A taste of the paradise

July 17, 2007

I'd put 2007 at the top, alongside 2001, in the list of 'eventful years' of my life, if I were to make one, for, it saw me travel to Kashmir--my dream destination since...always! What gave her this coveted position , would require a lot of pondering to go into it, and I'd rather not, at the moment.

I spent the entire May shuttling between anticipation and restlessness. It took forever for June to arrive, and then another long wait, while June 20 crawled in! Every passing day saw me clinging a little more to optimism--phasing all negative energies that could possibly conspire with time, and keep me from making it to Kashmir!

I have no words to describe what it felt like, to step onto the soil of Kashmir. It was a home coming of a kind--I'd come home to the place where my heart had always longed to be! Yes! That I was with cherished friends--an extension of my family--made it even more special. The next eight days were heavenly!

There can never be words equipped well enough to describe what meets the eye, wherever you look! Neither can even the best photographers and cameras capture the true essence of her beauty! It's not for nothing that it is called 'paradise on earth.' The warmth and hospitality of her people adds a great deal too, to Kashmir's being a paradise.

Srinagar, Gulmarg, Sonmarg, Pahalgam I loved them all! Have lots of cherished memories...

Srinagar's another home for me--Budshahnagar, to be precise! It was great to be there, watching TV, cooking, gardening, chatting together, as a family! The beautiful mughal Gardens--Shalimar and Nishat, a shikara ride on Dal Lake by sunset, fishing in the Dal at Hazratbal, the charm of the old city...I can go on and on...I will, later on!

Gulmarg, with its riot of colors--bluebells, forget me nots, diasies, buttercups, and many other flowers, the sight of gujar houses from the gondola, the walk alongside the meadows--imagining how they'd look covered in snow...

Sonmarg--I'd call it my favorite! a picnic lunch and a trek by the stream, and the thrill of trudging over two 'not so parallel' logs to cross it, a little later, marveling at the breath-taking view of the glacier--my namesake--beckoning us closer, the hike up the steep mountain side, half way up to the waterfall...oh! you've got to be here to believe it, even see it--with eyes closed, or open!

Pahalgam is beautiful too, seeing it on a rainy day, accompanied by a drizzle, added a charm of it's own to it, The gurgling Lidder, the ride up to the meadow, coffee at the restaurant in the amusement park...and a lot more that we saved for the next time!

Eight precious days, over in the blink of an eye! We came back, with a promise to ourselves that we'll return soon...but the journey that began on June 20, 2007, hasn't come to an end yet. It will end only when I have had my fill of it--I'd been too hungry for it all, this half of my life, to be able to satiate me in the rest half of my life! And, I never ever want to have my fill of it either!

All this lay dormant within me, for long--was too overwhelmed, by the experience, to give it a tangible form...now that it has begun to pour out, we'll see more of it soon!