If Ever There is a Paradise..

I don't update this blog much, well, not ever. Traveling is very personal to me and although I harp about my travails on Twitter & what not, there's still so much that I leave unsaid.

You know those people who say they get so lost in the beauty of a moment that they forget to take pictures? Yes, it's quite the same for me. On every trip that I make, I'd write at least one draft for my blog, come back and then just don't post it.

Words fail to do justice to the emotions that erupt in various instances while I travel.

For me as for many others, traveling is running away; escaping the mediocrity of daily routine. I am not a busybody and I don't really need a vacation to relax my mind per se.

I want to travel because I've always loved traveling. I want to explore because I was born inquisitive. I want to see the world because I feel like my life would be worthless if I didn't witness the myriad of beauty that this world has to offer.

But today I feel an urge to share this special trip with you. I am a passive-romantic person. I find romance in things people generally wouldn't but I like to keep it to myself. Being romantic is a state of mind and I like dropping into trances of pure romance time and again.

It was my recent trip to Kashmir that saw me lost in one of my trances. Kashmir is a beautiful place. It's been likened to Switzerland my foreign & domestic travelers alike. They say the natural beauty found in the valley of Kashmir is similar to no other. Of course, there needs to be the right kind of season for every setting.

Although Kashmir is accessible for most part of the year, it has best sights to offer in the months of March to October. After that, the valley turns extremely cold and becomes a hot-spot for ski-lovers.

We visited the valley towards the end of June. It was a birthday gift for my mother since it was her childhood summer destination. The trip turned out to be a huge disappointment for her since nothing looked the same to her.

After more than 30 years, you don't really expect things to be the same as they were. But this was the beginning of her disappointment. We visited Kashmir at the onset of summer. It was extremely hot in Srinagar & most of the snow on the hilltops had melted away, leaving small patches of glaciers made of dirty, brown snow.

In Srinagar, the temperature averaged to about 38-39 degrees Celsius and the sun was piercing through the skin. We also visited Pahalgam and Gulmarg.

Pahalgam was cooler and wetter & most of the tourist spots had been shut down for the Amarnath yatra which commenced the same day as we reached this hill station. The sights that this place had to offer were incredible. Although I do regret not being able to visit Aaru valley, Betaab valley and many other places because of the shut-down.

The place that literally took my breath away however, was Gulmarg. A hill station that does more than justice to its name-meaning a path of roses, this town had everything I could ever ask for in a hill station.

A quaint town with picturesque beauty at every nook and cranny; an abode mobbed by tourists and infiltrated with commercialization and yet offers little evidence of the modernity surrounding it at all corners, Gulmarg.

The road from Srinagar to Gulmarg is as forgettable as it is inconspicuous. You'll never know what hit you till you reach the foothills of this town.

Gulmarg is 2370 meters above the sea level. For people suffering from altitude sickness there couldn't be a better destination. There are no winding roads wrapped around a tall mountain. Although, Gulmarg is surrounded by imposing Himalayan peaks, this is one of those rare hills that have wide roads and lesser slants. You don't need to carry your trekking gear while moving around.

The entire Kashmir valley has good mobility, however many places are only accessible through ponies. Keep that in mind if you're afraid of horses or just can't climb one due to some physical complications.

As the climb up to Gulmarg begins, you're instantly hit by a breath of fresh, sweet mountain air. The sky suddenly changes color from bleached white to vibrant blue and clouds scamper to collect overheard as if acting on commands of a celestial director shouting 'lights, camera, action' into his loudspeaker..

It was this sweet intoxicating scent that made me catch a breath in my slumber and caused me to jerk my eyes open. Never before have I been assaulted with such beautiful scenery in my life. Sure I've been to Switzerland & Australia and a lot of mini-paradises that mother Earth has created. But Gulmarg was different.

It was a simple enough hill-station with similar view that many other hills & mountains have to offer. The distinction was in the natural, unkempt beauty it had to offer. When I opened my eyes and looked out, my attention was immediately drawn to the grassy slopes strewn with rows and rows of fragrant wildflowers.

I absolutely adore flowers but wildflowers have a special place in my heart. For a moment I wondered if it was actually Heaven I was ascending to. Daisies, Lavender, Bluebells, Poppies, Buttercups, Forget-me-nots etc. are spread across landscape of this saucer-shaped hill station.

I was like a dog flapping his tongue out in the wind as the owner drives-by in full speed, unable to control my racing heart. All I wanted to do was jump out of my car and roll down these colorful slopes.

At last we reached our hotel. To my good fortune, it was built across the 5 km or so long bright-green meadow blanketed with wildflowers of every shape, colour and size. On this meadow, ponies were peacefully chewing away at green grass inviting every photographer worth his salt to spend hours and hours on capturing that one perfect shot that shows it all.

You see the same scenery from any or every angle or height that you look out from. An expanse of colour-blast on the green meadow of naturally growing wildflowers and a backdrop of silver-white, snow-covered mountain range.

We only stayed in Gulmarg for 2 days and I am glad we came back when we did for I suspect I'd hv developed a heart condition because of all the beat-skipping it was indulging in. Although we only visited during summers,

Gulmarg is an year-round hotspot for tourist and offers activities such as skiing, fishing, horse-riding, trekking, snow-boarding etc. In fact, it is known as one of the Best powder snow resorts in the world owing to regular snowfall throughout winters.

We did only common touristy things there since time was short and we had the whole family with us. We also celebrated mum's birthday here which she was Finally excited about ever since we had come to Kashmir.

Gulmarg was one of those rare places I didn't want to come back from. I also shed a tear or two as we began our descend back to Srinagar and said a small prayer to God thanking him for giving us such exorbitant amount of beauty to appreciate life for.

I've left a piece of my heart behind in Gulmarg and have vowed to visit this town again some time soon and drink-in every piece of magic that this charming place contains.

If you've felt slightly touched by this blogpost, I urge you to visit Gulmarg as well. You won't know what you are missing in life till you visit this place. I too agree with Jehangir when I say if ever there is a paradise on Earth, it is here. It is here. It is here, in Gulmarg.

Enroute to Enlightenment!

I always knew there was a reason why people go to pilgrimage centres but i had yet to find it out myself. A cynic as i was, it took me only 1 day to get all the answers straightened out.

My family decided to take a trip to Vaishno Devi, Jammu and Kashmir (for more details check this out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaishno_Devi ) this week and i happily joined in.

My reason for the visit? the thrill of trekking, to dance and chant in the name of our Goddess/God and basically to be a part of fraternal exuberance.

To me God resides in my heart like everywhere else, so i don't need to go to temples and such places to seek his blessings.

Therefore, what happened next was an unexpected turn of events that will lay embedded in my memory forever.

What happened during the trip was mostly our fault. starting with not getting enough sleep knowing that we start the same day as we reach to carrying wrong type of shoes to not checking the weather forecast in advance, all decisions were made pretty short-sightedly.

But amongst all the mess and havoc, i came out re-learning many lessons of life that we are taught as kids but what fall on deaf ears...

The moment we reached Katra, from where we start trekking, it started raining. now, it was totally unexpected and we had nothing to protect us from the rains, so we bought raincoats from the seller out there.

We rested an hour, had something to snack on and started with our trekking.
15 minutes into it and the rains got heavier.

It did stop after some time but this relief was only momentary as 1 and a half hour later it started raining again.

Only this time, it was harder with winds blowing heavier accompanied by total blackout up in the mountains and no shed as far as your eye could see.

We got stuck up there, with no place to go, nothing to keep our bodies warm except one sweater each, and believe me 1 sweater at 10 degrees celsius in heavy rain is not something a normal human being could take. atleast not me.

We had nothing to do except walk till the next shed so walk is what we did. we carried on with our trekking but it was getting colder and colder.

Soon we were all completely drenched from head to toe.

Finally we reached the shed where we decided to sit for a while before resuming our journey.

Everyone was thinking of spending the night in the shed only but i said it would be better if we move faster, reach the top and rest there only.

Wouldn't it be better to finish with what we started first?

Besides they had guest houses and food up there too.

The word food reached home and we all started moving again.

It was getting cooler by the minute; the chilly winds slapping hard on our faces with rain dripping from our nose tips and heavy sighs never leaving our mouths it was a spectacle up there.

Loud chants turning into silent whimpers, unbreakable strides moulding into hunch-backed crawls.

But at that moment all i could think of was i needed to reach to the top; i have to see that my family is safe and sound and i have to remain strong.

That is when i realised how similar this journey was to the journey of one's life.

Just focus on your goal but never leaving your friends and family behind because you might reach the top anyhow but it wouldn't be half as fun without your loved ones around to share your success.

With rain and cool winds followed fog and mist. to the extent that the visibility dropped to zero meaning we couldn't see what was in our front our in the back. it was all a hazy black.

We didn't know if there was a pitfall or even a turn. we were just walking totally unaware of what lay ahead of us.

This is life, isn't it? you cannot tell one day from the other. when you wake-up in the morning you have no idea how the day would end but you don't stop right there.

The path is a foggy one, covered with unseen risks and dangers but you move ahead only with hope and faith in your hearts that it will all be good. this is our faith in our God, or any energy you believe in; our trust that nothing could go wrong or the hope that even if it does, you will be alright.

God gives us many helping hands in life, we hold them tight and we carry on moving forward. it could be your parents, your teachers, your life partners anyone.

Somehow we managed to reach the top. up there it was total mayhem; kids crying, mothers shivering, food and blankets out of stock wih guest houses putting up signs of houseful.

We went into the temple, payed our respects and came out searching for a shelter for the night.

Every covered thatch and it would be full of atleast 50 people. Dispensay, enquiry offices, restaurants, blanket stores even toilets were all filled with people trying to pass through the night.

After an hour of searching, we found some place outside the dispensary where a family let me share their blanket and space for the time being seeing as i was about to pass out any moment.

Another family made space for my family and we sat with them, through the night waiting for the rain to stop.

Looking at all those people it just struck me how similar one man to the other. the society might have divided us in many stratas but in the end we're all one and same.

Out there everyone, be it old or young, rich or poor, black or white everyone was scared and hungry and cold; all we needed was some food, shelter and protection; everyone is equal regardless of what lifestyle they follow.

If not for those people i'd be dead by now, my condition was that worsened. God helps those who help others.
May he bless those who showed some empathy towards mankind even if they themselves were equally suffering.
together we passed that eventful night and came back down early next morning.

That one night, rather a few hours touched my soul deeply and iam ever so grateful to God for teaching me what he did.

Hence ends my journey that enlightened me no end.