Of Paradise — Of Kashmir (Conclusion)

The journey to Pahalgam from Gulmarg is about four hours by road. One of the main stops was the one we gave in Anantnag as described in the previous post. There was one more we gave where we visited a store that sold authentic Kashmiri spices, Kesar, etc. and another store which sold the famed Kashmiri Shawls, Pashmina (authentic pashmina shawls are too expensive). 

We had our traditional 'kahwah' for the second or third time - it was prepared in 'Samovar'. Kahwah has more than ten ingredients like almonds, walnuts, saffron, cinnamon, etc.

Samovar

Kahwah

In Anantnag, our driver was conversing with some of the locals and they said that due to the increased snowfall, the vehicle movements were restricted — which meant the to and fro traffic between Kashmir and Jammu will be on alternate days. If this were true, it would definitely disturb our schedule. While the thrill-seeker in me was definitely happy that finally there was some action, I was also worried we may have to miss seeing some places.

Pahalgam was not so famous a few decades ago but of late it has acquired the attention it truly deserved. It's the starting point of the famous Amarnath Yatra. It's one of the most quaint places I've ever seen — untainted, unblemished, raw beauty. It was definitely the highlight of the entire trip.

We met a few shepherds the next morning and talked of the package details.  There are some 6-7 points of interests and two points are not possible to cover in this season of the year because of the deep snow which can be up to 10-12 feet. We were told these points couldn't be covered by ourselves and we had to take ponies. I wondered why — when I had the first glimpse of the terrain we were supposed to cover, it all made sense. 

At a point called mini-Switzerland

To say the terrain was very tough is to belittle the real danger it beholds. The ponies do a great job in a narrow, tough and slippery ground — as one wrong step on a good altitude like this can be really fatal. Your life hinges on the four hooves of a galloping beast — that is indeed intimidating and thrilling at the same time.

Most of the points looked they were straight from some fairy tale; A few of them were touted to be akin to Switzerland — not an unfair comparison at all. It's picturesque, bewitchingly charming. The beauty of Pahalgam is hard to encapsulate in words — it takes your breath away, both metaphorically and literally — it casts a strong spell on you and will take a long time to come out of it - better, you don't want to come out of it. It has to be in your must-see list when you visit Kashmir. It is totally worth it. 

Snowfall in front of our hotel

The next morning we caught the first glimpse of the snowfall and we were ecstatic but the happiness was short-lived as we were told the roadways were all blocked between Kashmir and Jammu due to severe snowfall and the only way available for us was to fly from Srinagar to Jammu. We had to book flights fast; we did book for the next morning for a premium price as there was no way out. 

We left the same day to Srinagar (we were supposed to travel to Katra per original schedule). The travel agents didn't help us in any way for the alternative arrangement. We had to look for the new hotel in Srinagar. Our driver helped us with this — we got a good hotel for a decent price. Since this was near his place, he insisted that we came to his home and had food. We couldn't refuse and we did oblige. 

Our driver cum manager, Ghulam Nabi

Ghulam Nabi's home was on a street not much far from the hotel we stayed in. He had two daughters and two sons. One of the daughters was a chatterbox and really kept us hooked and entertained by her animated talks describing her family and life in general in Srinagar. His son also engaged us with a lot of humor and wit; he had a pro-Pakistani bent and it became apparent after a while. The father and daughter's opinion, in contrast, was neutral. The talks covered life in general, politics, history, the exodus of pandits, etc. Considering there were two ladies in the group, I had decided from the beginning of the trip that I would not give out my opinions which I was sure would get us into trouble. So, I basically listened to whatever they had to spell out.

No matter what opinions they had, their hospitality was top-class. Knowing we were all vegetarians, they took the trouble of going to market, getting paneer and cooking for us. They did not let us go and insisted we have dinner too. Their warmth defeated us and we stayed back for dinner as well. They genuinely showed a lot of care, love, and affection toward us which all of us will cherish for a long time. 

The next morning, we left for Jammu from Srinagar as we bid adieu to Ghulam Nabi. The flight was postponed at least thrice due to bad weather and we reached Katra very late in the evening. We had our flight to Bangalore the next day — that left us very little wiggle room for any change in the plan or relaxation. 

Katra was different — "assalam ul alaikum" was replaced by "Jai Mata Di" everywhere. Jai Mata Di seemed like the ubiquitous word permeating all of Katra. Jammu seemed like more densely populated place than Kashmir. Our new driver was an old Punjabi Sardar who loved to listen to new-school Punjabi Hip-hop. He told us if we have to stick to the schedule and also do darshan of Vaishnodevi, we had no option but to skip sleep that night and start climbing the hill that very night itself.

Ponies here were bigger than those available in Pahalgam

The trek to the peak of the hill is about 12k.m. We took ponies to reach the top and decided to get down by walk. It was uphill and our decision to take ponies to climb instead of going by walk was right. It took some 3 odd hours to reach the top and we could do the darshan of Devi at around 3 a.m. peacefully.

The atmosphere throughout the uphill climb was electrifying, to say the least — many people, younger and the older alike were — climbing the hill which seemed effortless, with "Jai Mata Di" on their lips and steadfast devotion for the divine in their hearts. It's almost a wonder how faith and devotion move people. It can make them do the most beautiful of things in the world that make you feel proud to be human and also on the downside, the most horrific of things that make you squirm in disgust that you are one among the appalling species. 

We stuck to our decision of climbing down the hill by walk. The task at hand was arduous and daunting. Increase in pain with each passing step, deprived sleep made the 12k.m walk a formidable one than it already was — it took five odd hours and a lot of patience, energy to complete the walk. At some point in time, I was so tired that I was dozing off even while walking. It took some grit and a dash of determination to breathe a sigh of relief after reaching the foothills. 

The next day, at the Katra airport we learned that due to heavy snowfall, all the flights flying to and from Srinagar were canceled indefinitely. We thanked our stars as we narrowly escaped being stuck in Srinagar for an indefinite time. We flew back with all those memories we would love to treasure for a long time to come. On the whole, Kashmir is a wonderful place to visit - for the romanticists and adventurers alike - it has something for all. 

Of Paradise — Of Kashmir (Part 2)

The next morning, as per the plan we left for Gulmarg, perhaps the most popular winter sports destination in Kashmir and one of the most popular destinations in India. The snow-clad mountains of inner Himalayas welcomed us - it's an impressive sight.

Even though it was off-season, Gulmarg was pretty much crowded - Amongst all the other places we visited in Kashmir, we found Gulmarg to be most commercialized and most expensive. It hosts an array of activities like Gondola ride, skiing, sledding(sledge-riding), snow-biking, snowboarding, heli-skiing, etc. 

We took the Gondola ride - there are two stages: During summer, as snow wouldn't be easily visible, people go to the second stage. As we went in peak winter, that was not necessary. Hence, we settled for the first stage. For all the snow-activities, you'd need special jackets, boots, etc. which we had taken well before on rent. 

Trying Skiing

We went skiing for some time. I realized it's not as easy as it seems. It takes a while even to adjust to the skiing boots to go a few feets forward. After skiing, we went for sledding - where you sit behind the man in control of the small vehicle called 'sled'. This is for climbing down from the mountain and it is seemingly a little dangerous. At least two of us had a few small injuries but the experience when you climb down is totally worth it. Adrenaline rush guaranteed. 

The next two main destinations remaining were Pahalgam and Katra. It would take just over 4 hours by road from Gulmarg to reach Pahalgam. On the way, we had to pass by Anantnag district. There's the famed Martand Mattan temple dedicated to Sun. It is one among the many temples destroyed by Islamic iconoclast Sikandar Butshikan. What we get to see now is not the original temple but not-so-great reconstruction and ruins.

The entrance of the temple

A lot of CRPF personnel deployed for security

Kashmir was once the center of high learning where refined philosophy of Kashmir Shaivism originated, which gave birth to a polymath like Abhinava Gupta, scholars like Kalhana. But the state in which Kashmir is now is a sad tale.  

That was a digression. In the next and concluding part, we'll visit Pahalgam and then travel to Jammu.

Of Paradise — Of Kashmir (Part 1)

The mighty white mountains, the fiery chinars, the picturesque landscape convinced me that it's no overstatement to liken Kashmir with paradise. The image of Kashmir that conjures up is perhaps of the valley that is constantly troubled, disturbed, dangerous, which is in a persistent state of embroilment. The imagery is not entirely untrue - but it's only half a story. The other half is known only if you witness it first hand. 

There are a lot of places in India and outside which have fascinated me and kindled my curiosity in multiple ways. If I were to prepare a bucket-list of the same, it would be close to impossible to cover all in one lifetime. Kashmir was not on the list. We decided on Kashmir because of the suggestion from my friend and his wife - it was the coldest season in Kashmir and none of us four had witnessed snowfall made the suggestion all the more appealing.

The semi-frozen Nagin Lake

We visited Kashmir in a season called "Chilai Kalan", starting from December 21 and ending on January 30 - it's regarded as the harshest winter period in the valley. Our itinerary consisted of Srinagar, Gulmarg, Pahalgam, and Katra. We wanted Sonmarg to be added but due to heavy snowfall, it remained closed in the period we traveled. 

It is said that the first mention of Kashmir was in Mahabharata (Sabha Parva to be precise) and Patanjali's Mahabhasya - Kashmira is the name of Goddess Durga/Uma. There's also a version that says the name is from Rishi Kashyapa. But it's not as ancient as Mahabharatha or Mahabhasya. That's a tiny bit of info on the etymology on Kashmir.  

The first stop was in Srinagar and it was for two nights. Since we always wanted to stay in a boathouse, we booked one night in the boathouse and another in a hotel. The chilling weather of -5°C of Srinagar welcomed us. The lowest temperature I had ever seen thus far was 2°C. It was thrilling and equally difficult to go on a boat; as it was challenging to row because of subzero temperature,  most of the lake was transformed into ice. We had our boathouse in Nagin Lake.

We were welcomed to this magnificent view

The next day went into city tour which was quite exhaustive - Shalimar Bagh (Mogul Garden), Hazrat Bal, Shankaracharya Hill, and of course we took the famous Shikhara ride in Dal Lake. Shalimar Bagh or Nishanth bagh would look exquisite during the months of June/July we were told. There are basically two best seasons to visit Kashmir - December, for the fresh snowfall; June, for the valley, will be covered with lush green - that would be a sight to behold. 

Chinar Trees in Mogul Garden

The heavily guarded temple on Shankaracharya Hill - the entrance

We had a fantastic driver cum manager who went by name Ghulam Nabi - who guided us well and helped us to keep the schedule right. The version of Kashmir's history that he gave was interesting and later I found it was a prevailing opinion that a lot of Kashmiris loathed staying either with India or Pakistan for they preferred a separate country. I was to contest this view many times during the similar discussion in the future days of our stay, as I knew it was not accurate - But I detested from airing any opinion. 

Dal Lake

As all of us were vegetarians, we were not sure how good the food will be. Although the vast majority of the food is non-vegetarian as we expected, there were plenty of vegetarian options to our surprise and all were tasty. 

After our two nights stay in Srinagar, it was time to leave for Gulmarg which is around 60 K.M from Srinagar. We said final bye (which was not to be) to Srinagar and left for Gulmarg the next morning.