Over the past couple of days, I’ve been hanging out at the Himalaya House, mainly with a couple of Canadian kids, Nat and Ari. It’s been so nice to have a laugh, making trips into the local town, Pahalgam, during the day and playing cards, chatting and watching Indian TV (when the power’s on) in the evening.
I’ve really enjoyed the trips into town this week. Pahalgam has one of the most beautiful surroundings of any town I’ve been in: snowy peaked mountains on all sides and the glacial Lidder River running through it. The town itself has chalet-type buildings lining much of the main street and a bizarre mixture of jeeps (honking), horses occasionally cantering through the chaos, Western-dressed Indian tourists, gypsy groups passing through with their pack mules and herds of goats and local Kashmiris wearing their traditional sack-like 'feren'
. There is also a big army presence: every few yards a soldier armed with a big gun.
My trip to the fabric wallah to buy material for some shalwar kameez was a highlight. Shalwar are made up of three items of clothing- Kashmiri style trousers are baggy with a knee-length tunic and a dupatta (which is a scarf worn over the bust and shoulders (and sometimes to cover the hair). The fabric for each of these is sold together, as ordained by the shop owner, thus, if you like the material for the tunic, you have to buy the specified material for the pants. I had three macho, bearded Kashmiri men assuring me that the colour combo would work and I followed their advice to the letter! Next the tailors where I had an audience of about 10 locals of varying ages (one an elderly man with a bright orange hennaed beard), putting in their two-penneth worth on the cut, tightness and length of my outfit- wicked! Tomorrow is pick-up day for the shalwar- if they’re decent I’ll upload some photos of the end result.
Ari and I came across an excellent piece of local street theatre: A mixed group of local people and gypsies visiting the market (women at the back apart from me!) were crowded around a man with a covered box. We couldn’t understand the dialogue between the magician and the crowd of course, but the main idea involved a snake turning into a child, who the magician threatened to hurt with a rusty looking knife if we (suckers) didn’t pay him 10 rupees each. Allah was mentioned several times and some of the men in the crowd spread their hands in a gesture of worship from time to time. The crowd were fascinated and leaned on each other’s shoulders to get a better view- personal space is a very different concept here in India and people get very close (I piled in with the blokes- they were so excited by the show they didn’t even notice a foreign woman next to them). We never really got to the bottom of what was going on but it didn’t matter.
I’m even getting to know some of the local shop-keepers to say ‘hello’ to whenever I go in. People have been very friendly in the way I have become used to in Muslim communities. In the village especially, I have been welcomed very warmly and yet people are not at all intrusive (as I found in China). There’s a real chilled out feeling in the village, which is very peaceful, green and picturesque, as if there’s all the time in the world to sit about smoking a zhijir (water pipe) and drinking the local chai, which is spiced with cardamom and clove.
For a while I have been planning to go and stay in the village for several days as a good way to meet some of the women and perhaps learn some Kashmiri or some local craft (they do some very nice needle point embroidery here). I have also had a seed of an idea for a story I’d like to write: it’s a historical, sci-fi story about the time when politics hijacked religion and is set in rural India. I’m guessing that some aspects of life in the village have not changed a huge amount since the middle ages- the farming techniques of terracing and rice-planting are probably similar and the ways that they dry and store grain for example. The book is a very small seed at the moment so don’t hold your breath!
There has recently been some trouble in Paradise, however. The alleged rape and murder of two young local women in Shopian, southern Kashmir, by members of the security forces have greatly shocked and angered Kashmiris and have led to a state-wide 8 day strike, riots and attacks on soldiers in Srinigar. It has forced comment and promises of justice from the newly-elected government but people here are angry. This latest horrific incident has been seen by many as yet another slight on the dignity of Kashmir and her people.
On a day to day basis, Kashmir feels remote from the rest of India. Electricity supply is often cut off which in turn affects the efficient running of any business. The negative effect on communications, especially access to the internet, is also felt by those working in the tourist industry trying to provide a competitive service to travellers. Add to this the latest wave of protest and violence and tourists (Indian and foreign alike) fall away in droves.
Pahalgam is the nearest town to an important shrine to Shiva, a cave containing a lingam, which is visited by thousands of Hindu and Sikh pilgrims every year. The presence of so many soldiers on the streets of towns and tourist attractions in the area is allegedly to ensure the safety of these visitors. Since I arrived a month ago, I have seen the arrival of more and more troops into the town: there are now at least three large army camps situated in and around the centre. The local hotel owners and trekking guides I have spoken to are positive towards the army, appreciating the security they provide and the resultant reassurance to tourists. I wonder, though, to what extent this constant surveillance intrudes into the lives of citizens here, how much power the security forces have to go into people’s homes, to interrogate locals and to invade their privacy. I gather from local news reports that much of the overflow of anger recently is the culmination of years of stored up resentment towards the authorities, who have failed to respect the freedoms and rights of Kashmiris.
Being here there is no question that Kashmir is a volatile area. There is a great deal of edge to be felt on the streets of Srinigar, in particular, but also here in Pahalgam. As well as this, local people are struggling to make ends meet as their livelihoods are threatened by the trouble. What makes the situation all the sadder is the fact that this lush valley with its 360 degree wall of pine and snow-covered peaks of stunning beauty truly must qualify as a paradise on earth.
I’ve really enjoyed the trips into town this week. Pahalgam has one of the most beautiful surroundings of any town I’ve been in: snowy peaked mountains on all sides and the glacial Lidder River running through it. The town itself has chalet-type buildings lining much of the main street and a bizarre mixture of jeeps (honking), horses occasionally cantering through the chaos, Western-dressed Indian tourists, gypsy groups passing through with their pack mules and herds of goats and local Kashmiris wearing their traditional sack-like 'feren'
. There is also a big army presence: every few yards a soldier armed with a big gun.My trip to the fabric wallah to buy material for some shalwar kameez was a highlight. Shalwar are made up of three items of clothing- Kashmiri style trousers are baggy with a knee-length tunic and a dupatta (which is a scarf worn over the bust and shoulders (and sometimes to cover the hair). The fabric for each of these is sold together, as ordained by the shop owner, thus, if you like the material for the tunic, you have to buy the specified material for the pants. I had three macho, bearded Kashmiri men assuring me that the colour combo would work and I followed their advice to the letter! Next the tailors where I had an audience of about 10 locals of varying ages (one an elderly man with a bright orange hennaed beard), putting in their two-penneth worth on the cut, tightness and length of my outfit- wicked! Tomorrow is pick-up day for the shalwar- if they’re decent I’ll upload some photos of the end result.
Ari and I came across an excellent piece of local street theatre: A mixed group of local people and gypsies visiting the market (women at the back apart from me!) were crowded around a man with a covered box. We couldn’t understand the dialogue between the magician and the crowd of course, but the main idea involved a snake turning into a child, who the magician threatened to hurt with a rusty looking knife if we (suckers) didn’t pay him 10 rupees each. Allah was mentioned several times and some of the men in the crowd spread their hands in a gesture of worship from time to time. The crowd were fascinated and leaned on each other’s shoulders to get a better view- personal space is a very different concept here in India and people get very close (I piled in with the blokes- they were so excited by the show they didn’t even notice a foreign woman next to them). We never really got to the bottom of what was going on but it didn’t matter.
I’m even getting to know some of the local shop-keepers to say ‘hello’ to whenever I go in. People have been very friendly in the way I have become used to in Muslim communities. In the village especially, I have been welcomed very warmly and yet people are not at all intrusive (as I found in China). There’s a real chilled out feeling in the village, which is very peaceful, green and picturesque, as if there’s all the time in the world to sit about smoking a zhijir (water pipe) and drinking the local chai, which is spiced with cardamom and clove.
For a while I have been planning to go and stay in the village for several days as a good way to meet some of the women and perhaps learn some Kashmiri or some local craft (they do some very nice needle point embroidery here). I have also had a seed of an idea for a story I’d like to write: it’s a historical, sci-fi story about the time when politics hijacked religion and is set in rural India. I’m guessing that some aspects of life in the village have not changed a huge amount since the middle ages- the farming techniques of terracing and rice-planting are probably similar and the ways that they dry and store grain for example. The book is a very small seed at the moment so don’t hold your breath!
There has recently been some trouble in Paradise, however. The alleged rape and murder of two young local women in Shopian, southern Kashmir, by members of the security forces have greatly shocked and angered Kashmiris and have led to a state-wide 8 day strike, riots and attacks on soldiers in Srinigar. It has forced comment and promises of justice from the newly-elected government but people here are angry. This latest horrific incident has been seen by many as yet another slight on the dignity of Kashmir and her people.
On a day to day basis, Kashmir feels remote from the rest of India. Electricity supply is often cut off which in turn affects the efficient running of any business. The negative effect on communications, especially access to the internet, is also felt by those working in the tourist industry trying to provide a competitive service to travellers. Add to this the latest wave of protest and violence and tourists (Indian and foreign alike) fall away in droves.
Pahalgam is the nearest town to an important shrine to Shiva, a cave containing a lingam, which is visited by thousands of Hindu and Sikh pilgrims every year. The presence of so many soldiers on the streets of towns and tourist attractions in the area is allegedly to ensure the safety of these visitors. Since I arrived a month ago, I have seen the arrival of more and more troops into the town: there are now at least three large army camps situated in and around the centre. The local hotel owners and trekking guides I have spoken to are positive towards the army, appreciating the security they provide and the resultant reassurance to tourists. I wonder, though, to what extent this constant surveillance intrudes into the lives of citizens here, how much power the security forces have to go into people’s homes, to interrogate locals and to invade their privacy. I gather from local news reports that much of the overflow of anger recently is the culmination of years of stored up resentment towards the authorities, who have failed to respect the freedoms and rights of Kashmiris.
Being here there is no question that Kashmir is a volatile area. There is a great deal of edge to be felt on the streets of Srinigar, in particular, but also here in Pahalgam. As well as this, local people are struggling to make ends meet as their livelihoods are threatened by the trouble. What makes the situation all the sadder is the fact that this lush valley with its 360 degree wall of pine and snow-covered peaks of stunning beauty truly must qualify as a paradise on earth.
1 comment:
Would love to see your tailored-made costume!!! Lucky you.
Enjoying your writing as ever. See you soon.
Love, Polyn
p.s I've forgotten my password again - re when I comment.
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