"Agar firdaus baroye zamin ast,
Hami ast o-hami ast o-hami ast..."
"If there is heaven on earth,it is here, it is here, it is here..."
So said Amir Khusro, or some mention it was Jahangir. And it is not just them who were smitten by the breathtakingly serene and beautiful Himalayan state; I too was, am....
Everything comes to a stand still when you feel the cool breeze against your face as you wade through the maze of light green water hyacinths on the Dal Lake inside the tiny little bright coloured shikara. The spectacular view of the mighty mountains, few of which are snow clad; the thousands of Kashmiri willow trees that frame the waters of the lake; few dozens of common terns, kingfishers, pigeons that fly by or watch you from a safe distance; a few playful ducks swimming over a corner near a houseboat, the magic of the setting rays of the sun that dance over the water to create a picture that's forever etched in your heart.
If there is something that snaps you out of this trance, it is the hurry of the hawkers from the local bazar (most of which are shikaras as well) trying to catch the attention of hundreds of tourists like me for that last big sale of the day.
It is nearly an year since I went on a 10 day Kashmir - Leh -Laddakh dream trip. But this is a mystical story that I can narrate a thousand times over. Each day is still so fresh. Each frame gushing out of my mind like those crystal clear waters of Jhelam, full of energy as it jumps over those mountain rocks downstream.
Ever since we saw pictures and travelogue from a friend, Kashmir was on our travel bucket list. We carried it around for 2 or 3 years before finally planning and booking one. We booked the same tour operator, followed almost the same itenary and place of stays as them.
Little did we know when we booked how adrenaline kicking this trip would turn out to be. A few days before the trip commenced we got to know that there would be curfew imposed on the day we land @ Srinagar. Both Raj and I grew anxious over the safety quotient. After all we were travelling with 2 small kids on our own to a place which is mostly reported by media about curfews , riots, stone pelting, military attacks , terrorists etc etc etc. My comfort and assurance came from good friends and very own kashmiri couple Shabnum and Zahid (my colleague). A lot of guidance on what to look out for, where to go, where not go, where to get medicines for the mountain weather and finally to trust and go by what the locals tell you etc. etc. etc.
It was also comforting when I heard my brother in law Ashwin mention he knew some 20 other people among his friends circle going to Leh (ofcourse I omitted the part that they might be travelling from Manali and not Srinagar like us).
So after months of wait we took off on Jet airways on 10th of July to the Indian capital city. The flight was smooth and arrived ontime @ Delhi. Rajiv had already booked stay overnight near to the airport to ease our travel back to airport early morning the next day for our flight to Srinagar. I did wish I had time to take the young boys on a patriotic social study tour, but since it was already 10 PM and the fluttering butterflies in stomach made me decide otherwise. So we all just had a good nights sleep.
At the airport the next morning, Gautham and Siddharth were super excited and repeatedly asking curiously facts on Himalayas. "Will we get to see the snow from the flight?". I could not decide if i was more nervous about the curfew or about the flight journey at that time. I could just mumble "Probably ... yes we might".
Air India Flight was full and on time. It was the season of the holy amaranth pilgrimage and most of the flight had either local residents homebound or pilgrims from different parts of India. I made my customary calls back home to parents and parents in law and announced that we were about to board and would call them back once we reach Srinagar. I informed them that we will be dependent on wifi to call them back and that we might not be reachable. Shabnum had earlier warned me that other only local postpaid sim cards work at Kashmir.
I sat beside 2 ladies , guessing it was mother -daughter pair in their later 70's and 50's. I was seated at the aisle corner with these two ladies taking window. On the other side Gautham and Siddharth were still grumbling and fighting over the window seat. The lady's striking green eyes and wrinkled hands, rosary on her finger tips , prayer chants....we exchanged smiles. I slipped into my own prayers.
One hour into the flight, Gautham shouted " Amma look out, snowwwwww mountainsssss " followed by ""wow"" s which came from all 3 boys and me. :). I don't remember seeing clear blue sky against the wings of the plane and below was what seemed like a carpet of mountains of all colours here and there, snow clad at their tips. In between there were valleys full of pine trees and then there were something that dazzled like diamonds. Actually lots... It seemed like solar panels; and then we were almost landing when I found out that it was the window shields of houses.
Srinagar airport reminded me of TVM airport itself. Small, like you arrived inside a house. However,
as soon as we landed and got out of the plane, I knew curfew thing was serious. There were security all around. There was a little bit if delay to pick up and security check our luggage again. There was a separate counter for Amarnath Yathra pilgrims where was a lot of debriefing, group formations and checks happening.
It was interesting to note that mostly there were maruthi vans around for local taxi. Ours too was one. Our driver was waiting for us when we came out after picking up the luggage. We asked the driver if there was some place we could freshen up and set out on our planned 3 day Leh bound drive. He told us that the highway was blocked due to curfew and we could not exit to Sonvar the same day and should find accommodation to spend the night at Srinagar. This further tensed both of us up since we didn't plan to stay at Srinagar; we told the driver so. He said he would arrange at his relative's hotel. Rajiv and I again exchanged a nervous glance before we just said yes to the offer. We had no one but him to trust. So he took us to a small hotel by the side of Dal Lake. He comforted us not to be worried and that it is all normal. He assured that by early morning next day the highway would clear up and after 6 pm when curfew is up we can do some sightseeing around Srinagar. It was hardly comforting.
At the hotel we forced ourselves and kids to sleep for a few hours after a while of watching some cartoon ; the only one in some channel I don't remember. The only attender / owner of the house cum hotel served us a good meal. Just as Rajiv and I wondered if it was really a hotel a young tourist couple popped up from at the counter. Again, we settled to talk just through eyes. It conveyed all. Atleast for me!
The driver came by and mentioned that roads would be clear early the next morning and we should be ready as early as possible to avoid the Amarnath pilgrim vehicle rush on the highway. He arranged a small shikara ride in the evening starting from our ""hotel" which was somewhere in one channels of the lake.
Eventhough I mentioned earlier that it was one the most joyous part of the Srinagar stay I have to mention that it is occasionally so filled with stench from garbage, plastic and other wastes dumped over the water , esp. on the channels before you enter the main lake area.
But once you get into the main lake, you forget about it. The instrinsic carpentry on some of the wooden houseboats are simply marvellous. One thing that sets apart the houseboats of Kashmir from their sisters in Kerala backwaters is that they don't move. They are just parked by the lake side and offer stay or fine dine. Few of them mentioned the movies that were shot there. On the other side of the lake you can easily Pari mahal, shankaracharya temple over a mountain.
Siddharth was at ease pretending to pick "sea weeds from ocean" where was Gautham was freaking out since we stepped into the shikkara. He refused to let me even move my fingers saying the balance of the "boat" will be lost. He calmed down after a while though soaking in the sight of duck, ducklings playing in the water. I was more than glad when we stopped at a shikkara chai vendor. I tasted my first Kahwa tea and it instantly grew fond of it. The aroma of the rose, cinnamon and the flavour and crunch of the dry fruits in tea is quite unique. Another vendor managed to convince me to pose in the Kashmiri attire and click a few snaps with it. We bought a sweater and looked through the beautiful Kashmiri fabric before heading back to hotel for a quiet and peaceful night's sleep after dinner at local dhaba. Nothing great to mention over the food. It was the nearest one to our hotel and the only one that had something vegetarian.
Day 2
Early next day morning, at 5 am we set off to Sonvar after calling back home from the drivers phone that we were all safe and sound at Srinagar. Once we exited Srinagar and were on the highway, Rajiv mentioned he was relieved. The tense part of our journey was over. Although all along the drive to Sonvar there were armed military on the ground every 200 mtr distance it felt safe. We spotted atleast 10 or 20 helicopters enroute carrying pilgrims to the base camps and returning.
After 3 hours drive with a Kahwa and water break in between we reached the "swizz" looking Sonvar. It only reminded me of DDLJ and nothing else.
TBC......
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