JOIN USFrom the skies, Srinagar was painted iridescent green with terraced paddies pleating the slopes in meandering waves. Our airport cabbie, Nissar Ahmed, spoke of driving director Vishal Bhardwaj around for the filming of Haider. We cruised along the Jhelum river in Raj Bagh, past a gabled roof bungalow, wistfully wishing for such a home. Soon we backtracked on learning it was Dak Hermitage, our chosen B&B for the night!
It was a short walk to the iconic Ahdoo’s on Residency Road, the valley’s first hotel, started in 1928. The Kashmiri lunch of tabak maaz, rogan josh and goshtaba the size of ragi balls were served with rice. The old bakery below displayed kulcha, khaari biscuit, bakarkhani, sheermal, walnut cookies and local breads dusted with sesame and poppy.
Kashmir’s story
We entered Gulshan Bookstore on a whim and were astounded by its literary wealth — Kashmir’s mythological origins as the land of Sage Kashyapa, its reverence as Sharada Peeth, ancient tribes, architectural marvels as the seat of wisdom and learning. We discovered the poetry of revered mystic ladies Lal Ded and Habba Khatoon, whose quotes roll off the lips of every Kashmiri.
We then strolled to Lal Chowk, the historic city square where the Indian flag was first unfurled in 1948. Around the clock tower, vendors hawked lotus stems and water chestnuts, goading us to buy some. Rows of shops selling crewel-embroidered shawls and pherans (cloaks) lured visitors with discounts. Marvellous heritage buildings with wooden beams akin to Tudor homes peeked over lofty walls. Srinagar could pass off for a little town in Europe, but for its Indian hygiene standards.
The intriguing shop sign Suffering Moses caught our eye. It belonged to the Wanis, Srinagar’s highly regarded handicraft families with a 600-year-old legacy. Like carpet-making, papier-mâché, silver inlay, wazwan cuisine, kahwah and chinar (Indian Maple), many traditions were brought to Kashmir from Persia. The shop was established in 1840 as Safdar Hussain & Sons.
Hearing stories of the initial hostility faced by artisans and the lonely task of their craft, a British official remarked that they had “suffered as much as Moses,” a tag that was graciously accepted. The finesse of walnut carvings, lacquerware, trinket boxes and lamps was beyond comparison.
Sadiq’s Handicrafts next door were like a little museum in a sunken grove. The genial owner lovingly displayed priceless pashminas, cashmere and jamavar shawls, kaftans, jackets and things marked ‘not for sale’ — exquisite heirlooms displaying intricate needlework.
Floating homes
We strode down the Bund to a park overlooking a placid Jhelum where houseboats and shikaras (wooden boat) were moored. This riverside backlane was once the main road leading to the glass house where elderly locals smoked and gossiped at sundown. The sky was ablaze on our return and lights twinkled on the Shankaracharya hill looming over the town.
Next morning, we drove past Lake Nagin, where shikaras cleaved the lotus-riddled waters to Butt’s Clermont, one of the oldest colonial-era houseboats moored on the Dal Lake. Since a royal decree prevented Britishers from buying land in Kashmir, they built holiday homes on water, thereby inventing the concept of houseboats.
When India gained Independence, many sold their properties and returned to England. R Forster, a shipping tycoon from Clermont Hall in Norfolk, gave his houseboats as a parting gift to Haji Ghulam Mohammed Butt, but not before he added that he’d rather burn the boats than give it to someone else! Thus Butt’s Clermont was born.
Ghulam Nabi Butt, the epitome of all things gentlemanly, greeted us with the effervescence of a long lost friend. Subeh dar Bagh-i-Nishat, Sham dar Bagh-i-Nasim (spend the mornings at Nishat Bagh and evenings at Naseem Bagh) — he quoted a famous couplet.
In the Mughal garden swept by the breeze (nasim), hoopoes hopped in the lawn under a canopy of 400-year-old chinar trees, with starry leaves silhouetted against the skies. His office walls were lined with newspaper clippings, photographs and letters from distinguished guests — J K Galbraith, Rockefeller, George Harrison, who apparently learnt the sitar from Pandit Ravi Shankar inside a houseboat!
Animated antics
We stepped into our plush walnut world with hand-embroidered furnishings and curtains, which lent a cosy ambience. The benign Ramzan kaka with kind eyes and an inexhaustible sense of hospitality would troop in with trays of kahwa and hot meals. Common kingfishers plunged into the lake to feast on Dal’s wealth of fish, and green-eyed herons patiently scanned the depths obscured by the frill of water lilies and duckweed fringing the houseboats. Paradise flycatchers twirled like ballerinas before sneaking into their nests in the dense foliage of the chinars. The profusion of flora and fauna formed a recurrent theme in Kashmiri embroidery and woodcarving.
The evening azaan quavered soulfully from Hazratbal Dargah, its dome outlined against grey skies. We strolled past the grave of Sheikh Abdullah to the market, where bearded men sold batter-fried fish, lotus stems, rainbow-coloured snacks and round rug-sized puris. Hand-patted on tables, punctured and dunked in boiling oil, the puris were lifted out like royal fans and served with halwa. A man with laughing eyes coaxed us to buy lotus bouquets as flocks of plump sheep meandered in the lanes.
Local Kashmiri bakeries run by Sofis served traditional breads with salty noon-chai. We wheedled our way into the dark, sooty chambers of a bakery run by gregarious Razia, who insisted on being called Rosie. The sunken choolahs, or earthen stoves, baked a variety of breads.
The hallowed portal of Hazratbal was yards away. Taking off our shoes, we went our separate ways to pray at Kashmir’s holiest Muslim shrine, where a hair of the Prophet is kept as a relic. Grey pigeons lined the rooftops like natural decorations and took wing with the suddenness of firecrackers. In the horizon, low clouds girdled the waist of the lofty mountains, where wild animals roamed in the forests of Dachigam. Back at the houseboat, after a meal of meat and rice, we read books on Kashmir to the endless music of waves gently lapping against the boat.
We drove to Gulmarg the next day and pulled into the steep driveway of a reputed resort and spa. Its handsome wooden architecture, gabled green roof decorated with chinar leaf motifs, Moroccan-style lamps and Kashmiri accents like sunken seating and papier-mâché plaques amplified the dramatic setting.
At Chaikash, the tea corner past the pine-scented foyer, a welcome drink of kahwa awaited us. All rooms presented luminous views of the snowy peaks of Apharwat. After burbling through our apple-flavoured tobacco at the hookah lounge, we ordered a Trami – named after the platter on which an elaborate Kashmiri meal of rogan josh, rista, tabakmaaz, seekh kebab, paneer and haak is served.
We took a rainy drive around the golf course, strawberry fields and meadows crawling with sheep. Occasionally, the restless neigh of horses broke the silence. Wild flowers grew around St Mary’s Church, adding to its desolate beauty. We woke up the sleepy Muslim caretaker, who showed us the bare hall with a beautiful triad of stained glass windows above the altar. The day ended with almond detoxifying massages at the spa.
After visiting the Shiva temple, where Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz went crazy in Jai Jai Shiv Shankar, we dropped in at the pictureque Highland Parks Hotel for the obligatory pose at ‘Bobby’ cottage, where Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia crooned Hum tum ek kamre mein band hon...
We lounged around as we nursed brandy-toddy to beat the chill. The evening wafted in with moonlit hues of grey and blue as mist drifted down the mountains, wrapping us with the softness of cashmere.
Fact File
Getting there
Srinagar has direct air connectivity with Delhi (1 hr 20 min) and Mumbai (2 hr 45 min). Pre-paid cabs are available at the airport, and autos ply freely for local travel. From Srinagar, Gulmarg is 50 km by road, a 90-minute drive.
Accommodation
Dak Hermitage, Rajbagh, Srinagar
(Ph: 0194-2313779
www.dakhermitage.com)
Butt’s Clermont
Houseboats, Naseem Bagh, Hazratbal
(Ph: 0194-2415325
www.buttsclermonthouseboat.com)
The Khyber, Gulmarg
(Ph: 9906603272
www.khyberhotels.com)
Eateries
Ahdoo’s Hotel
Residency Road, Srinagar
(Ph: 0194 2472593
www.ahdooshotel.com)