Kashmir by a Kashmiri

"Pack your bags and just go..."
"When else would you be able to go to Kashmir in such a cold weather".
These were the thoughts that were crossing my mind when i was lying in my bed on a Wednesday morning in Jammu..The only hindrance was me leaving my cozy bed and getting out of it..As we all know the biggest problem of our generation lies with our beds...We are 2 lazy to leave our comfort zone...So finally i got up..Got dressed up and started wondering...What would it be like in there??...For sure i haven't experienced anything like this....The thought that was tempting me the most was the thought of playing with some snow.. So i made up my mind to go on my maiden trip to KASHMIR...

I got dressed up with ample clothing sufficient to fight a Siberian Winter..I sat in the car and the car started moving....After 4 hours of driving my car finally made it to Batote....We were supposed to stay in Batote for the night and move on the next day...After a sumptuous lunch,and a round of badminton which was followed by a Chai-Pakora break...we finally settled in our beds...The view from my room was mesmerizing..A beautiful panorama of Deodar trees over Shivalik Mountains...made me realize the beauty of nature..

Next morning,we all woke up,had "Tamul-chot" or "Roti of Rice" along with "Kehwa Tea"(A Kashmiri Green Tea),packed our bags n headed off to Srinagar...The car drove at a steady state while we crossed the mighty Chenab gushing off at full speed in Ramban,followed by deep gorges in Ramsu...Then finally came the moment i was waiting for a long time...My first glimpses of Snow...As soon as we crossed Jawahar Tunnel,i came across a blanket of snow covering the ground..It kind of reminded me of Dalmations..with white skin and black spots on them...

I got down off the car...took a ball of snow in my hand and started playing with it like a little kid..It seemed to me that i have become a kid again...after having played with the snow to my hearts full,we moved from there and entered the kashmir valley..Passing Chinar trees,we reached Srinagar city and checked into our hotel..

The next day my tour began...On a chilly winter morning,i first went to see my old family house in Ichabur,near the famous Nishat Mughal gardens..As soon as i reached the home,i saw the head of a small boy popping out of a window..That got me to wonder what if i would have been that boy..Had it not been for the terrorism and the displacement of Kashmiri Pandits,i pretty much might have been that boy,popping out of a window,trying to get a chilly winter breeze..After that trip of nostalgia,i went to the now frozen Dal lake..what i saw there was unbelievable...Children were playing Cricket on a frozen lake…I asked one of the kids whether i could join them..he agreed..then all the kids of 12-14 yrs started trying to impress me with their bowling skills...and my god i was...

That day ended with a sumptuous Dinner At Hotel Aahdoo where we ate various Kashmiri Wazwan delicacies like Rista(meatballs in a red gravy), Goshtaba(even bigger meatballs in a yellow gravy) and Methimaaz(Methi with meat)...when i went to bed that night i couldnt help but feel the sense of belonging to that place..The next day we went to the holiest place for Kashmiri pandits,the Tul-Mula shrine..It is said that the water in the temple changes its colour according to the circumstances in the valley…it turned black when the terrorism was at its peak in 1989...But thankfully their colour that day was crystal blue..

Then we went to Gulmarg...It was like something i had never seen before...Taking a Gandola ride on snow capped meadows and everywhere your sight went,there was snow,snow,snow...Finally the next day we went to Pari-Mahal(the fort of the fairies),Shankracharya temple or Takhi-e-Sulaiman or Throne of Solomon..This was followed by a trip to various Mughal Gardens and the next day we finally left for home...I had often argued with my dad that Goa was the most beautiful place in India and not Kashmir ..Due to the popular European Culture and freedom of expression(which are a young boy's fantasies) ..But on the way back i finally realised that he was right and i was naive.. ""If there is a heaven on Earth,it is here,in KASHMIR… ""