A day in Srinagar
The moment I sat in the car for a trip around the Srinagar city I had a sense of excitement but thoughts of trepidation also lay inside. Kashmir known as the land of eternal beauty, romance and blessed with glorious climate has in the recent past been affected with violence and gruesome militant attacks. So the moment I landed in Srinagar one part of me realized the beauty of the place but the other could also sense the uneasy calm prevailing in the city. The people looked tense, tourists threatened and the police was on constant vigil and it seemed that a militant attack was just around the corner.
But inspite of all this I decided to visit and experience the so called "paradise on earth". The boulevard road which lines the famous Dal lake like an encircling ring of silver was taken and the first view of the Dal lake from my car was enlightening giving me an idea of the immense natural beauty that lay ahead. The taxi driver parked near a shikara stand at the Dal and instantaneously a tall, fair kurta wearing man approached me and in typical kashmiri fashion wished me "aadab arz" and requested me to board his shikara. These shikara waalas are really friendly, as every kashmiri is and one can easily fall into their trap to pay them the money they are not entitled for the shikara ride. There are no fixed rates set for these shikara rides, so one has to be shrewd in bargaining so that the shikara ride isn't too heavy on your pockets. After much deliberation I decided to board a shikara. The shikaras are really comfortable and I lied down and relaxed to enjoy the immaculate beauty on offer. The moment I started the Shikara ride hordes of dim-nav(small shikaras that are less luxurious and often used as shops) surrounded me and the people started displaying the indigenously made jewelries, shawls, home decoration items like table cloth, pen stand etc. I was amazed to see that even a post office has been created on the Dal lake to enable the tourists to write their letters and post them while enjoying the shikara ride. So after the initial hullabaloo of about 15 minutes, the Shikara waala led my shikara to a secluded place where I could realize the degree and the extent of beauty around me. The scene while in Shikara was majestic with the mighty Pir Panjal Range totally surrounding the lake and the house boats lining the lake as beads in a necklace. The sound of oar creaming through the waters of Dal lake sounded as music to my ears. The cold wind fizzing past scented as fragrance of a flower and the faces of other tourist awestruck by wonderful air and lovely scenery and made me realize how special this Shikara ride was. The shikara waala told me that Dal Lake in Kashmir sustains the livelihood of more than 1 lakh people because of its tourists and the vegetables which grow in the floating gardens over it. The Nehru Park, Char Chinar, The Centaur Hotel over the Dal Lake add flair, beauty to the Dal.
So after an hour on the Dal Lake inside a comfortable shikara the historical Shankaracharya temple where Lord Shankaracharya is believed to have meditated was next in our itinerary. The Shankaracharya temple is situated on the summit of the Shankaracharya hill adjacent to the Dal lake. Inorder to reach the temple one has to cross about 200 steps which left me gasping for my breath when I reached the temple. The temple has a conical structure and is made with stones with no cement being used for building it. A stark contrast among the temples in valley is that even the priests in temples are security personnel. As a result all the temples in the valley resemble a fortress as they are at the constant target of militants. The religious sanctity and the scenic beauty of the place totally tranquilized me and filled in a sense of calmness. Digital Cameras are not allowed inside the temple premises but the picture of the temple as well as one of the finest views of Srinagar and its environs including the Dal lake, serpentine bed of river Jhelum and the amphitheatre of mountains has been forever etched in my mind.
After the spiritual outing, it was time to visit the famous gardens starting with the Chashma Shahi which has been described as architecturally the most charming of the gardens near Srinagar. The spring of Chashma Shahi is regarded as being able to cure digestive troubles of every kind. This place is the most common picnic spot of the locals and I saw everyone carrying a bottle for taking that spring water. The spring water is sweet and is no doubt blessed by gods as postulated by the locals. The garden also commands a lovely view of the lotus stretches on the Dal lake and Hari Parbat in the background. The grand patterns of the picturesque scenery mirrored on the surface of the Dal lake left me gasping for more. After that just along the way, about 4 kms from Chashma Shahi is Pari Mahal which houses an ancient school of astronomy. I found it to be the most picturesque place in Srinagar. At Pari Mahal I even stood on that same pavement where Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta stood to shoot a song sequence in Mission Kashmir. Pari Mahal overlooks the Dal lake, the golf course, Mughal gardens rendering it the title of the "throne of paradise" i.e. Kashmir.
Then winding across the roads for 15 minutes led us to the parking stand of the Nishat garden. Nishat is a garden of numerous terraces, beautiful lawns, myriad of flowers and fountains. The 10 terraces in the garden present a beautiful view of the Dal lake and diverse flora makes it a place for plant lovers too. The giant chinar trees, beauty of the flower beds enhanced by fountain jets renders it a very unique look. The Shalimar garden is a little smaller in size but I found it to be more beautiful than Nishat. The magnificent black stone pavilion in Shalimar is said to be used as a banqueting hall in the palmy days of the Mughals. While Nishat made me sense the joy and buoyancy of nature, Shalimar left me awestruck by the majestic beauty of the scenery around. Similar still uniquely different architecture and topography of these gardens made me realize the talent, conviction and love the Mughal emperors had for the valley. The driver also made me cognizant of the fact that Akbar found Kashmir resembling his original home in Turkistan and so set about laying out gardens in these green alluvial hill slopes which presented themselves as an ideal locale due to their natural charm and unrivalled beauty.
A trip around the Srinagar city could not be complete unless I visited one of the mosques. So I had asked my driver to include Hazratbal mosque in the itinerary. Many terror sagas are associated with Hazratbal but luckily this time around the place was quiet and calm. At Hazratbal the public parking stand is quite far away from the main entrance of the mosque so the long lonely walk from the parking to the entrance full of barricades and myriad of soldiers pointing their guns towards me was frightening, but the very thought of being among lucky few to visit the shrine carried me on. So after extensive security checks I entered the mosque built on the western bank of the Dal lake and offering an interesting blend of Kashmir and Mughal architecture. The brink masonry, designs on the walls and the unique architecture is remarkable. The mosque is believed to have Prophets hair brought from Medina and so is highly revered by the Kashmiris. After visiting the Ziarat(mosque) we had to start our journey towards Kheer Bhawani Temple which is the most worshipped shrine in the valley. Along the way to Kheer Bhawani Temple we passed through Ganderbal which my driver told is the constituency of Dr. Farooq Abdullah. The road passed through rice fields, long chinar trees and small ponds filled with water because of the innumerable springs in the area. The sight of young boys and girls waving their hands as if welcoming me in their homeland cannot be forgotten by me. So after an hour long journey I reached Kheer Bhawani Temple which was also heavily guarded and I had to write down my name and address as well as prove my identity. I would like to request every visitor to carry an identity card when in Kashmir for security reasons. When I entered the Kheer Bhawani Temple I realized that it is situated in the center of a small tank around which there is a platform under a few large shady trees. It is held by the people that whenever a calamity befalls on the state of Kashmir the water of the tank changes color to black. The hindus have great reverence for the shrine and come in huge numbers particularly on the asthmis of Jeth and Ashar. The CRPF personnel guarding the temple were also offering Kheer to the devotees which I also ate. During the feast I started a conversation with a CRPF personnel who told me that inspite of the militancy, the pilgrimage has not declined partly due to the great reverence hindus have for the shrine and partly due to the local people who inspite of being muslims respect the sanctity of the place. Now by the time I returned to the car it was getting dark and the tax driver suggested me to start the journey back to the hotel as traveling in the night can be dangerous and so we returned.
After visiting Kashmir I realized that a visit to the valley of Kashmir can be memorable for the scenic beauty as it can be an experience to see the extent of fool proof security cover in Kashmir. But what I understood is that, if one has a penchant for adventure, loves excitement and admires the natural beauty the other side of Kashmir can be totally overlooked just as I did.
Hope same happens with you…………
But inspite of all this I decided to visit and experience the so called "paradise on earth". The boulevard road which lines the famous Dal lake like an encircling ring of silver was taken and the first view of the Dal lake from my car was enlightening giving me an idea of the immense natural beauty that lay ahead. The taxi driver parked near a shikara stand at the Dal and instantaneously a tall, fair kurta wearing man approached me and in typical kashmiri fashion wished me "aadab arz" and requested me to board his shikara. These shikara waalas are really friendly, as every kashmiri is and one can easily fall into their trap to pay them the money they are not entitled for the shikara ride. There are no fixed rates set for these shikara rides, so one has to be shrewd in bargaining so that the shikara ride isn't too heavy on your pockets. After much deliberation I decided to board a shikara. The shikaras are really comfortable and I lied down and relaxed to enjoy the immaculate beauty on offer. The moment I started the Shikara ride hordes of dim-nav(small shikaras that are less luxurious and often used as shops) surrounded me and the people started displaying the indigenously made jewelries, shawls, home decoration items like table cloth, pen stand etc. I was amazed to see that even a post office has been created on the Dal lake to enable the tourists to write their letters and post them while enjoying the shikara ride. So after the initial hullabaloo of about 15 minutes, the Shikara waala led my shikara to a secluded place where I could realize the degree and the extent of beauty around me. The scene while in Shikara was majestic with the mighty Pir Panjal Range totally surrounding the lake and the house boats lining the lake as beads in a necklace. The sound of oar creaming through the waters of Dal lake sounded as music to my ears. The cold wind fizzing past scented as fragrance of a flower and the faces of other tourist awestruck by wonderful air and lovely scenery and made me realize how special this Shikara ride was. The shikara waala told me that Dal Lake in Kashmir sustains the livelihood of more than 1 lakh people because of its tourists and the vegetables which grow in the floating gardens over it. The Nehru Park, Char Chinar, The Centaur Hotel over the Dal Lake add flair, beauty to the Dal.
So after an hour on the Dal Lake inside a comfortable shikara the historical Shankaracharya temple where Lord Shankaracharya is believed to have meditated was next in our itinerary. The Shankaracharya temple is situated on the summit of the Shankaracharya hill adjacent to the Dal lake. Inorder to reach the temple one has to cross about 200 steps which left me gasping for my breath when I reached the temple. The temple has a conical structure and is made with stones with no cement being used for building it. A stark contrast among the temples in valley is that even the priests in temples are security personnel. As a result all the temples in the valley resemble a fortress as they are at the constant target of militants. The religious sanctity and the scenic beauty of the place totally tranquilized me and filled in a sense of calmness. Digital Cameras are not allowed inside the temple premises but the picture of the temple as well as one of the finest views of Srinagar and its environs including the Dal lake, serpentine bed of river Jhelum and the amphitheatre of mountains has been forever etched in my mind.
After the spiritual outing, it was time to visit the famous gardens starting with the Chashma Shahi which has been described as architecturally the most charming of the gardens near Srinagar. The spring of Chashma Shahi is regarded as being able to cure digestive troubles of every kind. This place is the most common picnic spot of the locals and I saw everyone carrying a bottle for taking that spring water. The spring water is sweet and is no doubt blessed by gods as postulated by the locals. The garden also commands a lovely view of the lotus stretches on the Dal lake and Hari Parbat in the background. The grand patterns of the picturesque scenery mirrored on the surface of the Dal lake left me gasping for more. After that just along the way, about 4 kms from Chashma Shahi is Pari Mahal which houses an ancient school of astronomy. I found it to be the most picturesque place in Srinagar. At Pari Mahal I even stood on that same pavement where Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta stood to shoot a song sequence in Mission Kashmir. Pari Mahal overlooks the Dal lake, the golf course, Mughal gardens rendering it the title of the "throne of paradise" i.e. Kashmir.
Then winding across the roads for 15 minutes led us to the parking stand of the Nishat garden. Nishat is a garden of numerous terraces, beautiful lawns, myriad of flowers and fountains. The 10 terraces in the garden present a beautiful view of the Dal lake and diverse flora makes it a place for plant lovers too. The giant chinar trees, beauty of the flower beds enhanced by fountain jets renders it a very unique look. The Shalimar garden is a little smaller in size but I found it to be more beautiful than Nishat. The magnificent black stone pavilion in Shalimar is said to be used as a banqueting hall in the palmy days of the Mughals. While Nishat made me sense the joy and buoyancy of nature, Shalimar left me awestruck by the majestic beauty of the scenery around. Similar still uniquely different architecture and topography of these gardens made me realize the talent, conviction and love the Mughal emperors had for the valley. The driver also made me cognizant of the fact that Akbar found Kashmir resembling his original home in Turkistan and so set about laying out gardens in these green alluvial hill slopes which presented themselves as an ideal locale due to their natural charm and unrivalled beauty.
A trip around the Srinagar city could not be complete unless I visited one of the mosques. So I had asked my driver to include Hazratbal mosque in the itinerary. Many terror sagas are associated with Hazratbal but luckily this time around the place was quiet and calm. At Hazratbal the public parking stand is quite far away from the main entrance of the mosque so the long lonely walk from the parking to the entrance full of barricades and myriad of soldiers pointing their guns towards me was frightening, but the very thought of being among lucky few to visit the shrine carried me on. So after extensive security checks I entered the mosque built on the western bank of the Dal lake and offering an interesting blend of Kashmir and Mughal architecture. The brink masonry, designs on the walls and the unique architecture is remarkable. The mosque is believed to have Prophets hair brought from Medina and so is highly revered by the Kashmiris. After visiting the Ziarat(mosque) we had to start our journey towards Kheer Bhawani Temple which is the most worshipped shrine in the valley. Along the way to Kheer Bhawani Temple we passed through Ganderbal which my driver told is the constituency of Dr. Farooq Abdullah. The road passed through rice fields, long chinar trees and small ponds filled with water because of the innumerable springs in the area. The sight of young boys and girls waving their hands as if welcoming me in their homeland cannot be forgotten by me. So after an hour long journey I reached Kheer Bhawani Temple which was also heavily guarded and I had to write down my name and address as well as prove my identity. I would like to request every visitor to carry an identity card when in Kashmir for security reasons. When I entered the Kheer Bhawani Temple I realized that it is situated in the center of a small tank around which there is a platform under a few large shady trees. It is held by the people that whenever a calamity befalls on the state of Kashmir the water of the tank changes color to black. The hindus have great reverence for the shrine and come in huge numbers particularly on the asthmis of Jeth and Ashar. The CRPF personnel guarding the temple were also offering Kheer to the devotees which I also ate. During the feast I started a conversation with a CRPF personnel who told me that inspite of the militancy, the pilgrimage has not declined partly due to the great reverence hindus have for the shrine and partly due to the local people who inspite of being muslims respect the sanctity of the place. Now by the time I returned to the car it was getting dark and the tax driver suggested me to start the journey back to the hotel as traveling in the night can be dangerous and so we returned.
After visiting Kashmir I realized that a visit to the valley of Kashmir can be memorable for the scenic beauty as it can be an experience to see the extent of fool proof security cover in Kashmir. But what I understood is that, if one has a penchant for adventure, loves excitement and admires the natural beauty the other side of Kashmir can be totally overlooked just as I did.
Hope same happens with you…………
posted by this is me at 8:43 AM
1 Comments:
Lovely post. I have to go to Kashmir one day.
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