The Himalayas is always like a magnet during the winters. The serenity and beauty of the snow clad mountains have always been a welcome change from the hullaballoo of the city life. This was not a planned trip (like all of my other trips). We had an itchy feet and the idea of going to Kashmir came up. This was my only trip with someone else. As we got down at the station we had already heard that elections were scheduled for the next day. And the curfew was to start by evening. We were in a dilemma if to be stuck in Jammu for 2 days without doing anything or to risk it and go for the long 8-hour drive to Srinagar. Well, finally the urge to see snow on the snow-clad mountains won over our good senses and we decided to take the chance. We took a taxi which takes regular trips from Jammu to Srinagar. Our fellow passengers were a couple of army guys and a few students. As the engine started our hearts pounded and raised and both of us fathomed if we were stupid. As the road snaked up the curves of the Himalayas, one couldn’t shrug off the olive green blanket which has fallen over Kashmir. The presence of the defence forces was even felt and seen. The road from Jammu to Srinagar always greets you with a sight of an outpost overwatch. As the road snaked up the mountains, it became progressively colder and I felt the it had something sinister and forbidding about it. The journey continued and Abdullah, our driver chatted all way along but I was fascinated by his ability to light a cigarette with one hand on the wheel. His antiques were a constant source of fascination throughout the trip. By the time we reached Srinagar it was near midnight. As we reached the city, there was no living soul on the streets. When the engine stopped running, to drop off a fellow traveller, the silence was the deafening. As we started to go further, we were stopped on every junction by the Army patrol, CRPF patrol and J & K police patrol. At every stop we had to produce our ID cards. The most interesting thing about these searches were the method. One guy would come to the driver side and ask for the IDs. While another guy would slowly come on the other side and slowly raise his INSAS rifle (or in some cases the AKs).
He would ask a few questions like where we were coming from to which we replied with the utmost respect which we never gave to anyone, since our encounter with a cane welding teachers of our school days. Being someone who is a bit of a military buff, I was a bit excited, seeing all this for real for the first time. All this felt surreal.
As we cleared through a series of check points the good natured Abdu Bai asked the clueless traveller where to get down. And the reply was Lal Chowk. He gave us a stunned look and asked us why we wanted to go there and warned us ‘Lal Chowk kabhi kabhi lal bhi ho jate hai’ (lal chowk at times become red)’. He offered to take us to a safer part of the town. He called up a hotel and arranged the stay for us. The hotel was near the Dal lake. As we reached the hotel we noticed a small bunker with security personnels with LMGs. They were stationed right in front of the hotel. The owner came out and said that we were the guests in the hotel and we were let in. The following day was the Election Day. When we woke up we noticed barbed wires blocking the entrance to the road and to our surprise, there was a polling booth right next to the hotel. The owner of the hotel said that we could not venture out far, but he could arrange for a boat ride in the lake, to which I readily agreed. The boat ride was a great experience, it felt good to see places which had become familiar to me from through movies. Later while taking a walk through the city streets, I saw how much of a security blanket had been thrown in for the election. The overwhelming presence of the defence personnel was very much visible.
The next day we left for Gulmarg. The hill station of Gulmarg is situated almost 50 kms from Srinagar and is a popular destination for skiing. It has a population of 600 odd people. Gulmarg is called the heartland of winter sports in India. One can get snow boots on the way up, for daily rent. It was not difficult to find an accommodation there. I got a room with a great view of the mountains.
As the sun rose one could try fathoming the boundless beauty of this paradise. And when the wind blew it shook the barks of the pine trees which were covered with snow. And this was really a treat to watch. As the sun rose, the snow which had accumulated on the roof began to melt and made small streams. It looked as if a wave of snow had swept across the mountains. Yes, this was winter in all its glory.
Later, I set out for hike. This proved to be a much tougher challenge than expected. Walking on snow was difficult to say the least. Walking up the hill through the snow was like walking on quick sand, feet would get burrowed in snow many times and it was the most tiresome walk which I had ever done.
The Kashmiris are a wonderful set of people. They have a million reasons to be grumpy but they always put up a cheerful face everyday. Kashmir is a great place to be and no words can ever justify or aptly portray the complete beauty of the Himalayan state.