Hamin asto, Hamin asto, Hamin ast.
Now, that's what King Jahangir had spelled out, in awe of Kashmir, calling it the heaven on earth,when he had set his eyes on the valley for the first time.
Between then and now, countless people have fallen flat on face or head over heels in love with the valley. But I'll tell you the truth. Honestly, in a way it feels very similar, if not the same, like any other hill station for that matter! It's just that the people there, with their shy faces and peaceful eyes are very warm and loving. And on a good day, with your predispositions shoved out of your head, it takes approx. 2.67529 minutes to fall in love with any Kashmiri. And voila! No matter where you are from, you feel at home!
It was about two weeks before the Tarsar Marsar trek (https://indiahikes.com/tarsar-marsar/)that I told my folks that I am all set to travel to Kashmir for a week to trek with
my buddies, so I could wile myself into the real world. Absolutely no kicks, no drama,
nature and us and dollops of serenity mixed with merely moderate drops of
adrenaline. That is it.
The trip to the then curfew torn Kashmir turned out to
be more, so much more than that now it almost seems like a staged play in Technicolor! Received so much more, lived so much more, learnt so much more than what I
thought I knew about Kashmir.
In a span of 7 days and between the distance of about 224 kilometers between Srinagar and Aru (our base camp) and back to Srinagar, there
was this land, where you could open the windows to the tall alpine forests, distant
clouds, colorful houses hidden in the greens and the occasional laughter of children
playing on the street and literally giggle away in childlike awe.
You start your ascent for the trek and
amidst picture perfect frames of horses grazing by a milky white stream gushing
down, green meadows, frequent bright and beautiful flowers, occasional bright
and beautiful smiles and howdy, misty lakes, starry camp nights, warm conversations and tearjerker dessert servings (I have a huge sweet tooth and that's what you feel like looking at Gulab Jamun in a campsite at 12000 odd ft), you reach
this place by the middle of the journey. And your thoughts plainly refuse to operate in the “Real World” mode. You almost feel like a fossil as if you
had belonged there, been there forever.
I checked the coordinates of the place,
guess what, they were indeed the coordinates of the real world!
My kinda amateurish words come from the corner of heart where miles away from the debates of peace and war, of what's heaven and who's turning it into a hell, you just feel blissfully at home.
Thanks IndiaHikes!
Reflections on Tarsar
The sun is a generous king today
Rays of gold glorious gleam
Searching the meadows and hills alike
Glittering lakes to the brim.
Thoughts pull in and thoughts pull out
Out on the deserted roads, slogans aloud
Waters in the distance, waters in the far
Shores calling the waters, shores calling the stars.
Sheep and rocks weave a trail
Strolling by the horseman's song
As hasty clouds roll over the sky
Shades of blue shove along.
Distant laughter fades away
With the fading sight of vibrant scarves
Oblivious of the blood in the valley
Miles away from anxious hearts
And then, circles of gold beneath the waters
Appear like a magic world beyond
Blue waters swayed by the breeze
Swooned by mountains, devoid of bounds.
Bound as they are, as yet unbound
The waters of Tarsar are your fancies in fleet
As far as your eyes can see
And as far as your soul can seek.
And thoughts pull in and thoughts pull out
Like his caresses, like her pout
Waters in the distance, waters in the far
Waters as close to you as you are.
