AZAAN-E-SRINAGAR

                                                  AZAAN-E-SRINAGAR

During one of our regular evening walks in Satwari, Jammu, I bumped into an old acquaintance, an officer, with whom I had served earlier, in Pune .This led to us getting   together over  drinks   in the evening, one of the very good things about Indian Army.

Life happens, almost all the time ,when you are planning it. It was a chance encounter, with that Officer , and during drinks he invited us to  the Valley, as he was posted there . We  literally jumped at the Offer. We  planned our first trip to valley   next  day itself, as it was a long awaited one  for both of us .Valley had been  on our respective minds for quite some time . The trip, a short one , was   in Apr 2019  and we came back fully satiated  after basking in the beauty of paradise  on earth,  the Kashmir Valley and ticking off the main  tourists spots.

“Gar firdaus bar-rue zameen ast , hameen asto , hameen asto , hameen ast “ meaning  if there is haven on earth , it is here , it is here, it is here  . These are the words of Amir Khusrau , a famous poet of Delhi Sultanate , court poet of Alauddin Khilji (1235-1335 AD), known as father of Urdu literature , father of Qawaali , Tuti -e-Hind( Parrot  of India ). His these  words were for Kashmir .

 We wanted to visit valley as we had anticipated   that we would not be visiting valley again, but  little did we know that Allah had other plans for us . After a two years of sabbatical ,study leave ,at Lucknow, which I gainfully used to train ourselves, self and wife,  for impending retirement by doing nothing at all, I have gotten good at it . I  got posted again  to Jammu and Kashmir and this time it was in valley proper, that is Srinagar.  I guess I had realised long back that I am really good at "doing nothing" , which  surely requires right aptitude , attitude and a lot of practice . Though in my heart I secretly envy those   who are always doing something and when they are not doing anything they are  thinking of doing something  . In sharp contrast  to me who is doing nothing , most of the time , and when I am not doing nothing , that is when I am actually doing something, I am  always thinking of doing nothing .

We landed, on  posting , in Srinagar on 10 Sep 2022, excited  to be staying in  the place where people go for vacations. Our stay ,for the first few days, was in  a Aluchi  Bagh, which is in heart  of city  and gives a ghetto-ish feeling with extreme  presence of security forces , with Police HQ and SP’s office in near vicinity . There are lot of Masjids around which belt out Azaans,  a call for prayer, making the complete  scenario,  intimidating for an outsider . A visit to valley can be intimidating  for the uninitiated,  due to  total change in landscape, excessive  presence  of security forces and misplaced   perception , based on what has been and continues to be fed . Seeing  so many people with long  beards, skull caps , different clothing and the sound of Azaans, five times  a day, adds to extreme unfamiliarity. The evolved ones get used to the frequent loud  call for prayers , the way we do for nearby temples and Gurudwaras in  cities/villages across India but we all  are entitled to  our  hypocrisy .

After our previous visit to valley, we, self and Upasna had amicably agreed, one of those rare occasion, that though Kashmir Valley actually deserves the Words of Amir Khusrao in calling  it  heaven on earth but unfortunately its beauty is equally cursed. Which was  later vindicated when we read more about it and watched some  beautiful documentaries on Kashmir .

After our initial stay at Aluchi Bagh, we shifted to Badami Bagh (BB)Cantt, the place which was to be  later rechristened by us as “the Best Hill Station in  India”. In the first week of our stay in Srinagar we went out three to four times to have a feel of the  City, which included a romantic boat ride  on Dal Lake in the  evening  with Ghazals, Vodka and friends  .  After all you have to do what you do best.

Courtesy my new appointment, I had  to go to city everyday from BB Cantt, a privilege not accorded to many posted in the Valley, and also travel to various districts of South Kashmir, the hub of terrorism in  bygone  era .

The regular movement and interaction exposed me to much needed change and development at ground level in the  Valley. Seeing  the Indian Flag furling at Government Degree College  Anantnag and later  at almost all Govt buildings and colleges was a matter of relief and pride, we have now managed to thwart the nefarious plans of our western neighbour . My regular interactions with  locals indicated how they waited for this change  and how happy they were with  the revenge  tourism, after Corona, putting balm  on their deep wounds.

Part of my  job was to  interact  with young adults and students. It was  such  a joy to see bonds being built with rest of the country at many levels , specially punjabi music,playing a major role . Sidhu Moosewala lives in the hearts of Kashmiri youth too.

I quickly learnt to greet in  Kashmiri accent  ,‘Asslam Wale Kum’,and use of common  words like Masla , Insha Allah in my vocabulary. My surname, Bhatt, helped many times to initiate conversation with locals and talk about the Shaivite  connection of Bhats of valley with Bhatts of Gharwal, Kumaon.

“De Shiva Var Mohe” (Bless me lord Shiva )……

It starts getting cold in Oct and we primed  ourself by buying  famous Ooshin socks and inners as ,”normal socks and  inners don’t work in peak winters ,”was the knowledge handed down to us.

Initially I found myself wearing  a Pyjama  to bed , rarely done earlier, and later using  warm inners, including inner bottoms, to  office, something that I had not done in my life earlier. I was elated when my decision, to buy  an oil radiator,  which was earlier quite discredited ,got   appreciated by wife , a  rare occasion again.

 The Valley must be the only place in India where you see and feel all seasons  in full bloom. Spring, Summer, , Autumn and of course the Winters.  Autumn was beautiful with all colourful leaves on  trees anticipating fall . The evening walks are a joy in BB Cantt, where you get to see a distinct change  in flora and fauna  around  every thirty  days.

 Living in winters in Srinagar is an unique  experience when  the Valley is covered with white sheets of snow  interspersed  with winding  Jhelum passing through the white sheets .  You dread moving  to any area without sufficient layers . Going for  walks with gloves on, an idea I would have scoffed   earlier, was   welcomed. We both, yet again, agreed that such severe winters, like that of  the Valley,  is good  for us only for visiting and not staying.

 The Valley exposed us  to many things including  famous authentic  Wazwan, Noon chai ,  different kinds of  kashmiri breads  and Dhaniya  chicken to name a few   .The evening walks  on Dal Boulevard, boating on Dal lake in evenings, with lights of cities and heights of Zabarwan hills surrounding Dal lake   and  unique floating vegetable market on the  Lake early morning, where vendors sell their wares on boats  on lake .are etched on our minds .

There are number of places and things about the Valley which promise to stay in your mind forever  . There were many occasions , when  we tried, like kids in candy store , to capture images on  our phones ,but later  decided to let them just stay in our minds. No phone or even  DSLR can ever do justice to the joy or beauty of valley . Its a futile attempt. We did touristy things  and hidden gems too  but to top it all we allowed  ourselves to feel the place and interact with Avam, a urdu word for  common people.

We consider ourselves very lucky to have spent a year in  a place where people go when they want to go  for exotic Vacations .

Fortunately we got to see all the Seasons. Our  stay was cut short by a year and instead of two years we stayed for a year only  . Something which is  rued  only because of the connection, I had with my local staff from my office and the beautiful sights of Srinagar .I still carry with me  images of those beautiful people, in heaven  on earth ,memories of those heavenly  sights and the soothing sounds  of Azaans of Srinagar