Kashmir Diary 9

Serenity 

It was second day of our stay at Pahalgam. We had a prolonged & perhaps inconclusive discussion on whether or not should we risk going for sight-seeing taking ponies.It was that part of Pahalgam  where no vehicles could go.So the only option was to take ponies. The overnight rains had made the slopes wet & slippery.  My nephew ' whatsapped ' his friend asking about the places we were to visit & was it really worth it. The answer was surprisingly NO. " All places were similar & no point on taking pony rides on skiddy slopes." That's what we were told. So we went to a small garden which was at a walking distance from our hotel. 

On our way to the garden, we were literally gheraoed by the guides who with their sweet language & skills, were trying to convince us. We found it difficult to say no to them, but at the same time our decision of not going was also not going to change. For the first time, we had no scheduled programme for the day & there was a question mark about how to spend the day. Perhaps at the back of mind, there was also a feeling that we were coming to the last leg of our trip. Just one day stay in the house boat & then we would be returning home! Back to the mundane routine ! The heart was heavy with a strange feeling of longing for more, although so far we had had a very enjoyable trip, to say the least! 

It was a cold but pleasant morning. It was slightly overcast, but there was no possibility of rains. The sun & clouds were playing hide & seek. The garden was located on the banks of river Lidder. After a look at the vast expanse of lush green lawns with a typical centrally located water canal & well maintained trees, we came towards the river bank. Here on the river bank, they had built a small view point, a hut like structure.   

                                                                                                       
Whoever thought have having it here, must be really a man of great insight & vision.A flowing river in the front, snow capped mountains on the opposite bank, mountains to our right & also behind & this garden was as if like the base of a bowl !
When the clouds dispersed, the blue sky appeared to be deeper blue. There was nobody in the garden apart from us. No other sound apart from the rhythmic flow of the river. And after a while, even this sound got completely merged in the spectacular imagery that we were now a part of.We just sat in that hut & soaked in the atmosphere. We did nothing else.What we were experiencing was just like a small pause in the middle of a beautiful song. The pause only adds to the beauty of the song! Likewise our journey in to nothingness only added to the beauty of the trip. There was no hustle of visiting this or that place of tourist interest ! No cacophony of troublesome noises of all sorts!We were feeling Silence, looking at Silence, hearing Silence & also breathing Silence! We had a  liberty & luxury of being with ourselves. There was this Oneness between us & the Nature. It was here that we discovered the Paradise- the Peace of Mind! 

We could have easily spent the whole day like this. But we filled our minds with the everything that we could perceive through all the senses & with a contented mind, we left the garden. 

More than 2 months have gone by since our Kashmir trip. But this experience remains still fresh in my mind. In fact, I have kept a space in my heart wherein the above imagery has been permanently saved. This is a provision of sorts, as whenever my mind would be stressed or tired,I could keep going there, experience the Peace all over again & get refreshed to face the world !
                                                                                                    ( Photos by Smruti Pusalkar)