Travel blog: Kashmir is a very different India
The oldest mosque in Srinagar, Kashmir (photo: Nick Claxton)
Thursday, 03, Apr 2008 03:12
A combination of too many years in London, a lack of proper responsibilities and an unhealthy admiration for Michael Palin have led Nick Claxton to spend a year travelling the globe. A terminally-disorganised 24-year-old taking on the world - solo. He will be sharing his experiences from India and Nepal, south-east Asia, New Zealand and South America. This month he is reporting from India and Nepal. Here is his second blog entry:
Apart from seizing control of my camera as to snap birds-eye pictures of the Himalayas, my nine-year old charge Zubair proved to be a delight.
On arrival at Srinagar airport I discovered that I could stay alongside his family in their guesthouse (£25 a night, including food).
Never one to turn down home-cooked food, I readily accepted and then my host Arfat offered to show me round the lakeside gardens.
I had snapped some pictures of the mountains as we drove from the airport - they are impossible to ignore, seeming to cut a dark swathe into the sky all around.
The fresh water from the closest peaks was channelled to feed the trimmed and pruned gardens created by 16th century Mughal rulers.
Walking through the Shalimar Gardens (entry price of 50 rupees (60p) in the shadow of the mountains and watching the sunset over the lake, it was clear to me that Kashmir was a very different India than back down in the heat of the plains.
But the 'situation' - as locals refer to the border disputes and related terrorist activity in the region - continues to impose itself on you while in Kashmir.
Military outposts and checkpoints appear on most major roads and the approaches to religious sites.
Unfortunately this means that it is almost mandatory to take a guide and a car around with you.
Despite this, the locals were eager to assure me the troubles have reduced in recent years.
Their stories instead focused more on injustices committed by the forces - ranging from widespread corruption to unexplained disappearances and extra-judicial executions.
I was given a host of tips on ways to stay out of trouble, such as not to state 'journalist' as my profession on the ID form awaiting all foreigners at Srinagar airport.
By the end of the first day I felt relaxed in the cool breeze by Dal Lake and so I opted to stay another week or so, which would also give me the chance to get my first taste of Himalayan trekking.
But before heading to the mountains, I spent some time touring Srinagar's mosques and Hindu temples, as well as exploring the lakes by car.
We spent three days heading out to different sites - at a cost of around £50 a day with two guides.
Apart from the fun of bouncing along mountain roads, two highlights would have to be the tree-ringed Mela Khirbawani pilgrimage site at Tulmulla and the precarious holy shrine dedicated to the Muslim saint Baba Shakur-Ud-Din above the huge Walur Lake.
On Fridays the pace of life in Srinagar slows and the mosques fill up as the majority of Kashmir's population is Muslim. I only had one Friday in Srinagar, but it turned out to be a special celebration.
Early in the morning, the whole family packed up and set out across the lake on a shikara.
These long, thin boats came with both a roof and two helmsmen to guide us through the reeds (available to hire from the lakeside - around 2000 rupees (£25) per trip depending on how long it takes).
We cut through the reflections of the mountains, heading straight for the shining white gleam of the Hazratbal Mosque on the other side of the lake.
Even from a couple of hundred metres away, the size of the crowd was obvious as they pushed and struggled to get a better view of the mosque roof or reach the banks of the lake to wash themselves clean.
Arriving by shikara let us avoid the multitude to some extent, although the shore was still too packed to land and we had to settle for a spot a little way out into the lake.
All the time, the voice of the Imam raised in prayer was being blasted from the mosque's loudspeakers and repeated back seconds later by the massed crowd.
As this reached a crescendo, a robed figure appeared on the roof flanked by army soldiers.
Calling out, the Imam held his arm aloft - displaying the sacred preserved hair of Muhammad - and was greeted with a huge cry from the crowd.
Even though I was out of the shifting hordes and slightly bemused by the whole event, the energy created by the throngs of people and their waves of belief was palpable.
We returned from our day on the lake at a leisurely pace, enjoying the mountain views and relaxing in the sun.
I was glad for the rest, as I knew that the next four days would be more of a test as I took on the Himalayas for the first time.
Nick Claxton