Rachna Vinod
The Pahalgam before me today-haunted, wounded, and silent in its suffering-is not the Pahalgam I once knew.
I remember a valley where nature whisper love into every breeze, where serenity wrap itself around the soul like a warm shawl. It is a haven that stirred the hearts of poets, artists, and dreamers alike-a place where creativity blossom effortlessly. To artists, poets, and writers, Pahalgam is more than a place-it is a muse. This land cradle peace like a lullaby in the lap of the Himalayas. Its rivers sing to the skies, and its meadows breathe poetry. Love is the language of the breeze, and even the silence has a melody. I feel an ache too heavy for words. And yet, words are all I have. And memory persists.
This is not the Pahalgam I knew.
The valley, once a cradle of peace and poetry, now bears the weight of silence and scars. Where love once lingered in the air, fear now walks freely.
Sharing excerpts from my novel, In Kashmir Konnectivity: A Biosketch, set in the Pahalgam I know and love. These are threads of a tale that has lingered, whispering its way into words.
Pahalgam is around 100 kms. from Srinagar. Enroute there was a holy shrine on highway just a few kilometres away from Srinagar. Whatever be the mode of transport, every driver and sometimes some passengers stopped there for a while in respect and put some donation in the donation box kept there outside the mosque. It was believed that your wishes came true if you prayed there and sought His Blessings. Passing by saffron fields at Pampore, Martand temple of Avantipora and then Anantnag, Mattan temple and holy Aishmuqam shrine, they saw many tourists thronging the places. The bird-watchers, the newly wedded couples heading for honeymoon destination, the family vacation destination, the researchers, the archaeologists, botanists, who-not and what-not, you name it and there it was. Every nook and corner of Kashmir had something or the other, for the interest of tourists besides very pleasant weather indicating approaching autumn.
Bisaran was just five kilometres trekking route through thick pine forests. The climb was also not very tough. Soon reaching at the highest point of the climb, a panoramic view opened before them in the shape of vast lush green meadow surrounded by thick pine forests and snowy mountain peaks. Nature lovers as they were, they sat down in one corner near a tea -stall to enjoy their cup of tea in company of celestial nature. Quietly they kept sitting and imbibing the blessings of nature in their own way. This place was also thronged by tourists some of whom were either enjoying the pony rides in the meadow or reaching the meadow on ponies. It had barely taken an hour for these ten trekkers to reach Bisaran on foot. So, calculating the back journey, they continued relaxing in the pleasant surroundings till it was just before dusk when they started back.
The silence of whole night kept echoing with bubbly sounds of Lidder river and whistling of pine trees fondled by wind breezing through those trees. The sportive trekkers took these sounds as lullabies of nature putting them to sleep and they did have sound sleep. Next day their next trekking destination was Aru valley at a distance of about 11 kilometres away from Pahalgam. With lighter backpacks, they started their trekking. It was again not a tough trekking. Among all the ten amateur trekkers, Sofi was not only the certified rock climber but also had been to different trekking expeditions while in school where one of the extra -curriculum activities included rock -climbing and also training and providing opportunities to those students who were interested in trekking high-altitude mountains. She had been to Kolhoi glacier at a height of more than fifteen thousand feet. Sofi was sharing her experiences with her fellow trekkers enroute to Aru valley. Wonderstruck, they were looking at her with astonished as well as admiring look on their face writ large.
No wonder the whole route was any photographer’s delight. Known for its scenic meadows surrounded by pine forests, Aru valley had an enchanting, captivating and misty ambiance about it, luring again lots of tourists, most of them on ponies and whom they encountered enroute. This trekker group exchanged smiles when they overheard some of the tourists exclaiming, ” What else is paradise if not this”! Paradise identified with peaceful environment and scenic beauty perhaps made the tourists relate to the prevalent ambiance in mesmerizing Aru valley! It was a base point for trekking to Kolhoi glacier. All the trekkers except Sofi were keen to extend their trip to go up to Kolhoi. Sofi laughed out at their keenness and dampened their enthusiasm saying, ” It’s not like taking a long level walk. You have to be fully trained, acclimatised and prepared mentally as well as physically for such adventures. It takes weeks and weeks of preparedness “. Murad very well knew her sister Sofi’s passion for trekking and her rigorous training for climbing Kolhoi glacier which was still more than ten kilometres away from Aru valley. He affirmed whatever she said. The idea of marching towards Kolhoi glacier, was abandoned for the time being and they enjoyed their trekking up to Aru valley only.
Another day had passed with its share of excitement and another night awaited the young trekkers with lullabies from the sounds of flowing Lidder river and soft whistling from pine trees to put them to sound sleep and make them ready and fresh for next day’s activities. The weather had been quite favourable with just sporadic rains now and then not causing any hindrance to their trekking. Their next destination for trekking was a 16 kilometres distance to Chandanbari. Hitherto all their trekking routes were not on very difficult terrain in spite of not being a level walking also. All these trekking routes had been easy treks. It’s not that they never ever felt tired but overnight comfortable sleep and one another’s encouraging company in the group, kept their morale high and prepared for next trekking. Now trekking 16 kilometres distance one side was the longest trekking route they were to take. So afresh, they started very early in the morning. Just outside Pahalgam town and the base point for the holy Amarnath pilgrimage, Chandanbari was another tourist attraction because of glacier moraines coming right up to the road where the tourists loved to go for a ride with sledge operators.
This group of ten -trekkers had formed the habit of calculating the time taken while climbing up. That would help them in deciding as to how much to linger on at their destination and climb down during day light only. This is what they did this time also and they were back in their tent accommodation right in time to enjoy the campfire on their last evening together. Of course, this was without any surprises as they were already in company of their liking. The intimate vibes between Sofi and Firoz and between Zebi and Murad had become deeper in this trekking trip. Everyone was discreet enough not to make any issue out of it and sometimes granted them their private moments. The poet in Kammo would often provoke her to remarks, ” The lush green flowery meadow along riverside, surrounded by captivating high snowy peaks and pleasant weather, can easily make anyone fall in love if given the opportunity! ” “And love blossoms!” Nancy endorsed smilingly. ” Get inspired,” Firoz and Murad responded simultaneously. Zebi and Sofi blushed. “We are trying our best,” Chitu said slowly. Sikhya frowned and stared at Chitu who busted out laughing,” Come on buddy! Our friendship is precious enough to permit such jokes sometimes!” ” Go on! Keep trying!”, sharing his laughter, Kammo said. Fully enjoying their vacations, they returned back.
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