A winter in Kashmir

I had started writing this travelogue a few days before 370 was scrapped,maybe it was destiny ! I have not altered anything in the light of the recent developments,because the perspective would have changed.

The problem of writing something which has occurred in the past is that you tend to forget the details,only the beautiful memories or the quirky ones are stored in the hard drive of the brain. So,before these memories are wiped out and replaced by new ones,I thought why not jot down a little bit about the first vacation that I had  planned in my life,a trip to Kashmir with my wife,just after marriage.

The worst of times had just passed! Militancy was at it's lowest, tourists and pilgrims were thronging Kashmir in hordes. If you have ever been to Kashmir, you should know that Kashmir becomes a dulhan in the autumn. But unfortunately our marriage was fixed in the cold winters of January,and so we decided to visit this place in February. In those days, marriage was a simple family thing( no such pre wedding or post wedding photoshoots,no sangeets,no 5day fat Indian Punjabi weddings !).

After  completing all the necessary rasams(rituals of post marriage ceremonies), our families left the two of us to our fate on a 3tier AC cabin of Rajdhani express. Don't sneer hearing the name of the train- Rajdhani was the epitome of luxury in those days. Drawing the side curtains (they still had them, before some foolish babu thought of removing the curtains on grounds of fire safety), we chatted continuously ,only to be interrupted by the occasional food and drinks catered by the train staff. Internet was pricely, there was something called mobile roaming, Facebook was in its nascent stage, and no whatsapp or Instagram or PUGB for company......it was indeed the best of times!
A hearty meal,a sound snoring sleep and we were in time in Delhi! The next leg of the journey was to catch the evening train to Jammu( again a Rajdhani). After freshening up in the waiting room of the station( a hotel would have been better, but it was a costly thing for a newly wed doctor on a measely stipend of 18k), and depositing our luggage at the station,we two newbees hummed out to experience Delli. And what better place to kill time than the Red Fort.
After an afternoon siesta at the gardens of Diwani Aam( thanks to Sahajahan for his foresight thinking about two love birds,and creating such a wonderful garden for us to rest) we walked back to the station, caught our train and promptly went to sleep.

The next morning was a cold misty morning. The station of Jammu welcomed us with a bone rattling chill(it was 5am,the lazy sun having just woken up from it's nightly slumber)! Gulping down a cup of garam chai, we boarded a local bus to go to Katra. There were many things planned out for the day: book a hotel, rush to the helipad for a Pawan Hans helicopter ride to VaishnoDevi , make the darsan and come back on foot by night the same day----phewww! (It's seems crazy now!) Alighting from the bus at Katra,we we're surrounded by a motely crowd of hotel hagglers, and I decided to go with the most decently dressed guy! But by Jove, it was a great mistake, as he led us uphill through cobbeled roads,dirty drains with stinky buzzing flies,narrow bylanes to a dingy  shadey hotel(like the ones you see in Jab We Met movie!). We were tired,hungry and smelled awful ( the last bath we had was day before yesterday in our home, remember!) So,we took what we got, ordered for "running" hot water ( hope u get the joke if u have seen the movie Kahani) and got ready. Calling an auto we rushed for our Pawan Hans helicopter ride, which fortunately was a bit on delay due to bad weather. Like two kids on their first merry go round,we squeked in joy as the heli took off over the hills of Katra. The darsan of Mataji was quick ( by IST times- Indian standard temple times),but by that time our barefoots were numb cold,and a hot plate of Rajma chawal was what the doctor ordered. An uneventful descent,and an eventful auto ride back to the Katra Chowk, we ordered 'Puri Chane ka dal ' in the only Punjabi Dhaba we could find. Devouring on the tasty chane ka Dal, we we're discussing how to go to Dal lake the next day. Our conversation was disrupted by the eavesdropping Punjabi Manager," Aap kaise jayenge,Jawhar tunnel to baand he!" Between his excellent Punjabi,and my poor Hindi what transpired was that due to excessive snowfall for last 2days,the Jawhar tunnel has been closed for vehicular movement. Out of compassion,he guided us to his "dost", a travel agent , who grimly reteriated what we already knew. So, two 24yr kids alone in a distant land completely clueless what to do next! The travel agent came to our rescue. " You can travel till Patnitop,and wait till next day for the road block to clear. Be ready by 10 tomorrow, we will start early. Jai Mata di!"

Next morning,we two love birds soaking up the morning sun in the chilly February waited and waited and waited....but there's no sign of the car. At last at 11,the car arrived and we hopped in for a drive. By the time we reached Patnitop (and saw the first signs of snow being scattered over the fir trees,like a big green ice cream with white cream toppings), good tidings has reached us .The Jawhar tunnel has been opened for one way vehicular traffic. So our rejuvenated driver Bhaiya decided that we should skip lunch and drive on to Pahalgam. Not that we minded,as we we're busy seeing the scenery changing rapidly. Have you ever watched the movie Rockstar, where Jordan (the Rockstar) takes Nargis Fakri on a bike ride in the morning in Kashmir. The only difference was that this was evening and we were in a Maruti 800, and not on a bike. The mountains were painted white with snow,with isolated patches of greenary and and spots of red,blue,purple Kashmiri Hamlet's( the houses are really beautiful),all soaking up the afternoon sun. The scenery looked even more picturesque in the silvery light of the full moon. From the warmth of the car cabin,it was a sight to behold, a night in which they say the faries come down to earth to play,where the rustling winds sings songs of solitude to the white mountains about the bright green summer days that seem so far back in time,like an old forgotten dream. Kashmir valley in the moonlight.


 I was thrown back to reality,but the sudden screeching of breaks,"Saab, Pahalgaon aa Gaye, konsa hotel Jana Hein"! The radium of my watch glowed at 10. I had the audacity or folly,whatever you may call, of not booking a hotel beforehand for my honeymoon! But this time,I had done my research (courtesy TripAdvisor) and we went straight to Hotel Mountview. Now remember,the inside of the car was warm by the car heater,and I was showing some bravedo to my newly wed wife by wearing only the T shirt, playing a deaf ear to all her requests. There must be some Goddess of newly wed brides, for no sooner I had come out of the car,I was bitten by the cold wind( about which I was romantising so much a few minutes before),and literally begged the hotel reception to let me in. This was the best hotel I have stayed, the room has some large glass windows overlooking the gorgeous Liddle river and the mountains in the background. We initially planned for a day,but we fell in love with the place. The small Liddle river (a rivulet) cutting thourgh the white snow,the simple yet courteous people and the green mountains with patches of snow,it was mesmerizing,postcard type. We had a pony ride(we called them the "kissing ponies",see the pic to understand) to the usual places,with our guide chirping in funny antecodes .)

The kissing ponies

My Lady was fooled into buying an "original" Peshmina scrol that apparently passed through a finger ring( the seller told us that it was the sign of authencity, altough i had my doubts! But you don't argue with your newly wed wife over a Peshmina,that too in your Honeymoon!)


Pahalgam-the perfect postcard pic
A VIEW from our hotel room
sunset at the Liddle river

Our next destination- Srinagar. But again the driver was late( this time the water of the radiator had frozen!) With a teary eye we bid adiue to Pahalgam.

It would be untruth to say that Kashmir was a rosey place( security wise) at that time, we did encounter increased presence of Army as we approached Srinagar,but no hindrance from locals(only a small road block by few angry villagers whose water supply was not regular in this winter!) We had a few stops,one at a hindu shrine( do not remember the name,see my memory is already betraying me) and another at Martanda Sun temple( I had to search Wikipedia to find the name), which I remember because of the self proclaimed Punjabi guide who took some beautiful photos of us posing as Sanjeev Kapoor and Suchitra Sen( the song ,"Tere bina jindagi se koi sikwa nehi" of the film Aandhi was shot here)

We missed the Tulips and the famed Chinar trees( they were leafless, standing against the blue sky as the old rishis of Vedas performing penance far too long). Jhelum welcomed us to Srinagar. My wife was a bit excited to see the her namesake and lo by afternoon we were standing in front of the Dal lake eagerly waiting for our first Sikara ride. The Dal lake, a town in itself with it's houseboats,it's market,it's touristy traps(of Kawai chai, and woolen grament shops and flower shops), snowcapped mountains reflecting against the placid blue waters,with birds chirping surpassed by calls of beautiful kashmiri girls from the neighbourly sikaras to buy their products.
Hundreds of poets,foresaken lovers, lonely tourists have romanticised about Dal lake in poetry and prose,yet every time I think of that evening it seems that I have seen something which no poet have described before, whose essence cannot be captured by any photographer,whose beauty will die with my death.



The reflection of life

The next day was a day tour to Gulmarg,the skiing Paradise of India( the place where foreigners go for a ski and Indians for Gondola ride).I did both, a Gondola ride to the top( u can see the entire Himalayan range from top) and learnt helplessly to ski ,in the midst of laughter from my better half( don't know why everybody calls them that!) and falls on the snow(and boy,it was really a painful thing). We returned by 3pm, and feasted on a truly Kashmiri Wazwan and decided to go for a stroll along the Dal lake. With still an hour or two left before darkness engulfs the streets of Srinagar, we decided to walk back home. Both our hotel owner and cab driver had warned us,"go anywhere but Lal Chowk, they( the terrorists) don't hurt tourists ( wish they still have followed this code of conduct!)". So avoiding Lal Chack, we walked back following the Jhelum.....it must have been the longest walk of my life.
Gulmarg or Switzerland
Trying really hard

The last day was a local siteseeing day. Our first stop was the Sankaracharya temple at top of a hilltop,from where you get some wonderful views of Jheelam,and the Dal Lake. Next was a trip to the famous Shalimar Bag(minus the flowers) where we had the customary photo op dressed as Kashmiri couple, and then to another Mughal Garden, a name that I don't remember now. The day was a bit of a disappointment,so we called it a day to do some shopping and lift 'her' spirits. This was our last day in Kashmir and I really prayed for a little snowfall. That night it snowed. There are no poems in Bengali that describes snowfall..... but it was a sight to behold. Sometimes it was like a drizzle,and at the next moment a showering of white dusts from the sky. That night the two of us chatted by the window side all night.

The dull cold  Srinagar turned cheerful the next morning,with little boys playing with snow in the outside, the cobbeled black alleys painted fresh with white flakes of snow. With a heavy heart and sleepy eyes,we bid adiue to Dal Lake. After a tough security check ,we flied out to Delhi,only to be denied boarding in the connecting flight to Kolkata as my wife's name was wrongly spelt in voter ID card!(see,I still remember the quirky part ........).Another quirky thing,I had to forefeit a half bottle of Vodka at the security check at Srinagar,the reason I didn't understand (but you don't argue with army and your wife!).

PostScript: Hope things normalise quickly,for I have a wish to go there back again in the autumns!