Friday, January 23, 2009

Kashmir Himalayas 1983...part 1






I was armed only with a box camera, or rather a pin-hole camera..this + time resulting in the poor pic quality...this was after the end of my Class 11 Annuals.
Amritsar was a temp halt..it was the height of militancy.
The pic above shows the Golden Temple, we all wearing the customary scarves..what struck me was the cleanliness. Most of all was stunned by the friendliness of the devotees..and "nihangs". We were probably the only non-Sikhs inside the Temple..
A round of the Library..the paintings..then Jalianwala Bagh..
The night train to Jammu..the bus trip from Jammu to Srinagar was heavenly..It rained very, very heavily...and as we descended from Patni Top to the Chenab Valley...via Ramban, Batote..remmeber the names, because we had to take 2 hour lunch break there..such was the blinding rain...the Chenab was in spate...
Srinagar was our night halt...
Next day, we were off to our destination - Baramulla. It is situated halfway between Srinagar to Uri (LOC).
Baramulla is rarely visited by tourists nowadays.
The Srinagar - Baramulla road was lined with poplar or some other trees...it was heavenly.. Uncle and Pishi invited us into the log cabin, one of the best accomodations I've ever had..We all stayed by the banks of the Jhelum !
Aaah..the scent of wood..and the sometimes gurgling sound of the Jhelum..the apple orchards..the hillocks on the opposite side of the Jhelum..the hillocks on our side climbing up to the very rare Baramulla-Gulmarg road.

Astounding way was how the Jhelum was transformed within Baramulla itself..from a placid river to the starting of a turbulent, roaring , tumultous wave of water...rushing towards the LOC.
2 pics of the Jhelum...pic 1 is relatively placid..pic 2 is from the turbulence in the water begins to pick up, as it is the western limit of the Vale of Kashmir..and the mountains begin again, Baramulla upto Uri..upto the LOC...






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