We Are What We Think!

“Gar firdaus, ruhe zamin ast, hamin asto, hamin asto, hamin asto” (If there is paradise anywhere on earth, it’s here, it’s here, it’s here), was what emperor Jahangir once said about the Kashmir valley.

The Dal Lake

But after being to Kashmir, I’d like to modify his saying. “If there is paradise anywhere, it’s here, it’s here, it’s here”, for the beauty of the place is just ineffable, and even if I try to say it in the best of words, it would be an insult to the place.

So I’ll just try to pen down my experience of the 5 days that My family along with my friend and his family spent in the heaven called “Kashmir”

Kashmir, a jewel in India’s crown, or the crown itself ? Well, that was the question that troubled me before the trip, but after I visited the place, there were no qualms left.

The plan was to visit Srinagar and Gulmarg, since only these two fitted in our itinerary of 5 days. The start of the trip was full of hiccups, the first one being the flight delayed from scheduled time of 5:30 AM to 7: 30 AM, and second my friends family could not board the flight of 7:30 AM as they were late by 5 mins at the check in counter and the GO AIR Team refused them for this flight and provided them with the option of 12 PM flight.

So now, we were left with no choice but to board 7:30 flt and leave for Srinagar, and was ready to explore the valley all alone till they joined us.

My wife and myself share a common passion, “Romancing the road Trips” and were all prepared with our Kids.

on arriving Srinagar after 1 Hr and 30 Mins flight, we were greeted by Mr. Gulani an Ex Army driver with his prim proper new Scorpio all ready to roll on Hills with 8 of us on board.

We decided to move on to Gulmarg which was just 55 Kms from Srinagar.

And wow, a first glimpse of the snow clad peaks, I just love them. They were bathing in the morning sun and luckily the weather was crystal clear, with a bit of haze, but no regrets.

The Apharwat peak looked at us into the face, pure white and laving in snow. Stopped by the roadside to click some photos. Moved further on and reached Tangmarg. The road is totally flat till Tangmarg, and Gulmarg is just 12 km from here. But the climb is steep.

The road had recently been cleared of snow as was evident from the amount of snow on the road. Only the place where the tyres of vehicles come in contact with the ground was clear, while the remaining road was snow covered. The tall deodar and willow trees ensured that not a single ray of light reached the bottom.

But the whole scene was very picturesque and I wondered why do they shoot Indian movies at foreign locales?

Gulmarg

On a close approach to Gulmarg, a small board read “Welcome to Paradise on earth”. And wow, what a view that was, wherever I saw, it was white, couldn't open my eyes as the mountains were glistening in snow. Never had I seen that quantity of snow in my life.

Having reached early and waiting for our friends who would be expected to come in to Gulmarg only by evening 4 or 5 pm., we decided to walk around this beautiful place with our kids and indulged in Sledging which was fun.

Next day, finally moved on to the cynosure of Gulmarg, the Gondola that takes one from a height of 9,000 feet to 13,500 feet in over 28 minutes.

I was set to explore a place that boasted of the highest golf course and the highest cable car in the world.

The whole project has been divided into two phases, the first one taking one from Gulmarg to Kongdoori at 10,000 feet and the second one from Kongdoori to Apharwat peak at 13,500 feet. The second one is rarely used by tourists, as it is only the skiers who go that high to the peak to ski down all the way to Gulmarg. Got my ticket for the first phase and sat in the cabin. And the experience was thrilling, is the least I can say. I faced the hill so didn't realize how scary was facing downhill. Slowly I began to gain height and the views of the nearby peaks became more and more clear, and within no time the 10 minutes passed and I was at Kongdoori. Had our lunch at the restaurant there and clicked lots of snaps. The Karakoram range was briefly visible and Gulmarg from the top looked like a small saucer of ice.

All of us with kids started learning skiing and what fun it was as this was the first time all of us indulged in this sports.

We did that and sat in cabins and off went the cars. So I had a good time clicking snaps in that chilly but sunny weather. The quality of snow here was impeccable. It seems as if someone had sprayed tons of talcum powder.

I hadn’t seen this type of snow before. Wanted this place to be etched in my memory forever, so clicked many snaps and tried to adsorb the views.

The clock was nearing the 4 PM mark so had to return as the cable car is operational only till 04:30 PM.

Time passed quickly and we were back to Gulmarg, and ready to leave for Srinagar.

Reached Srinagar, did some shopping of fruits on way for kids and now it was time to check into The Lalit Palace, just opposite the Dal Lake. The day was over with fond memories of the most beautiful spot visited.

Mr. Gulani dropped us for that night at the Hotel. We were at the palace of our dreams.

We woke up to a sunny but hazy morning. The Garden outside had snow at the edges, indicating that the temperature at night was well below zero.

Now it was time to explore the Srinagar city, in the same taxi. The first destination was the Pari Mahal, then visited Shalimar Gardens, built by the emperor Jahangir. Many old movies have been shot here.

The Pari Mahal

Chashm-e-Shahi

Followed by The Chashm – e – Shahi. The water of Chashm – e – Shahi is believed o have medicinal properties. Then saw the Nagin Lake, but was very disappointed as the people staying on house boats have made it a sewage dump. The sides of the lake were stinking and the lake dying a slow death. Similar was the case with Dal lake.

As someone say that a visit to Srinagar is never complete without a shikara ride on the Dal Lake, we went for a 2 hour shikara ride. Clicked many snaps.

We were loving every moment of it. Then went for the famous Char Chinar area. It is a very small island sort of a thing right in the centre of the lake, but this being winter, the Chinars weren’t in their full beauty. Looked really cool!!!! And the ride was over.

Char Chinar

We ended the long day tour at this place and headed towards Taj Vivanta for our evening Dinner. Try the Waz Chicken Curry and Veg Kashmiri Biryani with Salan. Its mouth watering while i am writing this to you.

Next day started our tour with Pilgrimage on our palate, with Shankaracharya temple, located on the top a hill, which gives a bird’s eye view of the Srinagar city. Since the temple is at a great height, I could see snow on the sides of the road that was surrounded by Chinars. The whole ride to the temple is a very scenic one and it takes about half an hour to reach the parking spot, where there is thorough checking done by the army personnel. Then follows a series of around 270 steps that leads one to the temple. Just adjacent to the temple is an army check post and a radio station. The top of the temple gives a perfect view of the city and the whole city can be seen from the temple.

Maple Leaves waiting for Spring Time

Next destination for the day was a the Hazratbal shrine. This shrine is of great importance to the Muslims as one hair of Prophet Mohammed is kept here and is displayed 3-4 times in a year. People were offering namaaz when I reached there. Next on the cards was a detour of the Dal Lake in the taxi. The lake is a huge one and it took me an hour to encircle it. On the way was Nishat gardens, one of the several gardens in Srinagar.

We then decided to turn back to our hotel to have some rest and do the packing as we were to leave the next noon.

As it is we were in Paradise and we didn't really have to pray but wish for something and it would be done.

Yes we wished that we have a snow fall in Srinagar as that was the only thing we had not seen while we were at places where it was totally covered with snow.

The paradise gifted us the last day, when we woke up and looked out from our room windows, it was snowing and we all had our hearts out with thanks to Good Lord for facilitating this service as a consolation prize to us while we visited to his grand Paradise.

Snow Fall at The Gardens of The Lalit Palace Srinagar

And before we end, these were some of the captions written by BRO all along the highway:

· Be gentle on my curves
· I want you, but not too fast
· If you sleep, your family will weep
· Whisky, while driving, is risky

These BRO men have done an excellent job maintaining the highway to the standards it is. Hats off to their courage and dedication, coz without these roads the trip would’nt have been that memorable.

Thanks a ton to our friend Manav and his wife Shveta for taking the initiative of this trip and making this as one of best trips we have had in life and would always remain special to us.

Waire Haseen Kashmir !

For More Photos pls click the link below:
https://plus.google.com/photos/117372289109311232527/albums/5710357196100197937?authkey=CLee4tjZ9MaETg