where was i....y did i go.....to escape....well if u ever wanna get some air....i suggest....kashmir....valley of flowers it truly is...but whole new meaning to the humanity is how i wud describe.......
we wnt der amidst all the peril possible...riots...curfew...bombings...militants n murders...the daunting prospect of spending 8 days….actually did not register until we were aboard our return flight…after doing it all …seeing it all………eating it all….to those who love meat….wazvan….god’s offering…
for the very sincerity of those people….obliged us to live life fullest….. never have I witnessed such loyalty….our butler…ghulam chacha wud hve given jeeves a good chase 4r his money….n the houseboat n shikara rides…truly majestic….rowing amongst d lotus beds….its hard to fathom people dying jst few miles away….
Yet fear did strike us…that was our 3rd night…it all gets very quite by 8pm…but dal lake’s pressing silence was torn apart by piercing cries n we cud hear azadi chants n thn came the deafening gun shots….all of this was happening on the road jst near to the lake….
It went on for 3 long hrs…..we waited….silence returned carrying a huge load of apprehension wid it… slept fitfully only to be up before dawn… scurried abt for our belongings…n were rushed onto the same road (kashmiris know damn well abt the oar!!)…n drove off…..our voice was 22 restraind 2 evn ask the location…
But salim bhaijaan (driver cum singer cum savior) saved us the trouble…off we went to sonamarg…..i cannot evn attempt putting into words….wat our eyes met…..it took a lot of effort to convince my mind and heart....that I cannot stay der forever…n have to go on……n on we went….at the crack of dawn….to gulmarg…..passing srinagar…. in ruins it lay…..stones blocking roads….charred tyres and banners…broken window panes…
Gulmarg …khillanmarg….offered it’s mystic beauty to us unrestrained…but we were the only tourist in der …locals stared unabashed ed scary again…..yet we left unscathed…..we were not allowed to see pahalgam which lied at the core of the issue… the disputed land at “baltal”.
Last day…We returned to dal lake…saw the mughal gardens…did some shopping & were escorted to the airport in a police van…
I dedicate dis blog to the people of Kashmir…they are as beautiful as the valley……god bless them..
Its pathetic to be an Indian…whn I know that I elect such unscrupulous leaders…who wud go on killing and raping innocent civilians for petty votes….and the irony of it all…we call them terrorists….
