When there is so much natural beauty everywhere, God can’t help being a superbusy Mom, can He? A touch here, a hug there, and a kiss there…See the photo above. Is it a bird in flight or God running His loving finger on His wonderful creations? Believe what you will. It’s up to you.
After a long struggle,
Here, there,
Everywhere,
So many ambitions,
Finally, I am here.
A life of anonymity,
A dead end,
A life devoid of desires,
Calm, placid, peaceful…
If only this could be the end…
Only God knows.
—Jasbir Chatterjee
A hand that feeds and gives you life can be cruel too. See photo above.
I leave the rest to your imagination.
Kashmir Diary, 11 June 2022
For the first time in my life, I am vacationing and I don’t want to return. See the pic on top and you will understand why. An earthly paradise with lovely, gorgeous flowers in every corner, a riot of colors everywhere.
I am so glad that everything is turning out well, so different from the horrible images and stories about Kashmir that our newspapers are filled with…surly stone-throwing locals, young people shouting anti-India slogans, waving Pakistani flags, encounters…I found none of all this here, to my great relief.
The only thing I found a bit scary were gun toting security men with probing eyes, ready to shoot at the slightest provocation, and convoys of military vehicles with heavily armed men inside them.
During our bus ride from Srinagar to Sonamarg, our driver made the mistake of not slowing down to let a military truck pass. A policeman rushed towards us and hurled abuses at the driver. I noticed his finger tightening his grip around his gun’s trigger.
While our hearts beat fast, the driver calmly stopped the bus and said something to the policeman. He relaxed and his trigger finger loosened up. A minute later, our bus with 7 couples and 6 kids on board, started moving and we were back on our onward journey.
See below some more pics from my mobile phone camera.
Kashmir Diary, 14 June 2022
Our trip to Kashmir from 8-13 June 2022 had a nail-biting finish. We got caught in a massive road jam during our final bus ride on 12 June from Pahalgam to Katra.
When it became clear after being bus-borne for ten hours that we were going to miss our 8 PM Delhi-bound train from Katra, our bus driver suggested we catch the same train from Udhampur Railway Station. It lies on the way. Thanks to him, his driving, the newly-built long tunnels, and our chanting, we achieved what seemed impossible. We reached Delhi next morning on 13 June as scheduled.
Here’s the itinerary our travel operator (http://www.travelsyatri.com) led us through along with pics. Just in case you’re wondering about the cost of the entire trip per person, well, here it is. Just Rs.15K! Unbelievable, isn’t it? But this is the truth, thanks to planning done by my husband Sukhangshu and his friends.
Day 1: 8 June 2022: Srinagar
A. Morning flight, 9:50 AM, Delhi to Srinagar.
B. From Srinagar airport, move in a bus towards Shalimar Bagh. Sightseeing there and nearby Nishat Bagh. Have some snacks at stalls outside. Once done, use the same bus to move to shikara stand. Transfer to houseboat in ferries. Freshen up there.
C. Once ready, go out together in shikaras for sightseeing and eating out. Return by 8 PM.
D. Bought some artificial jewellery from two sellers who came with their wares at our houseboat. Smooth operators indeed! See this pic below of us busy bargaining.
E. Dinner (that was complementary) outside houseboat on the deck with a lovely view. See below.
Day 2: 9 June 2022: Sonamarg
F. Wake up in the morning and have tea and Kawa from visiting houseboats. Click pictures to your heart’s content. Get ready. After a heavy breakfast (complementary), shikara ride again to the city along with luggage. See below.
G. Board the bus to Sonamarg along with luggage. Sightseeing at Sonamarg. Have meals, tea, etc there at Sunshine Restaurant. Return to Kaiser Hotel, Srinagar. Spend a night there, have dinner and breakfast next morning, both complementary.
Day 3: 10 June 2022: Gulmarg. Sightseeing, phase 1, phase 2 (2nd highest cable car in the world). Return to Kaisar Hotel, Srinagar. Have dinner and take rest.
Day 4: 11 June 2022: Pahalgam. Bus ride followed by further travel in 3 cabs. Sightseeing, shopping for dry fruits at Chandanwari, Aaru, and Betaab Valleys. Horse riding, river rafting. Return to Moon View Resorts in the same bus in the evening. Shopping of shawls, dry fruits, and jewellery from visiting vendors. This evening will remain memorable forever for me. Jhalmuri, warm tea, pakoras, a gurgling, happy river flowing just a few meters away; chilly, soothing breeze, and a soft, glowing moon in the sky above…What else can anyone want? It was a wonderful evening indeed. It made us feel like it was a home away from home. It was followed by dinner and breakfast next morning.
Day 5: 12 June 2022: Bus ride from Pahalgam to Katra. Because of the heavy traffic jam, we got the chance to see from close quarters how ordinary people continue to lead their lives so calmly as usual with so much disturbance around them.
People growing new crops, children returning from school, azaan sounds coming from masjid loudspeakers… Construction activities were on all through. Convoys of military vehicles kept passing in both directions, serving as constant reminders of trouble close by. Several passing trucks trucks had amusing slogans. When I grew tired of all these, I read Arundhati Roy’s “Ministry Of Utmost Happiness.” See pics below.
Kashmir Diary, 15 June 2022
While munching colored dry fruits from Kashmir at work in Delhi with my colleagues, it occurred to me that soon they would be over. All I would have would be memories that would fade away with time. So I clicked their photos to preserve them for years to come. See them below. Aren’t they beautiful?
Kashmir Diary, 19 June 2022
As in life, even Kashmir has its imperfections. Here is what we experienced.
1. No authentic Kashmiri food available anywhere in well-known tourist places. Strange, isn’t it? All you get on this circuit is the kind of fare you find in any college canteen in Delhi. Maggi, pakoras, samosas, bread-omelette, paneer, dal-makhni, paranthas, mixed vegetables, etc. Even the Kashmiri pulao tasted like any other ordinary pulao we get back in Delhi. The alu paranthas hardly had any potatoes. They make it pretty obvious that their attention is only on making money with least expenditure of time, effort, and raw materials. But then, we were in a big group of people we already knew well and we felt at home everywhere. So it was okay, as long as we got something to eat in all those remote places.
2. Love and cruelty: We’re all victims of our circumstances, aren’t we? Click here for more. https://jasbirchatterjeephotoblog.wordpress.com/2022/06/11/loving-and-brutal-4
3. A highly misogynist car slogan, Pahalgam, Kashmir, 12 June 2022. See below.
This pic is of Maqbara Paik, a Mughal era tomb dedicated to an unknown messenger, sharing space with other more recent structures.
Ancient monuments like this one stand tall as mute spectators, looking so dignified, with hideous looking modern structures getting constructed around them.
The structure on the right, a mosque, with modern windows appears to be a more recently built structure. You will find scenes like this one all over Delhi…
While waiting for a bus one evening on my way home from work, my gaze fell on this scene. It looked so extraordinarily beautiful that I just couldn’t stop myself from clicking its photograph.
A few days ago, I noticed these strange palm trees growing below the flyover. They seem to be an imported lot. One of them had a yellow frond protruding from the top (see the pic on top).
If only they grew more native trees, especially those that bear fruits that people and animals can eat…mangoes, jamuns, etc…Life would be so much better, isn’t it?
It is evening and I am on my way home. I am wondering about what I will make for dinner tonight. My gaze descends on these flowers bobbing with the breeze (see the pic on top). I look up and I notice our national flag too dancing with gay abandon. It fills me with a heady joyous feeling.
Freedom and peace together in this strife-filled world can be such an intoxicating cocktail indeed!
Recently, while eating butterscotch ice cream after dinner, my husband Sukhangshu said, “It is too sweet. How about adding some pieces of Marie biscuits on it?”
I had my doubts, but I did what he said. See the pic on top.
When I tasted the ice cream now, oh my God, I was so amazed!
It had a wonderful crunch and the excessive sweetness was gone.
It only proves that in life, everything has a purpose in life. Being plain, bland, and simple like Marie biscuits isn’t the end of the road. Your greatness lies in what you do.
N.B.: You may add some more items like corn flakes, fruits, nuts, muesli, etc.
Like humans, tree too can have mingled destinies, like these two in the pic…A Neem co-exists with another in a Delhi, a big city where open spaces are disappearing fast…
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