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. 

The solitude of life

I’ve been a loner all my life. Mostly. I grew up as a single kid - I never yearned or wished for a sibling. I had a limited number of friends. I did and do enjoy a good company but I wouldn’t be depressed if I’m not surrounded by people for a long time. I’ll be fine. That's the way I was wired I guess - although there is a considerable change, I admit. 

One of the statements I read and found appealing - "After a while everything changes - beauty seems plain, love becomes stale, happiness degenerates into boredom. Until you realize that beauty, love, and happiness are all waves within your own soul, you're forever condemned to an unending search".

If you see life, there is solitude - perhaps an inherent one to it; that no one - not your parents, your children, your spouse, your best of friends can share your subjective experience with. There’s empathy - but even that, wouldn’t go a long way with respect to subjective experience you have in life as a whole.

Also, nobody or nothing can 'complete' you - not your partner, your job, your achievements or whatever the latest fad. We are condemned in this unending search. You are always alone on this journey. The sooner we realize the better it is. If we truly realize this, the very realization is liberating.