Travelling from South India to Kashmir in December was magical for Ganesh Nadar as he feasted his eyes on the beauty of the snow-capped Himalayas, savoured delicious kahwa and enjoyed the warm hospitality of Kashmiris along with a group of 30 fellow tourists.
Mughal Emperor Jehangir said of Kashmir: 'Gar Firdaus, ruhe zamin hast, hamin asto, hamin asto, hamin asto (If there is ever a heaven on earth, it's here, it's here, it's here).'
So when I booked a tour on December 21 from Hyderabad to Kashmir along with 30 others, I did expect heaven and that included a white Christmas. Surprisingly, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation arranged the flights and I came to know later it even had vans to various tourist places.
The cost per person to Kashmir was Rs 40,000 for six days and five nights, including flight tickets. I thought it was a steal. For those wanting to avail single rooms, it was Rs 3,000 more.
As we reached the glitzy Hyderabad airport, we wondered who our fellow travellers would be. We already had a WhatsApp group and were familiar with each other's names. Our IRCTC tour guide was Jayant, a 26-year-old smiling man. The trip began late as the IndiGo flight was 90 minutes late for take-off. The captain promised to make it up, but we were delayed a further 40 minutes, leading to cancellation of the evening programme.
When we landed at Srinagar airport, it was dark, cold and crowded. This was a defence airport and we were not permitted to click photographs.
Jayant took us in two Tempo Travellers to our hotel, Home Inn Paradise, on the outskirts of Srinagar. Being the oldest in the group, I was given the first room. Lubna, a young lady, carried my bag to my spacious room and to my shock, switched on the AC. When I questioned her, she smiled and adjusted the temperature at 30 degrees Celsius. Lo and behold, hot air started blowing into the room.
The next morning, we had breakfast and left the hotel at 9 am, warmly-dressed covered. The van rolled onto the highway; the road was good with a reasonable amount of traffic. Soon, we were surrounded by heavy mist.
When the mist cleared by 11 am, we gasped. We saw the snow-covered Himalayas in all its majestic glory. Most of us were seeing snow for the first time. The beauty of the snow-capped peaks was captured on mobiles for eternity.
Later, we stopped for tea at a restaurant where I bought a pair of gloves, a woollen scarf and two pairs of woollen socks, all for just Rs 350.
Three hours later, we were at Sonmarg. Soon, we were surrounded by agents who wanted to take us on pony rides, snow bike rides or in SUVs. Jayant already knew an agent and the group split up. Some took the pony ride for Rs 2,000, others the bike ride for Rs 2,000 and still others, the SUV for Rs 3,000. The first two lasted half an hour and took the traveller to one scenic spot, while the SUV ride was longer and showed three scenic spots.
When we went the next day to Pahalgam we were surprised that pony rides which cost Rs 2,000 lasted three hours. I did not take the pony as I felt sorry for it and did not trust myself to sit on it without sliding off.
The snow bike ride looked extremely cold, so I went to the nearest tea shop where a local offered me a hotspot as my SIM did not work here. After drinking piping hot tea and telling everyone that I was from Tamil Nadu, where the temperature in winter was 26 degrees Celsius, I went to find the agent and requested an SUV.
The SUV driver, Altaf, was a cheerful chap who worked here in winter and went to Ladakh in summer doing the job of a porter for the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. He said he would show me three scenic spots in the meadow of gold, as Sonamarg is known. The three spots were the Baltal Valley, Thajiwas Glacier and another valley.
All one could see was snow and more snow, but one never get tired of it. On one side of the road, I saw stalactites formed on the mountainside. A young boy broke it and started eating it like ice cream despite the sub-zero temperature.
We saw the mighty Sindh river, which gives our country its name, as it is also called Indhu. At some places, the river was flowing, at others, it was dry or frozen.
When we returned to our hotel in the evening, we were very tired. The journey to Sonamarg took three hours and the ride back took half an hour more as the traffic had increased and the mist swirled around.
A Carpet Of Snow At Gulmarg
The next day, we went to Gulmarg. It was very crowded and it took us two hours in queue to get on a gondola, which is actually a cable car, not a boat. We had to hire a local guide and local SUVs, as unions prevented outside cabs from operating there. Even in Sonamarg we had to use local cabs and our Tempo Traveller waited at the parking spot.
Our guide Nissar always found a place for me to sit as he didn't want me to tire -- I am 66 years old and built on the lines of Obelix, you see. The gondola ride with four tourists was breathtaking. The valley below was covered in a carpet of snow and the peaks shone white. I could see the sun peeking through the mist.
Phase one of the gondola ride ended in a plateau with a restaurant where we were charged Rs 600 for a bowl of soup and Rs 20 to use the restroom. Phase two of the gondola ride took us to heights where the day-time temperature was -20 degrees Celsius and there was a shortage of oxygen. So much so that a 26 year old was out of breath and it took her 20 minutes to recover. It was snowing gently.
There were no shops here, but locals were selling snacks and hot drinks. There was a first aid centre. I stayed in the restaurant as the guide advised me not to go up. "You are 66 and diabetic, not a good combination for that height," he warned. The noodles were hot and restored my warmth. The guide got himself biryani for Rs 100. "We get a special rate," he informed me as I paid the bill.
As I sat in the sun conversing with the locals, one of them got upset as I was not letting him take me sledding. "How can we make any money if you are not adventurous?" he asked. I thought coming to Kashmir in winter was already an adventure.
The queue for the return ride in the gondola took two hours. Nissar said I would not be able to stand for so long and told the security person that I was dizzy. I told that I was feeling very cold at -10 degrees Celsius. He put me in the gondola.
When the gondola arrives at ground level, I bought an I Love Kashmir t-shirt for my son-in-law. Nissar delivered me to the waiting room and bought me a cup of Kahwa, Kashmiri tea with ground dry fruits in it. I found three empty chairs and promptly fell asleep. We came back to our hotel where Lubna was bursting with questions. She wanted to know if I had done skiing. I told her skiing took place in summer after the snow hardened. Now it was too soft to ski.
Snow, Snow And More Snow At Pahalgam
The next day we went to Pahalgam, and the traffic was heavy for a while, till the road branched off for Baramulla. After that, the traffic eased. On the way to Pahalgam, there was an entire town selling saffron and another selling cricket bats made from Kashmir willow.
Again, we had to get off at the parking lot at Pahalgam and local union cabs took over. There too, the charges varied -- three scenic spots for Rs 2,250 in a Dezire, while an Eco cost Rs 2,100. The pony ride took three hours and cost Rs 2,000. I took a cab.
The driver this time was Nawab, all of 18 years. He said he had been driving since he was 12. The first stop was Baithalwadi. From the road, we could see the village covered in snow. It was breathtaking.
The next halt was Chandanwari, which too was covered with snow. This is the point where the Amarnath Yatra starts on foot. A road was being constructed. It took two years to build 3.5 km of road as the mountain had to be cut. There was a helipad from where one could fly to Amarnath.
I had lunch in Pahalgam with Nawab. In the evening, we vacated the hotel and moved to another one, Regal Palace, which was located in the heart of the city near the famous Lal Chowk.
Here, the heating was provided by tiny heaters and fortunately the blanket was not that heavy unlike the blankets at the previous hotel which I found difficult to turn over. In Srinagar, geysers are on for 24 hours so that the water does not freeze.
Shopping took up most of our time on the fifth day. Kashmir is bliss for shopaholics -- shawls, wool items, carved wood trinkets, phirans, walnuts, jam.
A Night On A Houseboat
In the evening, we took a shikara ride to a houseboat, Safina. We had to take off our shoes. There was a wood-burning stove in the living room which they called a bukhari. There were gas-fired heaters in our rooms. The room boy explained that one cannot spill water in the bathroom as the floor was made of wood. One had to take a bath standing in a tub.
We sat in the living room and chatted around the bukhari. I had gloves and touched the bukhari for warmth. My gloves caught fire and I removed them in a jiffy. The room boy Lateef put out the fire and scolded me.
The other room boy, Bilal, wanted to come to Chennai, so I gave him my phone number. Dinner was good -- chicken, a vegetable, dal, yoghurt with rice and chappatis.
Sleeping in a houseboat with the heater on was fun. At midnight, the heater went off and I came awake for a while. At 7 am, I woke up and went out to smoke as one cannot do so in a room made of wood.
Dal Lake was frozen, but an enterprising man had broken the ice with his paddle to come to the houseboat in the dark. He was selling hot drinks and I had a couple of cups of chai, each costing Rs 50. The water to bathe was very hot. Breakfast was bread, butter, jam, eggs and poha. This was followed by tea or coffee and in some cases, both.
We left on a shikara and the first stop was the famous Mughal Gardens. But there were no flowers as it was winter. We then shopped for shawls, stoles, souvenirs and an electric blanket.
We then left for the airport. Bags were scanned at the gate of the airport, and again inside. The flight to Hyderabad was an hour late and I missed my connecting flight to Chennai. IndiGo refused to help saying that I had two separate tickets on the same airline and they would help only if it was a single ticket.
A honeymooning couple, Sushma and Kishore, helped me with my luggage as I was pushed to four different counters. IndiGo wanted to add over Rs 7,000 as additional charge for a new ticket. I refused and bought an Air India ticket for the next morning.
I slept in a pod for the first time at Hyderabad airport. The next morning, the flight to Chennai was uneventful. Air India gave me breakfast, a healthy change from Indigo where one has to pay for the meal.
The pilot announced: "We will be landing shortly in Chennai and the temperature there is 26 degrees." An eventful holiday was sadly over and I was back in the steam-bath heat of Chennai.
Edited by Shobha John
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