When Working and travelling something or the other can go wrong…its quite a task juggling everything so that clients get the best service and I can do some travel masti! On such a trip, I am currently sitting at the Srinagar airport in the cafe with a large number of military folk, I think they just got their break and this must be the only and preferred joint.
As I said something or the other can go wrong it seems my laptop has a bad battery and this cafe does not have a socket! The waiter very kindly told me at he wouldn’t mind charging the laptop behind the counter but well it’s odd putting laptop in greasy kitchen and since the battery is out I need to plug and work! It was quite a task to find a socket finally – I think I can write a book about the ‘Elusive Charging Point’.
I got an aerial view of the Srinagar outskirts from the airplane and it was very interesting… Lot of mountainous foothills and beautiful fields lined with pine trees on the sides. Two huge riverbeds both dry – no clue why. Houses were in clusters surrounded by fields and trees, thatched roofs and some of them colored with military camouflage shades. That can’t be a good sign. There is also some military presence on the airport but overall friendly folk. I have already gotten them to bend a few rules as it was necessary, they didn’t have any waiting place in the arrival area and I needed to wait for few hours for others of my group to arrive so smuggled myself into the departure area, where I found the above mentioned cafe and eventual socket!
The locals here speak Kashmiri, a very different language from Hindi. I am told it originated from Farsi which has it’s roots in Urdu and one other language I had never heard of. The local officials were very curious and probably amused about the fact that I spent 3 hours on the airport waiting for my relatives but overall it was cool.
Tourism Friendly : Not so much
Since tourism plays a large role in the places economy almost every where we went there was too much supply. Shikara’s, taxis, ponies, guides everyone wants us to take their service. Everywhere there are 10 service providers for the maybe 3 tourists. To the extent that often we had salesmen saying we come from far off so you can buy some small trinket from us. Once we actually had a young waiter boy tell us that I can show you a rabbits nest for a few ruppees – even if you don’t want to see it, just see it so I can get some money. Apart from this the actual tourism facilities were so-so. I am not able to pin point right now what was off but something about the whole way in which the local situation is for the tourist its just not that good.
If visiting Himalaya’s, I think the Gadhwal area is the best managed. Kashmir was just so-so.. too many ‘official activities’ seemed just a way to get locals to earn from it than being of any use for anyone else, hence the overall experience had some fraudulence in it.
People Friendly
Once you finally get a taxi guy or shikara boatsman or pony person from all the many, the person turns out to be fairly ok. They are a talkative bunch and helpful. The experience was so-so.
Safety
The overall experience was entirely safe, I did not see any threat except for the army personnel and maybe a few more than usual car checks. However, once I was away from Srinagar I heard in the news that in a place Gunderbal just 30 kms from the city there was firing between militants and the army. We had passed this place on our way sightseeing so that is definitely not good!
Women
The women situation I thought better as I did not see any burkhas at all. In Kashmir there is a clear majority of Muslim population and yet a very romantic smattering of Hindu temples like the ancient Shankaracharya temple near Srinagar. Almost all women cover their head with their dupatta or some cloth (don’t know the name), few had veils but there were no burkhas. They seemed to be part of the police, army and boating work. Not sure if they can take up other work – as our taxi driver said that they had only 3 to 4 professions in which they could work.
Technology
The technological situation is kinda surprising. I was very glad to see that tata photon had great connectivity all over the region. Only the post paid mobile networks work there, and my airtel worked well. Vodafone conked off but I don’t think that had anything to with J&K. Vodafone iPad 3G connection have some glitch with roaming facilities which they are not able to solve!
Apart from mobile connectivity they have Tata Sky, cable – basically all TV access as any of us. Didn’t see too many cyber cafes so possibly they aren’t as connected online. Everything seemed normal actually – I might sound naive but I frankly did not know what to expect in Kashmir as we here so many war related stories. I know of so many relatives, friends who had visited the place so I figured it wouldn’t be unsafe but I found it to be a lot more equipped too!
Beauty
The place especially Srinagar is very pretty! The himalayan mountains, Dal Lake, Shikaras, house-boats is very picturesque and dramatic. I can just feel like spending many days there. Like I said, the curious mingle of so many hindu religious shrines like Amarnath caves, Vaishno Devi, temples and the local muslim culture in a place so ravaged by terrorism is very intriguing.
What I truly feel is that the government needs to provide the Kashmiri’s with good education and ensure that they have a future. Young graduates should be able to get good jobs which take them to prosperity. This will make them feel like they are part of India and will reduce the desperation that can be seen in the tourism industry.
Lastly, I must mention that almost all folk there seem to be great fans of old bollywood music! Probably cause the recent hindi songs never made it into Kashmir – as after the military increase all theatres and public entertainment places were closed down. Srinagar still does not have a theatre! Passing through the Kashmir region with beautiful pines, saffron fields and old hindi music is an utter pleasure!
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