Impressions: Kashmir November 2017

Impressions : Kashmir November 2017

Mere mention of Kashmir evokes such mixed impressions, of charming romantic Hindi films of yester years and the contemporary dark films on conflict, juxtaposed in the backdrop of breath taking scenic beauty. Of ethnic cleansing, media reports of militancy, of stone pelting and valour of Defence forces.

When Vinita and Pramod offered us to accompany them to Srinagar on a timeshare holiday in November, I was hesitant. No, not because of security concerns, but because I am sceptic of very cold climates and the increased possibility of being stranded by natural disasters due to rains and snow. But I had never been to Kashmir, the temptation and a little persuasion finally won.
So off we went. The arrangement was to stay at a houseboat in Dal Lake for a day and then shift to a hotel for rest of the stay.

The houseboat Zamzam was opulent, with intricately curved walnut furniture, artefacts on display, fully carpeted floors. It had a sitting room, dining room and bedrooms with attached bathrooms. All rooms had heating arrangements with ‘bukhari', where wood logs were burnt, and we were provided with hot water bags in bed, absolutely life saving, the latter. But more than one night stay at houseboat could be claustrophobic, after the novelty wears off.

The houseboats in Kashmir have a disadvantage, they are stationary in the middle of the lake, and one is totally dependent on ‘shikara', the small boats for mobility, on payment per trip. Worse, the shikara are not available after 6:30 pm, so one can not go out to town to have dinner. Choice of food is limited, need to be ordered in advance, and charges are very expensive when compared to similar food available in restaurants in town. But a great photo opportunity to show off, must say.

Our first brush with Kashmiri hospitality was at the houseboat. When we asked if we should not remove outdoor shoes at the deck itself as inside was carpeted, the manager was genuinely aghast at our asking..”this is YOUR home, please do whatever you like, do not embarrass me, I am a nobody”. The streams of vendors that came to sell wares at the houseboat, shawls, wood work, trinkets, were all very polite and persuasive, and even when we did not buy, the smile on their face did not wane.

We set off for Gulmarg immediately after checking in the houseboat. It had snowed at Gulmarg the previous day as well, and we had the first hand taste of fresh snowfall soon, just when we finished a quick lunch after reaching Gulmarg. There was a Shiva temple at a height in Gulmarg which we had planned to climb to, famous for picturisation of Rajesh Khanna-Mumtaz song Jai Jai Shiv Shakar, but soon the temple which was visible just then, gradually vanished from sight, as it started snowing. We decided to return to Srinagar, the car was cautiously moving in slow motion...as we clicked photos and video clips of snowfall en route. We reached the houseboat just in the nick of the curfew time of shikara service. Whew!!Weather forecast was clouds, rain and snow for the next day, so we dropped the idea of going to Sonmarg. We had already experienced fresh snowfall, more of the same did not seem too attractive.

So it was to be local sightseeing and shopping. We checked out from houseboat and checked in at hotel Sarobar in town. It rained intermittently, sky remained overcast, saw a couple of Moghul gardens while it drizzled off and on, had chai pakora inside J&K tourist cafe when it started raining hard, and when rain refused to stop, decided to go to the Hazratbal shrine and the city museum.
Women are allowed up to a point inside the Hazratbal shrine, and not beyond. Nothing much to see either, at least for women.

Very few visitors to Kashmir would really want to spend time indoors, we did it due to lack of choice, but I am so glad that we visited the museum. How else would I have seen such rich inheritance from close quarters, photography is not allowed in museums, but we were about the only visitors, and the guards were indulgent when we clicked pictures of exhibits and legends on our cell phones. I must remember to include some of the pictures in the album.

The positivity of Kashmiris is palpable. The shop from which we bought walnuts encouraged us “don’t let rains keep you, you have come to see Kashmir,grab an umbrella, just do it”. Most places offer Kahwa as a welcome gesture, and a shop even made us sit on ‘magic sofa',electrically heated and also covered our legs with an electric blanket.

That night a militant was killed in Srinagar.

Next day the shutters were down in most shops and restaurants in Srinagar. Five more militants were killed in district Bandipura, we made enquiries if travelling to Pahalgam in Anantnag district would be safe. “Nobody harms civilian tourists”, that was the general confident statement of everybody we spoke to. It was a partly Sunny day, we found most commercial places shut en route, but were rewarded by an unscheduled visit to Avantipur, saw the apples on trees from close, passed by the cricket bat cottage industry village and the saffron mandi village, and reached Pahalgam. We missed seeing the Martand Sun temple due to lack of time, it involved taking a diversion. The locals call it “Mutton” temple, hahaha.

The (Muslim) guide at Avantipur knew the history and legends in the Vishnu mandir so well, it was awe inspiring. He did not get his salary for a couple of months, which was kind of ‘normal ‘. According to him, people like him are able to get by only as most have farmland for basic necessities. I was thinking, if, like in other States, land indeed became transferable, would that help or harm the locals at the margin?

The scenic places to see in Pahalgam are accessible only on pony, had not bargained for it at my age and ahem...weight. But we decided to give it a shot after bargaining on lines advised by our driver. Whatever the owner asks for, just offer half and stick to it. We were four, with two pony attendants. It had rained and snowed the previous day, slushy rocky narrow terrain, steep ups and downs, with ponies choosing softer ground precariously close to edge- it was so adventurous!!

The young pony attendant kept boosting my morale with gems , “ who says you are old, old are those who have no teeth left”, “ You think you are fat, arey so many Amarnath Yatris have such paunches that they can not even see the handle in front to hold on to”, and made me laugh and lose fear. It was a backbreaking task for the attendants, walking on slippery slopes, holding on to us to maintain proper balance, the works.The attendant of my 9 year old pony, Mastana, was Ishfaq. He was a little younger than my son, and had a disarming smile.

We reached Baisaran -mini Switzerland after stopping to see from atop the pony, Dabian, the place with a quaint legend about hunting of a tiger and a deer by a single arrow shot. Baisaran was a lush green expanse, set against backdrop of the snowy mountains and pine trees, with patches of snow on the ground...out of the world. Bowl of hot Maggi was soul food at Baisaran for us. On way back,we stopped at a couple more view points, seen from the pony.

While we were in Srinagar, we talked to ordinary Kashmiris, like our driver, shop keepers etc about their perception of the situation in Kashmir. They are disdainful of politicians of all hues, past and present. According to all people that we spoke to, “media exaggerates”, and then with a smile “seeing for yourself is believing, isn’t it”? They are guardedly resentful about armed forces continuing to be deployed in the state, but are nevertheless cheerful with inherent positivity.

An incident will be etched in memory as a final takeaway for me. I have never seen a security person who smiles while doing his job anywhere. While returning, the security drill at Srinagar airport is very strict, with luggage loaded and screened at multiple points. At one such point the handle of my trolley suitcase had got dislodged. The security person at the next checking point saw it, and himself put it back in the slot from which it had come off, tied the security rope very securely so that the contraption stays together, and smiled “I would have fixed it permanently if I had the right glue and time”.

This was an unknown facet of Kashmiriyat for me. The blessed land and its gracious people.

Middle Finger, literally

Middle Finger, literally

My virtual and real life friends already know that I have been very skeptic and resentful about the trigger happy policy of linking of Aadhar to all activities of an average citizen of India. The irony is that while having Aadhar is not a proof of citizenship, every citizen nevertheless needs to possess an Aadhar registration for leading her humdrum life. For those who do not  take any benefit from Government welfare programme
s, and have documents to establish identity, insistence on Aadhar to operate a bank account or use a mobile phone does look like a State surveillance mechanism to monitor all individuals, on the principle of 'everybody suspected as likely to commit crime, till proved innocent'.

Anyway, hopefully Supreme Court would shortly rule in these areas. I was disappointed that pending a decision, the Hon'ble court did not stay operation of the linking of Aadhar to bank accounts and mobile phones. After all, law abiding risk averting average citizens would grudgingly do the linking before the indicated last date to avoid inconvenience, and any Court decision after that date will be just for academic interest.

I am a risk averter by temperament. So with a heavy heart, I visited the Airtel store in the neighbourhood for biometrically linking Aadhar to my post paid number of almost 20 years now. Even the machine could read my mood. It refused to recognise my thumb print. Once, twice, thrice.The person at the store theorised that as I had taken Aadhar more than 8 years ago, the biometric details perhaps need updation!

I came away, dejected. My husband suggested that perhaps we should try at a different store. On two visits to Delhi thereafter, I tried at two different stores, surprisingly none of them agreed to deal with post paid number linking, they were supposedly equipped only for pre paid linking.

Then there was this press release about facility of linking SIM number to Aadhar by individuals without need of biometric  authentication, from December. Some relief!! But wait!! What is my SIM number? How to know? Google search. Initial elation, then despair. The indicated procedure   does not work for SIM cards that have been cut smaller to fit in smartphones. So,  a visit to the Airtel store again.😞

This time there was a different person at the desk. A pleasant helpful youngman. He heard my woes patiently. He checked and wrote out the formidably long array of digits of the SIM, and asked me to try at the machine once more and with another finger.

Wonder of wonders. I am a polite prim and propah person by default,  but yes, the finger print that the savvy omniscient  machine recognised was that of the middle finger!!😃

Twinkle Twinkle Little (Red) Star

Twinkle Twinkle Little (Red) star

The Central Government has recently taken a decision that Red Beacon VIP culture in India should go- it is a very welcome move, citizens have welcomed it wholeheartedly, politicians have also publicly welcomed it, whether or not they are happy about the loss of public symbol of power. 

I was waiting for the gazette notification amending the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, as till the changes are known, it is premature to celebrate. Now the draft  GSR 397(E) __ has been published and uploaded on E Gazette portal on 20th April 2017. So what is proposed?

Basically, the changes proposed have three components:

(a) Use of the amber light, if displayed by any direction indicator or top light or as top light used on vehicle for operating within the premises like airports and  ports without going outside the said premises on to public roads, which was permitted till now, has been extended to also mines and project sites.

(b) Clauses relating to use of red light for vehicles carrying high dignitaries to be prescribed by either the Central Government or the State Governments, blanket permission for use of blue lights ( with or without flasher) for pilot vehicles accompanying the vehicles carrying high dignitaries, with use of blue lights with flasher being at the sole discretion of the State Governments have been deleted. 

(c) The power enjoyed henceforth solely by the State Governments for permitting use of multi coloured red, blue and white light only on vehicles specifically designated for emergency duties as 'specifically specified' by State Governments, has been withdrawn. Now instead, the Central Government will exercise these powers for such emergency and disaster management duties as may be specified by the Central Government. 

What the changes at (b) and (c) essentially imply is that cooperative federalism is diluted in so far as the States' power to permit use of multi coloured lights in vehicles is concerned.State Governments will have no powers in the matter whatsoever, not even in case of emergencies.

It also implies that while there will no longer be vehicles fitted with  lights with the objective of "carrying high dignitaries" or their pilot cars ,the Central Government can still use its powers to ferry anybody, including a dignitary citing  'emergency',  in vehicle(s) fitted with external beacons.

Even in times of emergency affecting a State, the State will henceforth need to seek permission of the Central Government for using vehicles fitted with beacons. 

There appears to be a trust deficit on part of the Central Government vis a vis State Governments regarding the latter acting in a responsible manner, which is not very healthy in a federal structure. After all cooperative federalism is just not semantics.

Illegal abattoirs and action

Out of resigned curiosity, I checked out THE election manifesto, what it actually said about abattoirs. At bullet point 2 related to animal husbandry, it says all illegal abattoirs will be shut down with utmost strictness and the Government will 'impose restrictions' on all mechanical abattoirs.

Now election manifestos are documents of intent, presented as a bouquet. Whether or not voters vote for a party specifically because of what it states in the manifesto, when voted to power, parties cherry-pick whatever suits them and calls it 'people's mandate'.

Presumably, the manual abattoirs are illegal. They had been thriving without pollution control measures and posing environmental hazards,  with connivance of law enforcers.  They should be shut down. Fair enough. But then any reasonable Government needs to give a show cause notice to the prima facie offenders, that they should close business by a given date if they do not comply with legal requirements. In fact, in a just system, the offenders also need to be given an opportunity to  take appropriate licenses, by paying penalty. But no, the new State Government's agenda is striking at the meat industry itself, so there is no natural justice for anybody in the industry at all, not even the licensed mechanical abattoirs.

When mechanical abattoirs operate with a license, they need to abide by the conditions of the license. But to state in the manifesto that 'restrictions will be put on all mechanical abattoirs', is pushing an agenda of economically impoverishing sections of the citizentry and their food choices, as per certain calculated profiling, very unfortunate.

Though ostensibly,  'sab ka saath, sab ka vikas' is the motto, by deliberately attacking certain legitimate vocations and food habits,  immediately within a week of change of Government, action is speaking louder than the words.