Traveling is always a fun experience. It gives one a chance to get out of one’s predictable and recurring routine and step out into the unknown in a fabulous way. No wonder, scores of people therefore throng the airports, railway stations, and bus stands as soon as they have some holidays to travel. Ashwini & I joined that cohort of travel enthusiasts and flew to Kashmir. Kashmir was in my imagination from two sources: First, Salman Rushdie’s “Midnight’s Children” starts with a scene on Dal Lake in Srinagar. I had read that book and thus was introduced to the historical depths of Dal Lake. Second, some years ago I had seen a picture of a resort in Kashmir where the Moon in its full glory was beaming down on the plush resort. I was hooked.
There was another undercurrent that was running through my mind all the while: Is it safe to visit Kashmir? Well, Ashwini left me no choice in the matter and I am glad to report that we safely made it to Kashmir and safely back. Following is the story of what we found during our stay and travels across the breadth and width of Kashmir in the eight days we were there.
Dal Lake, Srinagar
As the airplane approaches Srinagar, majestic sights greet your eyes. The green, mountainous landscape you behold is nothing like any other you might have seen elsewhere in India. The wooden houses with the slanting roofs are unique too. When we came out of the airport and found a taxi to head to our hotel room is perhaps the only time I asked myself if Kashmir is peaceful. The reasons were, one, the Srinagar airport is not the most modern airport in the world. Two, predictably the Srinagar airport is a well guarded installation in Kashmir. Therefore, you see a lot of military vehicles dotting the road leading into and out of the airport. It imbues one with a sense that only an uneasy calm could be prevailing in the Kashmir valley. It is hard to know for sure if the peace we witness is a product of the heavy security presence or is innate. Regardless, I was glad through our trip, the valley was not only peaceful but teeming with tourists.
Our hotel was bang opposite Dal lake. Dal lake is where Srinagar’s and by extension, Kashmir’s soul lies. It is beautiful. It is large. Shikaras (i.e., boats decked with decorations) in large numbers float and ferry passengers on the lake. Apart from passenger Shikaras, you find Shikaras selling coffee, vegetables, flowers, sarees, and more. There are photographer Shikaras too — photographers let you climb onto their Shikaras, dress you in traditional Kashmiri garb, take your pictures, and drop you to your destination. Dal lake is a township in itself. For tourists and localities alike, Dal lake and Shikaras are the essence of Srinagar.
Srinagar is a city of gardens. We visited the famous Shalimar bagh, Nishat bagh and others. We were fortunate to visit the Tulip gardens — Tulips flower only for a brief period at the beginning of Spring. Tulips of all hues present a breathtaking sight.
Gulmarg
Gulmarg and Gondolas are synonymous. Gondolas are cable cars that take you to the majestic heights of the Himalayas. We made our voyage on Gondolas on our visit to Gulmarg. The cable car took us to snow filled Affarwat peak. It is located at 14,403 feet above mean sea level. To make the height real for you, you can think of it as nearly half the height an airplane climbs during its flight. The Sun was beaming down in full glory on Affarwat peak and Gulmarg valley that day. It was cold and yet it was warm. The Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan is visible in plain sight from the top and is very close to that place. Expert skiers sell skiing experience: you stand on the ski behind them, hold them tight, they do the hard work of propelling the ski through the snow. We did that and circled around Affarwat peak. It was mighty fun.
One of the best parts about our trip was the ubiquitous good food. The small restaurants no matter where — in Srinagar, Pahalgam, Gulmarg sell Maggi, Parathas and other delicacies. Most folks in Kashmir were observing Roza — fasting from dawn to dusk because it was the month of Ramzan. Yet, without qualms, without any apparent irritation or frowning, the restaurateurs courteously served what we asked for. We were astounded to find that the local folk were serving yummy Maggi at the top of the mountain too in Gulmarg.
Pahalgam
After our first stint in Srinagar (we would come back there), we drove to Pahalgam. It is a two and a half hours drive from Srinagar. We had booked a hotel beside Lidder river in Pahalgam. The sight was beautiful. Water from melting snow, pure as snow, was flowing down in a hurry. We were staying in a river facing room with large windows. The place was tranquil. There were hardly any people. You get a sense that you have retired into the Himalayas. We walked up and down the stretch of the town of Pahalgam. It’s rather a village. The town featured amazing cafes, eateries and a Shiva temple too. We attended the evening prayer at the temple. The priest was in full flow. I felt more religious there than in most places.
Around Pahalgam, there are numerous scenic valleys. In fact, anywhere in Kashmir you look, you find a pretty sight of Chinar trees, willows, snow capped mountains, rivers, and valleys. There was no greater glory to the valleys that have been designated as tourist attractions. Because each valley is as good as the other, somebody had to randomly pick some valleys to show to the visitors. So it was. We made our pilgrimage to Aru valley, Betab valley, Baisaran valley, and many more valleys. Baisaran valley in particular blew our minds away. It is not for nothing that it is termed Mini Switzerland. We happily rode on horses to reach Baisaran valley. Riding on the back of a horse adds an added allure to the whole enterprise. You feel like a native who is setting out on an expedition to discover pristine lands.
Houseboat, Srinagar
A trip to Kashmir isn’t complete without staying in the famed houseboats on Dal Lake. On our return to Srinagar from Pahalgam, we stayed in a houseboat. All houseboats are given fancy names — Royal houseboats, New Lucky Star (ours), Peacock houseboats, New Jacquline Heritage houseboats and such. Our houseboat (it is the same on all houseboats) had a place to dock the Shikara (i.e., a boat), steps leading to a spacious front porch. Then when you enter the houseboat, a large living room with TV, books, and antique Kashmiri furniture greets you. The next room is a dining room with an 8 seater royal dining table. The following section of the houseboat has three bedrooms for three sets of guests. The room is decked with Kashmiri decorations, sturdy wooden beds, and has a clean, tidy bathroom to delight your senses. The distinctive Kashmiri designs on all clothing — bedsheets, sofa covers, curtains, resplendent colors of them remind you constantly that you are in a special place. The houseboat had an efficient, courteous caretaker. Farooq was his name. He made our stay of three days in the houseboat comfortable and made us feel at home.
We marvel at the tranquility and beauty of Dal lake when we behold it. The Shikaras that dot it during day time, and the shimmering houseboats that appear like jewels of the lake at night make the lake inexhaustibly interesting. How wonderful it is to have a chance to stay on the lake for days on end to sate your longing for the lake.
Sonamarg, Lal Chowk, Shopping, Shankaracharya temple
We made a day trip to Sonamarg. Sonamarg is known for Thajiwas glacier. After sating our hunger with samosas at the base of the mountains, we rode on horses to the glacier. Donning the rubber boots and climbing some way up on the snowy mountain was a lot of fun. Because we were in the Kashmir valley for close to a week already, we have to admit that the newness of the beautiful Kashmir was wearing off. We had had our fill. We had come to appreciate how amazing mountains and valleys of Kashmir are. And, we had started getting used to Kashmir. It was no longer the strange place that made us fall off our chairs because of its astounding landscape. None of that made the place any less interesting, rather we were comfortably enjoying the environs.
We went to Lal Chowk, the political epicenter of Srinagar. It is a traffic junction. There is a red clock tower in the middle of Lal Chowk. I had often seen Lal Chowk mentioned in the newspapers and television news. It was wonderful to roam the streets around Lal Chowk and be a part of the daily lives of Kashmiris albeit for a day or two.
There is a Shankaracharya temple perched on top of a mountain close to Dal Lake. It is a stupendous tourist attraction. The taxi drivers were telling us that tourists usually start their tour of Kashmir with a visit to the temple. We didn’t start our tour from the temple, but we ended the tour with a visit to the temple. It is a Shiva temple. It is believed that Shankaracharya, the giant Hindu philosopher, had visited the temple. Ever since his visit to the place, the temple has been known after him. I found it amusing that sometimes the autorickshaw drivers refer to it as “Shankacharya” temple. I realized Shankaracharya could be a long name after all for those that are not used to hearing it often.
The shawl, saree shops are ubiquitous all over Kashmir. Merchants sell them on the roadside, in Shikaras, and many a time, carrying them on their backs. We bought large numbers of shawls, dress materials, and sarees as gifts for our family members. Kashmir is also known for kesar (saffron, the spice), and dry fruits. When one travels to Pahalgam from Srinagar, one encounters kesar farms. We got down from our cab, roamed the lengths of the farms, clicked photos, and thanked our lucky stars for the wonderful trip. Kahwa tea is a specialty of Kashmir. Kashmiris serve Kahwa tea mixed with pieces of almonds. The drink has a fantastic taste and I had become a Kahwa convert. We bought Kahwa tea too to carry with us back to Bengaluru.
After eight days of stay in Kashmir, our trip was coming to an end. I was quite looking forward to returning home. Ashwini was feeling a bit despondent that the trip was nearing its end. On the day of return, which was a Sunday, we got ready early by 7 o’clock in the morning. Farooq, our caretaker in the houseboat had gotten tasty bread toast breakfast ready. We ate it heartily. Farooq dropped us to the shore in a shikara owned by the houseboat we were staying in. As he bid goodbye, I felt there was no better representative of Kashmir than him. He must be a 60 year old man. He reminded me of the man on Dal Lake, Salam Rushdie’s “Midnight’s Children” novel starts with. Kashmir was hospitable to us. It rolled a courteous welcome to us and we had enjoyed our time. Aslam, an autorickshaw driver who we had befriended previously, came at 7.30 to pick us up for a ride to the airport. As we were making our journey back to the airport, it felt like it was ages ago that we had come to Srinagar. The city was a familiar place now. We could easily rattle off the familiar landmarks of Srinagar: Dal Lake, Nishat bagh, Lal Chowk, Mughal restaurant, and a sports stadium.
I came to appreciate that the people of Srinagar and Kashmir are not unlike us. They are people too. There are big towns and small towns in Kashmir. I imagined people of Pahalgam, which is a village, might be longing to live in a big city like Srinagar. There is poverty and there is prosperity. There are good people willing to help you — when I had to buy a phone SIM (because prepaid SIMs from elsewhere in India do not work in Kashmir), a shopkeeper gave me accurate directions to the shop that sold them. There are eager hawkers too wanting to make a quick buck on the backs of tourists.
Largely, I felt Kashmir is peaceful (thank goodness for that) and is tightly integrated with the rest of India. You find the familiar phone networks — Vodafone Idea, Jio, and Airtel. Kashmiris cook their meals using HP Gas. They drive the same cars — Maruti, Kia, Hyundai, that you and I drive. There are coaching centers in Kashmir preparing their youth for NEET (an all-India medical entrance examination). Advertisements of Ambuja cement adorn the walls of village houses. You find the same Lux soap in Kashmir. I have already talked about the universal Maggi. What’s different about Kashmir though is its natural beauty. A horse driver summed it best: “Khuda ne aise anoukhi najara banaya hai” (God has endowed Kashmir with breathtaking beauty.) True that.
