#Kashmir, where heaven meets earth
I was introduced to Kashmir through my books when I
was a child. Since then, it was my dream to visit the paradise on earth.
Whenever I saw anything on television related to Kashmir there was only one question
in mind, ‘will I ever be able to visit the beautiful place’? But as it is said
when you wish something from your heart, it happens in real.
When my husband asked if I want to go to Kashmir, I
was in awe and asked, ‘really?’ We booked our tickets and suddenly some
untoward incident happened and a bandh was declared in Kashmir. And it
continued for two days. And again we were in a dilemma whether to go or not. On
the third day, when life started getting back to normal at the valley we
decided to take risk and listen to our hearts and just go no matter what comes
our way.
Finally the day arrived and we were waiting at the
Delhi airport waiting for our flight announcement to Srinagar. I still couldn’t
believe that I was actually going and WhatsApped one of my friends who had visited
Kashmir a few years back. She replied, ‘Just go and enjoy, it’s heaven!’ Our
hotel driver Maqbool called, ‘I will pick you from the airport’. It was just
one hour and a few minutes flight from Delhi. We could make out the difference
that we are going to have an amazing experience. Suddenly the atmosphere
changed and we could see clouds and white mountains, which we are not used to
at all in and around Delhi. But it reminded me of the north-east, especially Meghalaya
(abode of clouds). And the passengers at the window seats felt lucky that they
could have the first glance of heaven.
The moment we landed, Maqbool called again ‘Have you
landed, I am here for you’. It sounded like a relief amidst tight security of
the airport. Soon we were on our way to the hotel and I could see women fully
dressed with their heads covered and security presence every half a km or even
less. We reached the hotel just opposite the famous Dal Lake and chose a room
facing it. We rested for some time and Maqbool was already waiting for us at
the lobby for local sight-seeing. At one place, we also had to get down from
our car and walk past the security post and it was considered a regular check. Though we arrived at our dream destination,
there was a strange feeling inside whether we took the right decision but the
moment we arrived at the first tourist spot, all our fears vanished. There were
a lot of smiling tourists with kids and life seemed to be normal again and we
were smiling from ear to ear. We visited Pari Mahal, Chasme Shahi, Mughal
Garden, Botanical Garden and a few more gardens. When we reached Hazratbal
Dargah Sharif, it was namaz time and we were little hesitant whether to visit
or not. But Maqbool encouraged us ‘jao jao… koi baat nahi’ (please go, it’s
okay) and we followed suit. We felt they are very normal people like us, very
simple and peace-loving. Though women were traditionally dressed with heads
always covered, there was a sense of independence as we saw a lot of women
driving and roaming about on the roads on their own and it felt good.
For lunch, we had Kashmiri rogan josh and it was just lip-smacking.
We also did a little shopping at a wholesale shop. When we reached the hotel,
our shikara wala was waiting for us. After some time, we were on the Dal Lake
for a shikara ride. The first thing the boatman told us was, “Look at my face,
could you recognise me. I am the same person riding the shikara behind Vinod
Khanna and Simi Garewal during the shooting of the song Wada karle sajna tere bina
main na rahu…in the movie Hath ki safai. At that time I was young.” We smiled
and after coming back to Delhi, we checked the video on Youtube.
We felt the Dal Lake was a moving economy with lot of
people earning their livelihood – by selling handicrafts, shawls, dry fruits, clicking
photographs, running mini eating joints, water sports and what not. There was
also a meena bazar where shops of all kinds were available. We had delicious
chicken tikka with walnut chutney from a boat shop and thought the ride should
never end. There were a lot of house boats parked on the lake side with amazing
names like Mission Kashmir, Mobile House, Golu Palace, Sunflower, Fairy Queen,
et al. But we somehow felt life would be restricted staying in a houseboat so
we opted out.
We were curious to know what wood they used for the
house boats and shops that they last for so long in water and prompt came the
reply from our shikara man. This is deodar wood, ‘yeh pani mai kharab nahi
hota’ (It’s deodar wood it remains intact in water). But we felt a little
worried that the lake is so precious for the local people and for tourism to
flourish but it is getting dirty and cleanliness is the need of the hour.
As dusk set in, we sat by the side of the lake on
raised platforms and observed the lively city. It was the holy month of Ramzan
and people were breaking fasts and having ice-creams. Sound of holy songs from
the mosques echoed all around. Our day one was a pleasant one, much more than we
expected.
According to Maqbool’s instructions, we got ready by 7
am the next day and we were off to Sonmarg, our first point outside Srinagar.
As we moved upwards we could see the beautiful landscape on the sides of the
river Sind, green hills and then we could see the white mountains in the
background. Seeing the beautiful river, I could not resist myself and got down
for a few clicks. I so wanted to touch the white and bluish water and soak my
foot on it but it was not a slow moving river but Maqbool promised that I would
get the opportunity to do that the next day. We reached Sonmarg and could see a
few tourists enjoying horse riding on the green valley. But the moment we heard
about Zero Point, snow and reaching halfway to Kargil, we just couldn’t say no.
After a little bargaining with the local taxiwala, we were off to experience
snow. As we advanced higher we crossed the high Zojila Pass and the road
getting treacherous. At some points, only one vehicle could pass. It was
dangerous and later after reaching Delhi, we got to know that it is one of the
dangerous roads in the world and felt a sense of pride that we overcame it.
Our guide showed us the Amarnath yatra base camp at
Baltal and huts erected for pilgrims (as the yatra would start in a month). We
also saw the point till where Pakistan had made intrusions before they were
shooed away by our Army during the Kargil war in the late 90s. Some Pakistani
bunkers were still lying vacant, the ones not yet destroyed by snow. The
respect for our Indian Army was always there but for the first time witnessed
what a tough job they are doing. Salute to the Indian Army!
Some stretches were so dangerous that our driver
double-checked before moving ahead as landslides are very common there. Huge snow
patches were melting and it was a very dangerous point. We were told almost
everyday accidents happen in this area and it was scary indeed, our heart was
almost in our mouth. Snow clearing operations were still going on with huge
machines. But nothing could stop the mad traveling instinct in us.
Finally we reached the Zero Point and our eyes just
couldn’t believe the amount of snow we saw all around. Everything was crystal
white and it was difficult for us to see without our glares as the sun was
strong and it was reflecting against the white mountains. We geared up with our
hired fur jackets and boots looking like aliens as if we landed in a different
planet straight from boiling Delhi. We could see the tip of the white clad
mountain so near below the dark blue sky. Sledge pullers started to lure us and
finally we agreed. But when we saw they had to pull us up, we got down. We felt
bad as we saw humans pulling humans for their livelihood. Life is very
difficult in the mountains. We walked up and had the sledge experience while
coming down the slope and it was fun. We were instructed again and again to be
careful with our valuables as if anything falls in the snow it’s impossible to
track them. We had Maggie and Kashmiri kahwa (tea) and it was amazing. We just
couldn’t stop taking clicks as it was a once-in-a-life time experience. My
husband smiled, saying it will be tough to select pictures to post on social
media as everything was so beautiful there. One could close the eyes and just
click click click and not a single shot would be missed!
Though we didn’t want to come back, we remembered the
rough path back and had to return before sunset. After reaching Sonmarg, our
guide showed us a few local points but after the experience at Zero Point,
nothing seemed impressive.
We reached the hotel, rested and went out for our
evening stroll by the side of the Dal. As mobile internet was banned, there was
nothing to check on mobile and for a change we liked it—a technology-free life
after a long, long time.
On day three, we headed towards Pahalgam and on the
way Maqbool showed us saffron fields and walnut trees. We also stopped at a
shop and bought saffron, walnut, black berries, cranberries. The shop owners
have their own plantations of saffron, walnut, apples, fennel seeds and showed us some trees at the
backyard. The simplicity of the people was very contagious and felt like our own
people. They told us how the soil of Kashmir is so rich that everything grows
very easily and so they consider Kashmir as the heart of India. The next
stopover was a restaurant with an apple orchard in the background. We had our
breakfast sitting under apple trees. The apples were still tender and a few
were lying on the ground and my son excitedly started playing with them. But
plucking apple from trees was strictly prohibited. Maqbool showing off his
contacts told us ‘just call me if you need apples’. We also saw rows and rows
of factories with huge stacks of little wooden planks that would become cricket
bats, which an aspiring Sachin or Kohli would play.
Finally after a few hours, we reached Pahalgam and
after some bargaining we were on our horses with guides along. The names of the
horses were very interesting like Raja Hindustani, Badal, Dil Khush, Mastani,
Lalu. Some parts of the roads were smooth, some rocky, some stiff and after a
few instructions, we felt we were veteran horse riders as we had no option but
to trust our horses. We saw Kashmir valley, mini Switzerland, waterfall point and
saw locals waiting with sheep, rabbit, to click pictures with tourists to get
bakshish (tip). Shawl sellers were after us at every point, and everywhere we
felt how tough it was for villagers to earn their livelihood. Everywhere at the
end, the guides would ask us “Khush?” (Happy) And we would smile. While
returning we had our lunch sitting at a restaurant beside the river Lidder and
the view was just breath-taking. We realised the highway restaurants were quite
cheap unlike near Delhi.
On day four, my son was very excited as he heard that
he will be able to have a ropeway ride to the mountains at Gulmarg, his first
experience. Gulmarg is a place where tourists can experience everything if they
have short time in hand. Horse riding, sledge ride, snow bike ride, skiing
experience, et all. Two phases are available through ropeway. And from Phase II,
one can have a skiing experience in the snow and have a glance of the LOC
border. We opted for phase I as there was much more variety there. Our guide
told us there was much less snow in Gulmarg compared to Zero Point near Kargil.
And after the amount of snow experience we had at Zero Point, we thought to
give it a miss as there was both snow and waterfall at phase I. We felt a little
restless and short of breath as we reached high altitude all of a sudden on the
ropeway but were okay once outside. After the horse-riding experience at
Pahalgam, we were quite at ease on horseback. Here we enjoyed the high-speed snow
bike ride the most with a guide of course. Though we were tempted to ride on
our own, it was risky in the snow stiff slopes so we played safe. We also saw
Kashmir valley, seven-point spring and Khilanmarg at phase I. While returning,
Maqbool took us to a restaurant where we tasted Kashmiri wazwan chicken and it
was luscious. The India-Pakistan cricket match was going on and most of the
people there came to enjoy the match rather than having food as it was Ramzan
month. In the evening when we returned, we felt we were all sun burnt as we
were under the sun for three to four hours but the experience was worth it.
Later, we took an auto and went to wholesale market.
We were so impressed by the sincerity of the auto driver, very unlike what we
experience in Delhi. When we asked about the fare, he said Rs 20 and both ways
it’s Rs 40 and if we give him Rs 50, he would wait for us while we shop. My
husband asked if it’s per person. He said no he was saying the total fare and
he doesn’t want to charge the kid. Then suddenly he stopped and started
drinking water and said it’s iftar time. Realising that he was on fast, we
asked him to have something but he said it’s okay and that he would have
something while he waits for us at the market. The market was empty and we were
little hesitant. Suddenly we saw people serving sherbet to everyone as it was
iftar time and they offered us also. We felt so good in an unknown place in a
lonely street. In fact, I felt safer than Delhi and thought it was worth
mentioning in my article, especially our soft-spoken auto driver. We went to
the shop he showed us and did shopping without any hassle and the rates were
quite reasonable. Our auto-driver was waiting for us and got to know that they
have a business in Delhi also and in the tourist season, he drives auto in
Srinagar. He left us outside our hotel and bid adieu though I felt like
chatting with him more and know more about his people and his place.
That evening we sat by the side of the Dal lake a little
longer as it was our last evening in Srinagar and wanted time to stop there. We
also spent time in our hotel garden and walked on the cool green grass. Finally
the last day came and we thought of relaxing at the hotel just watching the Dal
lake through our huge glass window as we were tired of travelling constantly
for four days. Maqbool told us not to have lunch at the hotel and that he would
take us to an amazing restaurant and he kept his promise like the last four
days on the last day also. After reaching the airport, we realised the security
check was very tight and the airport was looking like a fort. We and our
luggage were checked several times and finally we were also asked to recheck our
check-in luggage but the process was smooth and fast. While we were in Kashmir,
something or the other was going on in the borders, especially in south Kashmir
but we didn’t feel anything and our trip went smoothly. What we understood is if
one wants to go to Kashmir, one just needs to go without checking the news, the
state has the most amazing people. And if we get a chance, we will visit the
state again and this time in winter to witness snowfall.
We reached Delhi in the night amid loo, pollution and
traffic jams and were gearing ourselves for work the next day. But then we
consoled ourselves that this is our regular life and we can go for our next
holiday only when we work hard for the next few months. But Kashmir and
Kashmiris had made a permanent place in our hearts and we would love if we get
an opportunity to visit the paradise on earth again.
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