The dust has settled, at least for now. I believe I am ready to write about the last one week. Actually, about the last three weeks. When the news about the 22 April Pahalgam Terror Attack began to trickle in, I was shocked.
I couldn’t believe the scale and the audacity of the Pahalgam Terror Attack. Couldn’t believe that innocent tourists were gunned down just because they belonged to a different faith…
Also, Kashmir. Beautiful Kashmir. I first went to Kashmir in 2014. And now I’ve gone to Kashmir twice in the last seven months. I’ve seen the transformation firsthand. In 2014, and I’d written about it too, Kashmir had felt cold, hostile and judgmental.
But, in the last two visits, since 2024 October, I got nothing but friendliness, love and warmth. Our drive bhai who appointed himself our guardian and defacto negotiator (because he figured out that we sucked at bargaining).
Our hotel manager bhai whose wide smile made us feel welcomed and who ensured we lacked for nothing. Who would, in fact, keep checking with us if we were getting late.
All the shopkeepers who joked with us and fed us crazy amounts of nuts and kahwa. I was absolutely thrilled to see a chilled culture too in Srinagar. Youngsters hanging out in mixed gender groups.
Girls wore scarves but also wore western attire. Occasionally, a cigarette dangled from their fingers (not that I support smoking). Groups of older men would be sitting on other tables but they would be joking and laughing amongst themselves.
None would even glance at the youngsters. The chance of that happening is more in Delhi NCR!
And then, on our last night there, we were invited to attend a party by our hotel owner. There was no need to invite us. We were literally unknown people. He did it just out of the generosity of his heart.
A few of the folks we met at the party, all of them made us feel at home. I remember that night vividly – under the stars, with the Dal Lake in front of us and the Zabarwan behind us, a bonfire adding to the camaraderie, a musician on the raqaab, endless plates of kebabs and rumali rotis…
These very memories made my eyes well up in the last three weeks. I couldn’t imagine what they would be feeling and going through. I felt really, really bad for Kashmir. That land didn’t deserve this.
Kashmir was slowly rebuilding itself when this tragedy struck…
Everybody who asked me about my trips, I would confidently say, “Oh yes, it’s very friendly. It’s super safe, like any other Indian state capital now. Lots of development is happening, etc.”
But after the Terror Attack, what do I say?
My only hope is that after Operation Sindoor (I’ll write about that in my next post), life begins to trickle back to some sort of normalcy in Kashmir. I hope the development works get a boost.
I hope tourism slowly picks up pace again. But, most importantly, I hope Kashmir becomes safe and secure. Not just for the rest of India but also for Kashmiris themselves.
Who wants to live in fear? Who wants to live with uncertainty? Who wouldn’t want a peaceful life? Having a stomach that’s filled adequately and a choice to wear the best clothes is important.
Everyone desires a rock-solid roof over their head. Who doesn’t want to lead a life where s/ he isn’t questioned about her/ his loyalties? Who doesn’t want to manage to travel without being checked twice or being given a suspicious glance?
And so much more, I do want Jammu and Kashmir to be as stable as any other state of India. I do want Srinagar to be like every other state capital of India. And I do want Kashmiris to live like every other Indian…
