Srinagar, July 13 -- A local Anantnag ponywala named Abdul helped Ravi navigate the steep trails, carried his bag, offered him tea in the rain, and supported him when altitude sickness set in. Ravi had come searching for Lord Shiva but found something just as divine: boundless humanity. The Amarnath Yatra, one of India's most revered pilgrimages, draws lakhs of devotees every year. The trek to the cave shrine is physically gruelling, winding through rugged terrain and unpredictable weather at high altitudes. But behind every successful journey lies the silent, often unseen support of the local Kashmiri people, many of them Muslim, living in villages like Pahalgam, Baltal, and Chandanwari.

These locals are not just bystanders. They are th...