Kashmir Chronicles - Chapter 1

The stillness of the night broken by the fervent  chanting of the mullah and his devotees from the mosque a little way down from us on the banks of Dal Lake, Srinagar.  Sleep-deprived, I  reflect how faith sustains people when times are tough and (irreverently) how  annoying it all is when one is trying to sleep!  

Mosque on Lake Dal, Srinigar

Anyway there is no denying that things certainly are tough in Srinagar – and this particular time of renewed  unrest and violence in Kashmir made us doubt the wisdom of travelling there.  However, having lived through tense times of SA unrest and violence when people feared  to visit SA, we decided to venture forth and realise our long-held dream of visiting Kashmir – the Jewel in the Indian crown.



Shikara on Lake Dal





Clermont houseboats, our home in Srinagar

The flights to India and then on to Kashmir were predictably long and the waits in un-bed-friendly waiting rooms uncomfortably trying. Airport  Security of course is an issue everywhere and more so, in Kashmir, than anywhere else in India.



Majestic ancient Chinar Tree



An aside:

INDIAN  ACCENTS .  It’s a curious human phenomenon that when one encounters a strange new accent the mind searches around for a similar familiar word....  for instance on the Jet Airways flight from Mumbai to Delhi the pilot announces “The flight will take 40 mins and as soon as we have achieved altitude hot and cold drinks will be served and a small porcupine”    ??!!

Another example: again Jet Airways from Delhi to Pune : “Welcome to Jet Airlines, ladies and gentleman your pilot this afternoon is Stevie Wonder.”  : )

Finallly we arrived in   SRINAGAR   Wed 12 noon and were relieved to find the driver (who was to become our regular taxi) Shakir waiting for us with a sign bearing our names.  We were whisked off through the heavily armed streets of Srinagar and around Dal Lake just stopping to buy an excruciatingly tough and dry  grilled mielie from the young sellers around the Lake. We have to lie through our hard-working teeth when Shakir smilingly  asks us rhetorically “Sweet and juicy hey?!”

Presently we turned in at Butt’s Clermont House Boats, on the shores of Dal Lake, under welcoming arbours of 400 year old Chinnar trees, planted by the Mughals, to be met warmly by the ebullient Mr. Butt who has run this business like his father before him, for the last 50 odd years.  He takes great pride in leading us into his office whose walls are adorned with photos of  famous  visitors reflecting the past glory of Srinagar, when it was still a safe and popular holiday haven . George Harrison, when he came to learn the sitar from his guru, Ravi Shankar, the Mountbattens, Rockefeller, Yehudi Menuhin several film stars and our own personal favourite – Michael Palin.





And we do not regret it.  Despite the  threatening ubiquitous presence of armoured vehicles and trigger-happy military  –this has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth  and engendering a rare paradoxical sense of peace and relaxation.

LEAVING  HOME was  even more difficult this year than usual  -  particularly at such a high point in our nation’s morale  -   all the 2010 soccer excitement and from time to time having in our home  the enthusiastic presence of 5 young Germans who were loyally following their team around the country.  And the fact that we were in the midst of building a cottage at the bottom of our garden – an undertaking whose enormity we did not fully comprehend when we embarked upon this path. So, finally, after 2 delays to our departure date,  the ‘cottage’ was looking lovely, albeit not fully completed.   We are indebted to our son Joshua for taking on the completion of it.

Rabindranath Tagore:

 “India has two aspects – in one she is the householder,

In the other a wandering ascetic.

The former refuses to  budge from the cozy nook,

The latter has no home at all.

I find both of these within me.  I want to roam alone and see all the wide world, yet I also yearn for a sheltered little nook, like a bird with its tiny nest for a dwelling and the vast sky for flight.”

As any fool knows – building is an extremely stressful occupation and needless to say  these 2 fools were both quite stressed and exhausted (Michael more so, having borne the bulk of the building stresses ) and were badly in need of the break which a houseboat on Dal Lake, Srinagar, Kashmir promised – and delivered.