 3
: On 1st June 2014 at 10:00 am IST, the accommodation allotment will start exclusively for Varishtha Vaishnavas
(VV) (FULL YATRA ONLY)
Varishtha Vaishnavas are those:
Prabhujis who are 60 years or more on 1
st October 2014 and Matajis who are 55 years or more on 1st October 2014.
Between 01 June and 03 June 2014, only Varishtha Vaishnavas will be allowed to choose accommodation.
From 3rd June onwards there will be no preference given to Varistha Vaishnavas. But they can continue to book any
available room.
On behalf of a group of devotees wanting to stay together, one devotee will use his Login ID and password (which can
be obtained at any time from the counselor) and login into the website on www.rgyatra.com or
www.rgmdatabase.com.
He can then choose a room in Hampi corresponding exactly to the number of devotees in his group.
Once the selection is made, immediately, the room charges (in full) has to be paid online using a credit / Debit card or
net banking.
In case of any inordinate delay in payment, the room will be de-reserved and the whole process will have to be
repeated with currently available rooms.
Step 5
:
From 5th June to 6th June 2014, Matajis with children (MC) (FULL YATRA ONLY) can book accommodation as above.
Varistha Vaishnavas who want to form a group with Matajis with Children can also book accommodation during this
time.
Children are those:
Boys up to the age of 12 years as on 1
st October 2014 and Girls up to the age of 15 years as on 1st October 2014.
Step 6:
From 8th June to 9th June 2014, Family with children (FC) (FULL YATRA ONLY) can book accommodation as above.
Children are those:
Boys up to the age of 12 years as on 1
st October 2014 and Girls up to the age of 15 years as on 1st October 2014.
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Higher categories (VV and MC) can continue to register and choose available rooms with Families with Children.
Step 7:
From 11th June to 12th June 2014, single Matajis (SM) (FULL YATRA ONLY) can book accommodation as above.
Step 8:
From 13th June to 14th June 2014 any devotee can apply for accommodation (FULL YATRA ONLY) and choose available
rooms.
Step 9:
From 16th June - 28th June, devotees who want to register for Partial Yatra - either Hampi or Udupi can book
their accommodation.
Devotees coming for Full Yatra can continue to book accommodation till 28th June
Late registration
Registration with late fee payment will start from 29th June and will be allowed till 25th August.
Those registering late have two options for accommodation:
Option 1
: If accommodation is available, they can from a new group and select a room.
Or
Option 2
: He / She can substitute a devotee who has registered and paid for his / her accommodation but is not able
to come for the Yatra.
In case of Option 1 – a late fee of Rs 500 extra will be charged.
In case of Option 2 – a fee of Rs 500 from the devotee who is coming and a fee of Rs 300 from the devotee who is
canceling will be charged by the Yatra committee.
In case any devotee who has paid for the registration and accommodation cannot come for the Yatra, he or she has to
find a substitute. Once paid the registration / accommodation cost will not be refunded. The onus of finding a
substitute lies with the devotee who is canceling, but Yatra committee can provide help.
All the devotees coming for the Yatra HAVE to book accommodation with the Yatra committee.
Those who are not well versed with computers can approach their Counselor/ Yatra Sevaks to register them
for the Yatra.
Also, for those devotees who are not net savvy, a counter will be available at the Sri Sri Radha Gopinath
Mandir where a volunteer will register and book accommodation on the devotees’ behalf (using the respective
devotees’ Login Id and Password).
Only cash will be accepted at this counter.
All brahmacharis should also compulsorily register through their respective centers / Counselors / Yatra
Sevaks.
Please make sure that your personal information is up-to-date in the database by 12th April 2014, in
particular, your
Photograph (mandatory for security reasons),
Mobile number if any (to receive Yatra updates),
Email address if any.
Age and sex
For updating this information please approach your counselor / Yatra Sevak.
As far as possible, group communication regarding the Yatra will be through email and SMS during the Yatra.
You are entitled for this facility on registering for the Yatra and providing correct contact information.
Registration shall be strictly non-transferable, i.e. once registered you cannot interchange it with anyone else
except with prior approval of the Yatra Committee
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Traveling
1.
Traveling arrangements from one’s place of residence to Hampi / Udupi and back have to be made by the
concerned devotees / participants on their own.
2.
Yatra committee is trying to arrange buses from Mumbai & Pune to Hampi (Hospet) and from Udupi to
Mumbai & Pune - if sufficient devotees register for this option. During the Registration process, devotees can
choose this option. The travel time by Bus from Mumbai to Hampi and Udupi to Mumbai is 14-15 hours.
Options can be selected for AC / Non AC bus. This facility will be at an extra cost. This payment will be
collected at the time of Accommodation booking and is non-refundable. Children less than 5 years of age, if
requiring separate seat will have to pay full charge.
3.
The Yatra committee will arrange internal bus travel arrangements for visiting various holy places during the
Yatra wherever required.
4.
Internal travel by private vehicles, rickshaw etc. or any separate travel arrangements during the Yatra have to
be arranged by the participants on their own risk and cost and the Yatra committee shall not be responsible
for the same.
5.
All communications regarding travel arrangements should be mailed to travel@rgyatra.com
Corrective Action
1. Norms regarding conduct of the devotees pertaining to visiting the places, security, dress code,purchasing,
regulative principles, etc. would be intimated by the Yatra committee through a separate information booklet.
2. All the participants are expected to strictly follow the instructions of the Yatra Committee and other Sub-
Committees like security, prasadam, etc.
3. Any discrepancy will be viewed seriously and the concerned devotee may be penalized monetarily or debarred
from future participation in Yatras or both.
4. Counselors of such erring devotees would also be considered responsible for any mis behavior of their
counselees violating the norms of the Yatra.
5. Observations of the vigilance committee will be taken into account for executing the disciplinary action and
decision of the Yatra committee would be irrevocable in this regard.
Force Majeure
If, in the event of a natural catastrophe or due to any unavoidable reasons, the Yatra needs to be cancelled, the Yatra
committee will refund the appropriate charges after deducting the expenses already incurred.
Correspondence/Clarifications
All correspondence / clarifications must be referred to the Yatra committee through the
counselor / Yatra Sevak.
Disclaimer
Devotees attending this Yatra are doing so entirely on their own risk. Under no circumstances shall the members of
the Yatra committee in particular or ISKCON Chowpatty in general, individually or collectively, be liable for any loss or
damage in any way due to any cause beyond your / our control.
Thanking you,
Your servants,
Sanatkumar das, Shyamananda das & Sitanath das
(Yatra Co-coordinators)