"The biggest thing is nothing is impossible ... With so many people saying it couldn't be done, all it takes is an imagination." Michael Phelps
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Land of the Chinars - Is it a cursed beauty?
Finally another wish fulfilled - I got to visit Srinagar, Gulmarg, Kinjarmarg, Qazikund, Banihal, Anantnag and Gulmarg in May. To repeat the cliche - Kashmir is beautiful and one could spend a lifetime in this paradise - is the sum total of my trip to Kashmir.
The most exiciting discovery I made during this trip was that I found out that Dal lake is not just a lake but a township in itself and I saw the majesty and beauty of Chinar trees. I was impressed by the buzz of activity and culture in Dal Lake. I had known Kashmir to be beautifu but I had not known about the existence of activity and culture in the Dal Lake - floating vegetable gardens, a bazaar with water streets, 2200 houseboats, four chinar trees planted by Emperor Jehangir in one of the floating islands of Dal Lake (also known as Char Chinar), shikaras for commuting, people selling everything from daily used items to expensive jewelery, carpets and food on Shikaras...wow! I was also impressed by women rowing Shikaras and women anchoring their Shikaras to catch-up on the gossip. Yes, it was very interesting to know this aspect of the Dal Lake.
With the happiness also came sadness and anger on seeing the slowly rotting heritage. There is a lot of algae in Dal Lake and this algae is slowly killing this beautful lake. Some cleaning efforts are in place but they are highly inadequate and I also learnt about the reckless felling of the Chinar trees. Chinar wood is highly prized and anti-social elements cut these trees illegally to make quick money. Chinar trees take a long time to grow and if cutting is not stopped, we may soon see the end of the Chinar trees soon too! What a loss it would be!
Finally - why Kashmir, is the beauty suffering from some sort of a curse, an evil eye...what a beautiful landscape and what a brutal treatment given to it ... merciless killings of men and women, innocent cries of children, brutal destruction of the Chinars, suffocation of the Dal Lake ... the soul of the land known to heal the soul of humanity is being ripped ... is there some logical explanation or is it fate? I am sure there is some bigger reason behind this suffering in the grand scheme of things but who knows what...till then God Bless Kashmir!
The most exiciting discovery I made during this trip was that I found out that Dal lake is not just a lake but a township in itself and I saw the majesty and beauty of Chinar trees. I was impressed by the buzz of activity and culture in Dal Lake. I had known Kashmir to be beautifu but I had not known about the existence of activity and culture in the Dal Lake - floating vegetable gardens, a bazaar with water streets, 2200 houseboats, four chinar trees planted by Emperor Jehangir in one of the floating islands of Dal Lake (also known as Char Chinar), shikaras for commuting, people selling everything from daily used items to expensive jewelery, carpets and food on Shikaras...wow! I was also impressed by women rowing Shikaras and women anchoring their Shikaras to catch-up on the gossip. Yes, it was very interesting to know this aspect of the Dal Lake.
With the happiness also came sadness and anger on seeing the slowly rotting heritage. There is a lot of algae in Dal Lake and this algae is slowly killing this beautful lake. Some cleaning efforts are in place but they are highly inadequate and I also learnt about the reckless felling of the Chinar trees. Chinar wood is highly prized and anti-social elements cut these trees illegally to make quick money. Chinar trees take a long time to grow and if cutting is not stopped, we may soon see the end of the Chinar trees soon too! What a loss it would be!
Finally - why Kashmir, is the beauty suffering from some sort of a curse, an evil eye...what a beautiful landscape and what a brutal treatment given to it ... merciless killings of men and women, innocent cries of children, brutal destruction of the Chinars, suffocation of the Dal Lake ... the soul of the land known to heal the soul of humanity is being ripped ... is there some logical explanation or is it fate? I am sure there is some bigger reason behind this suffering in the grand scheme of things but who knows what...till then God Bless Kashmir!
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