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)

Kashmir Diary 8

What is typical of Kashmir?

A stay of 8 days is not good enough to understand the peculiarities & the characteristics of a particular place. But while in Kashmir, we managed to catch a glimpse of many things that were either exclusive to Kashmir or there was a stamp of Kashmir on a few things found even otherwise. Though this may not be a comprehensive list, here is a description of some of them-

1) Clothing & accessories : 

a) Pheran: This is a traditional Kashmiri attire worn by people of all ages & both the sexes. It is a kind of long robe that gives protection from the harsh winter season. Usually made of wool or woollen material, they are 2 layered robes. The Pherans worn by women (naturally) have beautiful embroidery work made on them  while the men have rather simple, greyish, brownish or bluish coloured Pherans sometimes with chequered patterns. This photo of Shahid Kapoor from his upcoming film 'Haider' would give you a fair idea of what a Pheran looks like...

You can take your photos in traditional Kashmiri attire at almost all places of tourist interest. These photographers come to you at all places-even by shikara near your houseboat. You just have to wear the Pheran over your dress, wear the typical Kashmiri jewellery & you are ready to be clicked. 

                                      

b) I know nothing about embroidery but there is a distinct Kashmiri style of embroidery on ladies tops. My wife tells me that they use wool instead of thread & most of the work is chain stitch. You can find such tops displayed at all places-from Shrinagar to Pahalgam. We had been to a shop during our stay in the houseboat. This place is at the opposite bank of Nagin lake. Not a shop actually, but a huge bungalow ! They had all sorts of items-right from dress materials to Pherans to carpets to tapestry. You (especially those of fairer sex) would be forgiven if your probing vision is unable to settle on to one particular dress material here or a purse there or a Pheran or a carpet just across. Just sample a dress material & a top....

       

c) There were these embroidered  purses as well...

d) Tapestry : Our stay in houseboat was truly a majestic & royal experience. Actually the boat can accommodate 3 families. But fortunately for us, the third family didn't turn up. So we had the entire boat at our disposal. The soft, smooth & elegant Kashmiri carpets, the beautifully made wall hangings & also the hand made bedspreads! I really can't express the beauty in words...

 

All this apparently looks very simple but the finesse & finishing is quite extraordinary as if it is machine-made. Most of it is I guess, hand-made. Obviously, more the things hand made are, more is their price. We wondered why there is such a wide range of embroidery work to be found in Kashmir. The answer lies again in the harsh climatic conditions. During cold winters, when venturing out of house is impossible, people create such wonderful works of art while staying indoors. 

2) Shikara & Houseboat :

While we are talking about houseboat, this also quite peculiar of Kashmir. There are houseboats in Kerala as well. But I doubt if they are so tastefully decorated. We went to our houseboat from one bank of the Nagin lake to another through a Shikara-which is also unique to Kashmir. The houseboat in which we stayed was attached to ITC group. We were told that it takes about 2 1/2 to 3 years to build a houseboat. It costs somewhere in the range of 2-3 crores of Rs for it. Mostly made of Deodar & walnut-wood, the cost of maintenance is about Rs 5-6 lakhs every year & it involves mostly the polishing of the furniture. To tell you the truth, all the expenses really show as the houseboat that we were in, was very well maintained, imperial, splendid, magnificent & grand...We really rued that we stayed there only for a day. What if we could extend our holiday by one more day? That was obviously not going to be...

Intricate work on walnut wood 

The beautiful furniture not just on wall partition but also on ceiling, the Chandeliers, paper mache  vases, mammoth sofas.. everything was not just eye catching but eye pleasing!

    

                                                                                                  

To use the word of the present generation- our stay in Houseboat was really awesome   (But I can't spell the word as they do- owsum? or awsumz?... Whatever...!!!)

3) Bat Factory :

On Shrinagar-Pahalgam road, suddenly you start finding heaps & heaps of wood cut in the shape of bat, neatly piled one above the other in large space. These were cricket bat factories. Yes, Kashmir these days, is also renowned for a place where cricket bats are manufactured on a large scale. These are made of wood from the Willow tree- which is found in abundance in Pahalgam area.The wood has certain peculiarities because of which it is used to prepare bats. It is able to withstand weight & pressure. You can actually stand on it but it will not break. At the same time you can mould it to give proper shape. 

Willow tree

We visited one such factory- Metro factory- where we could actually see bats being made. The overall set up was more like a saw mill.

                                                                                          

Cricket is a game that is played in all nooks & corners of India. Kashmir too was no exception. But in one of our small arguments with driver Shabbir, he used the point very intelligently to drive home his point of alienation of Kashmiris from the rest of India . He said in all these IPL teams or in our national team, why was it that there was no inclusion of a Kashmiri player. We were at such a point of discussion  that it needed to be countered from our side. But then, alas! My so called & reputed strong Memory! I couldn't recollect the name of Parvez Rasool. I gave the name of Maharashtra Ranji player- Samad Fallah as an example.  Shabbir got confused, though not convinced.

4) Food & Drinks : 

We were not lucky enough to have got an opportunity to taste the traditional Kashmiri cuisine i.e. 36 course Wazwan mostly a feast of non-veg dishes made for ceremonies & celebrations. Most of these dishes are mutton based. We, for no particular reason, did not eat mutton there. We only had chicken dishes. Other typical Kashmiri dishes like Kashmiri dum aloo are commonly available. We tasted Kashmiri Rajma, which I thought is on the heavier side to digest. Of all the places in Kashmir, we had Kashmiri Pulav atop phase 1 at Gulmarg. 

 

In this photo, to your left is the Kashmiri Pulav while on the right (for the uninitiated) is Maggi noodles. I don't know if this Pulav that we had could be authentic or genuine because it had some dry fruits(mainly almonds) alright, but it also had Maggi masala! Surely they would not traditionally prepare Kashmiri Pulav adding Maggi masala to it! But there on the cool, snowy mountain amid rains, anything warm was welcome. We also had onion pakoras. 

Kashmiris are known tea drinkers & they have some different varieties & methods of preparing tea. One of the types of tea is called Kawa (or Kahwah or Kehwah or Qawah.. only a few variations of the same name!) This is a green tea mixed with sugar, saffron, cardamom & cinnamon, without milk & added with thinly cut almonds. Served warm, it is indeed an apt drink for the cold conditions over there. It was readily available at Gulmarg, both at the ticket queue & also at phase 1. It seems it is also served for the guests. Even if we go to shops, the owner could offer it to you. They say it is a health drink, energizing & helps to remain fresh throughout the day. You need to develop some taste for it as you don't easily digest the fact that your tea is going to be prepared using cinnamon!

Kashmiri Kawa Tea

While we are talking about saffron, it is indeed typical of Kashmir(though it is available in other places like Spain, USA etc). We could only see the vast saffron fields. The month of May is not the flowering season of saffron. It flowers in October.

Saffron fields 

Saffron flowers are purple colored & it is said that Kashmiri saffron is recognizable by its dark maroon-purple hue; it is among the world's darkest, which hints at strong flavour, aroma, and colouring effect. Just on a passing note, we have a Homeopathic medicine prepared from Saffron- Crocus sativus. In Shrinagar, we shopped from " the only recognized Saffron seller in Shrinagar" loads of Saffron-

5) Kashmiriyat :

Very often on news channel, we come across this term ' Kashmiriyat ', but I had not understood its meaning. The word seems to have a cultural, religious, traditional, artistic connotation in the context of Kashmir. In the present scenario, this might have changed to add some kind of nationalistic sentiment to it. What I take the meaning of the word is that it is a way of life of the Kashmiris. In any place where tourism is the main source of income, you come across so many tourist guides & drivers & hotel waiters etc. There was a common refrain in Kashmir from these people- "Hum yahan chori nahee karte. Hum chahe aapse jyada paise mange, lekin chori kabhi nahi karenge." This we experienced not once but twice & so we can safely say it must be true. When in Shrinagar, we had been to a hotel for lunch. It so happened that we changed our table & somehow our camera remained on the sofa at the earlier table. We had fulsome meal & left without realizing we had not taken our camera along. May be after an hour or so we suddenly realized it. Then we had this session of rewinding the events & incidences of where we had been & what all we did so that we could fix the spot where we might have left the camera. One of it was the hotel. It was only a matter of chance we thought. But that had to be taken. So we went there & to our pleasant surprise, the hotel owner had kept our camera safely in the drawer of his cash counter! Another experience is of a person whom we came to know in Gulmarg. He too had come from Pune along with the famous travel co. There are various small outlets where you get gumboots, warm clothes, gloves on rent. In one such shop, this person had forgotten his laptop bag. When we were putting on the shoes, we met him. The shop owner was returning him the bag. The bag had everything-laptop, mobile, camera. So indeed they might not be indulging in thefts in Kashmir(I am tempted to say excluding the politicians!) Another thing that we noticed is very few beggars on streets! Wherever you go you would really not find them. The only exception was the Hazrat Bal Durgah. Here we saw 2-3 beggars, but they were clearly not from Kashmir. This either means that J & K is a rich state or people believe in working & earning. And both of these could be true! 

                                                                                             

                                                                                                      (to be contd...) 

Kashmir Diary 7

Bollywood and Kashmir-2

On our way to Pahalgam from Shrinagar, we came across this temple. It is actually in complete ruins. But still from its huge structure & pillars, it could attract a lot of visitors. This was Lord Vishnu temple at Avantipora situated 30 kms from Shrinagar in Pulwama district. Built by King Avantivarman (AD 855-883), we were told by the local guide over there, that the huge silver idol of the Lord was taken away by the British. Carved on the walls of the temple are sculptures of nine planets & also Lord Shiva & Ganga. Most of it was beyond recognition & even if the guide tried to fill in those gaps, it was difficult to imagine. I don't know why but the temple & its surroundings reminded me of the Konark Sun temple that we had visited in 1980. The guide said that Avantipora temple was destroyed not by Muslims but because of a powerful earthquake. But internet references suggest a different story. It was, according to these references, destroyed by Muslims. Incidentally, this guide was not a Muslim but a Sardar & he was talking a few lines in Marathi as well ! It was he who told us that the song from ' Aandhi ' was shot here. This was a pleasant surprise & when I checked, I thought he was indeed correct. Again this song seems to have been shot in two locations. The first part is shot at Avantipora. He also said that the last part of the film 'Guide ' was also picturized here.( But this could not be verified) Posting here the photos of the temple & also the song-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-HnmVg0-O8

And this surely must be Gulmarg... sans Gondola of course...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krdVhzD2THw

  

For our stay in the houseboat we chose Nagin Lake over Dal Lake & it was indeed a wise decision. Dal lake was stinking as was crowded with thousands of houseboats. Comparatively Nagin lake was quiet & peaceful & relatively clean as well. At least there was no bad smell in the air. Nagin lake is the location for many a movies-such as 'Mission Kashmir'  & 'Jab Jab Phool Khile '. 

Here in this song,'Pardesiyon se na akhiya milana', in the beginning you see Nagin lake & later on you also see Pari Mahal overlooking the city of Shrinagar & Dal lake. - which is a seven terraced garden built by Darah Shikoh, son of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan.

Nagin Lake 

View from Pari Mahal

Pari Mahal 

 And here's the song-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gzZPoylPI4

(P.S: Shashi Kapoor looks like a perfect Kashmiri!)

No mention on Bollywood & Kashmir could be complete without this song- 'Ye chand sa roshan chehra'  from Kashmir ki Kali, which according to me is shot at Dal Lake. 

                                           

Signing off with the link to this song....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VueN49P7JyU


                                                                                                                       ( to be contd....)

Kashmir Diary 6

Bollywood and Kashmir

One of my friends Shrirang Oak sent me a link to the song from 'Bemisaal', 'Kitni khoobsoorat ye tasveer hai.. ye Kashmir hai', when he came to know that we were going there. A very sweet gesture this, made me to think of other songs picturized over there. That turned out to be quite an exhausting task. There were far too many songs shot at the various picturesque locations in Kashmir. In fact until the turbulent phase in Kashmir in late 80s & early 90s, it seemed a perfect place to shoot not just the film songs but even entire movies. Later of course the delicate situation made it impossible to shoot & after 'DDLJ', the fascination for shooting in Switzerland grew & Yash Chopra became the unofficial brand ambassador for Switzerland.

During our stay in Kashmir, we came across so many locations that gave us a feeling of deja vu- we had seen this valley before in some movie... this bridge on the river in some other... the snow-capped mountains, the tall rows of pine trees, flowing rivers & their wonderful banks, serene lakes, beautiful flowers & well maintained gardens.. everything was just breathtaking !  I remember when we were returning from a trip to Aru valley, our driver pointed out to a small bungalow on the slope of a mountain on the other of river Lidder where according to him film 'Love 86' (Govinda-Neelam starrer) was shot. It seemed one of the most unlikely locations to shoot considering the slope of the mountain. Incidentally, the driver also added while in Aru & in Pahalgam that many scenes of 'Karma' were shot there.On our way to Pahalgam from Shrinagar, the other driver Shabbir showed us the location where 'Mere man ki ganga' from 'Sangam' was picturized. Almost every corner would have been fit for a movie song or shooting.Another point is that we had to rely heavily on the information provided to us by localites. So the authenticity of the information written here may not be 100%. If anyone adds/corrects to this, it is most welcome!

On this backdrop, I am going to undertake a gargantuan task here. I am going to post a few songs that have been shot in Kashmir & also post the photos of these places where we actually visited. In a way, this is just an extension of what Shrirang had sent to me. But I am also restricting to the places where we actually went & the photos we have of the places.
I would begin with this unlikely, yet good song from 1979 movie-'Prembandhan'. If you want to make a whirlwind trip of Kashmir, you won't find a better song than this to do so.Have a look...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9SjRIkexoM

Shalimar Garden 

Dal Lake

This song first takes you to Gulmarg, then to Shalimar garden, then Pahalgam plateau, then Dal lake, then (most probably) Sonamarg Cherry orchards all in a span of just 5 1/2 minutes! 

This next song is actually a combination of two places- first is the Shankaracharya Mandir in Shrinagar & second is at Gulmarg. Mumtaz sits on the footsteps of Shankarcharya temple in the opening shot of the song & later on the location changes. This is a famous song-' Jai Jai Shiv shankar ' from 'Aap ki Kasam '. The same temple is also seen in another song from the same film 'Zindagi ke safar mein.' Also the song 'Karvate badalte rahe' is shot in Gulmarg. At least 4 songs from this movie have been shot there. 

Shankaracharya Mandir

Since cameras were not allowed in the premises of the temple, we could only take the photo from our hotel which was exactly at the foothills. But for you to get an idea I am posting a borrowed photo.

Shoot site at Gulmarg

And here is the song-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mpy0UzbHNr0

While returning from Chandanwadi at Pahalgam, we went to the 'Betaab Valley.' Yes..named after the Sunny Deol-Amruta Singh movie. They say that this place was a remote, discrete location before the movie. But the film changed everything.So full credit to Rahul Rawail or whoever did the recce of this place. Now this area is also called Betaabwadi. Even after so many years after the movie, the place has actually immortalized it. I don't recollect any other film's location that has been converted as a park (with entry fee!) & become a place of tourist interest.'Betaab' is no 'Mother India' or 'Mughal-e-Azam' or 'Sholay' but still has this honour & privilege. And it is not as if they have kept the Sunny Deol house as it was seen in the movie. There is only a wooden foundation that is suggestive of it.They could have done better to preserve the memories of the movie. But the park as such is very nice & views of the valley wonderful!

Here is the song...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaavlSpk7bE

Will be back with some more next time...
(Photos by Akshay Apte. Inputs- Mugdha Apte)
                                                                                                                                                          (to be contd...)

काश्मीर डायरी ५

भारतीय सैन्य, सैनिक, भारतीय पोस्ट . . . 

४

उडीच्या सैनिकी पोस्टची जागा तशी वैशिष्टयपूर्ण, खरं तर आपल्या दृष्टीने तोट्याची आहे. म्हणजे असं की तीन बाजूंनी डोंगर आणि तेही  शत्रू पक्षाच्या ताब्यातले आणि खाली एका बाऊलसारखी ही पोस्ट ! पोस्टकडे जाताना झेलम नदीच्या पलीकडे पाक व्याप्त काश्मीरच्या डोंगरांवर त्यांचे बंकरही दिसतात. म्हणजे त्यांना उंचीचा फायदा मिळत असणार गोळीबार करायला ! 

पोस्ट म्हणजे तरी काय - एका रांगेत असलेली बैठी घरं !  तिथे गेल्या गेल्या आम्हांला ही पाटी दिसली. 

तिथे पोचल्यावर आमची भेट सुभेदार महेंद्रसिंह यांच्याशी झाली. इथून पुढचा अर्धा -पाउण तास ते आमच्याबरोबर होते. टिपिकल सैनिकी पोशाख परंतु आवाज अगदी मृदू, मुलायम ! सैन्यातल्या माणसाला न शोभणारा ! काहीवेळा तर त्यांचं बोलणं आमच्यापर्यंत पोचतही नव्हतं. पावसाळी, ढगाळ वातावरण, गार वारा, पोस्टच्या आजूबाजूला असलेली झाडी आणि या सगळ्यावर कडी करणारं  एक अनामिक थ्रील आणि गूढ तणावही  ! कदाचित मला माझीच मनाची अवस्था नीट शब्दांत पकडता येत नसेल. . . पण त्यातल्या त्यात जवळचा शब्द हाच असू शकेल. समोर सगळीकडे शत्रूने बळकावलेला प्रदेश . . . नजरेच्या इतक्या जवळच्या टप्प्यात शत्रूचे दर्शन पहिल्यांदाच होत होते. जरी आपले सैन्य जगातील सर्वोत्तम सैन्यांपैकी एक असा लौकिक असलेले आणि पाहुण्यांची पुरेपूर काळजी घेण्याची जबाबदारी पार पाडणारे असे असले तरी समोरचे सैनिक त्याउलट कुरापती काढणारे किंवा माथेफिरू असा लौकिक असलेले! यातून काही घडले तर ? हा कुठेतरी मनाच्या एका कोपऱ्यात  विचार चालू होता. याला तुम्ही काय म्हणायचं ते म्हणा! 

पोस्टच्या बाहेर एक बस थांबली होती. मुझफ्फराबाद-श्रीनगर या मार्गाची ती बस! बस रिकामी होती. तिकडून आलेले प्रवासी सामानाची तपासणी, कागदपत्रांची औपचारिकता या गोष्टी आपल्या पोस्टच्या एका इमारतीत करत होते. दोन्ही बाजूच्या काश्मीर मध्ये विखुरल्या गेलेल्या नातेवाईकांना एकमेकांना भेटण्याचा हा एक उत्तम मार्ग! दोन्ही देशातील तणाव निवळण्याच्या  दृष्टीने टाकलेले हे एक महत्त्वपूर्ण पाउल ! भारतीय पोस्ट आणि पलिकडची पाक व्याप्त काश्मीरची पोस्ट, मध्ये वाहणारी झेलम नदी आणि त्यावरील हा पूल ! दोन देशांना तसं म्हटलं जोडणारा, संवाद साधण्याची शक्यता निर्माण करणारा हा पूल ! मैत्रीचा पूल म्हणणं फारच रोमांटिक होईल. पण निदान शांतता आणि सौहार्द राखण्यास मदत करणारा, व्यापार आणि मानवी व्यवहार यांना चालना देणारा असा पूल ! म्हणून याचं नाव आहे- कमान अमन सेतू ! 

अमन सेतू हे समजलं, पण हे कमान का? हे नाव आधीही आमच्या मेजर बरोबरच्या गप्पांमध्ये आलं होतं. तेव्हा मी त्याचा अर्थ कमांड असा घेतला होता. पण सुभेदार महेंद्रसिंह यांच्याकडून कमान या नावाचा उलगडा झाला-

हा मार्ग तसा जुना आहे. अगदी स्वातंत्र्यपूर्व काळापासून वापरातला ! १९४७ नंतर पाकिस्तानने या मार्गावरून भारतात घुसखोरीचा प्रयत्न केला होता तेव्हा गढवाल रायफल्सच्या  लेफ्टनंट कर्नल कमानसिंह यांनी त्यांच्याजवळ कमी सैन्य असूनही अजोड शौर्य आणि साहसी नेतृत्वाच्या जोरावर शत्रूला नामोहराम केले होते. त्यांच्या या पराक्रमाच्या सन्मानार्थ त्यांना महावीरचक्र देण्यात आले होते. त्यांच्या स्मरणार्थ या पोस्टला हे नाव देण्यात आले. 

त्या बैठया घरांच्या थोडंसं पुढे चालत गेल्यावर तो पूल दिसला. पुलावर आपल्याबाजूने एक सैनिकी ट्रक आणि त्यांच्या बाजूने एक ट्रक असं दृश्य होतं. पुलाच्या दुरुस्तीचं काम आपल्या सैन्यातर्फे चालू होतं. आणि म्हणूनच या पुलावरून जड वाहतूक होत नव्हती.आम्हांला वाटेत दिसलेली ट्रकची रांग आणि ते ओस पडलेले सलामाबाद गाव याचे हे कारण होते. आपल्याकडच्या पुलाच्या डावीकडे भारतीय सैनिक सतत पोझिशन घेउन उभे होते, तर उजव्याबाजूला शांततेचं प्रतीक म्हणून पांढरा झेंडा लावला होता.पलीकडेही तसाच झेंडा होता. पोशाखावरून पुलावर काम करणारे सर्व भारतीय सैनिकच दिसत होते. एक सैनिक तर पुलाच्या खाली असलेल्या दगडी खांबावर उतरून बाहेरच्या बाजूने पुलाला रंग देण्याचे काम करत होता. 

महेंद्रसिंह यांनी दिलेल्या माहितीप्रमाणे हा पूल आपणच बांधलाय, त्याची डागडुजीही आपणच करतो. पुलाला आपण बाहेरून तिरंग्याचा रंग दिला होता. यावर पाकिस्तानने आक्षेप घेतल्यामुळे आता तिथे पांढरा रंग देण्याचे काम चालू होते. 

 भारतीय सीमांच्याबद्दल बरीच माहिती मिळाली जी निदान मला तरी नवीन होती. शेजारी राष्ट्रांबरोबर आपल्या  ४ प्रकारच्या सीमा आहेत-

१) आंतरराष्ट्रीय सीमा (International  Borders)- या सीमांबद्दल फारसा तंटा-बखेडा नाही. उदा- पंजाब-राजस्थान लगतची सीमा.  

२) LoC - Line of Control - जम्मू आणि काश्मीर लगतची सीमा.  

३) L A C -Line of Actual Control - चीन-भारत सीमा.  

४) AGPL-Actual Ground Position Level -सियाचीन भागातील सीमा. 

यात फक्त LoC वर छोटया-मोठया चकमकी होतात. बाकीच्या ठिकाणी असं झालं तर ते एक प्रकारे युद्धच समजलं जाईल. 

समोरच पाकिस्तानी सैनिक दिसत होता. त्याचं बहुदा मोबाईल वर बोलणं चालू होतं. 

तसं म्हटलं तर अगदी हाकेच्या अंतरावर हे सैनिक आमने सामने असणार. त्यांच्यात कधी बोलणं होतं ? यावर महेंद्रसिंह यांनी दिलेलं  उत्तर मार्मिक होतं- "वो कुछ बात नही करते. कोई भी काम की बात हो तो हमें ही बोलना  पडता है. वो  सहमे सहमे से रहते है !" असं हसत हसत म्हणाले. "हम उनपर  भारी पडते है ना ! Ratio के हिसाब से वो अगर एक है तो हम बारह है. इसलिये उनको चुप रहना पडता है." आमच्या सारख्या सर्वसामान्य भारतीय नागरिकांना आश्वस्त करण्यासाठी ते असं बोलले की खरोखरच परिस्थिती अशी आहे हे सांगता येत नाही. कारण वृत्तपत्रात तर बातम्या अशा येत असतात की ज्यावरून वाटावं की पाकिस्तान आपल्याला काही ना काही प्रकारे डिवचत असतो. 

पुलाजवळ फोटो काढून झाल्यावर आम्ही त्या बैठया इमारतीत गेलो. २५ जुलै २०११ ला इथे पाकिस्तानकडून झालेल्या गोळीबाराच्या खुणा दिसत होत्या. वातानुकूलन यंत्रणेमधून हा गोळीबार झाल्याचे महेंद्रसिंह यांनी सांगितले. 

या खुणा बघताना अंगावर काटाच  आला! असा गोळीबार झाल्यास सैनिक ताबडतोब प्रत्त्युत्तर देउ शकतात, त्यासाठी दिल्लीच्या परवानगी ची गरज नसल्याचेही त्यांनी सांगितले. असाच गोळीबार एकदा काही पर्यटकांवर  झाल्याचे ही त्यांनी सांगितले. अर्थात तेव्हा ते परवानगी नसताना तो पूल ओलांडायचा प्रयत्न करत होते म्हणून झाला असेही ते म्हणाले. 

बाहेर मस्त पावसाळी वातावरण असताना तिथे आम्ही गरमागरम कॉफी आणि पकोडे असा त्या वातावरणाला साजेसा पाहुणचार घेतला आणि परतीच्या वाटेला लागलो. 

५

हे सगळं जरी असलं तरी या सैन्याकडे सामान्य जनता कशाप्रकारे बघते? आम्ही वाटेत बऱ्याच वेळा पाहिलं. सैनिक रस्त्यात उभे असले तरी त्यांच्याकडे रस्त्यावरची माणसं ढुंकूनसुद्धा बघत नाहीत. रस्त्यावरच्या एखाद्या पुतळ्याच्या अस्तित्वाची आपण दखलसुद्धा घेत नाही. तो रोजचाच असल्यामुळेही असेल असे. तसेच आम्हांला सर्वसामान्य माणसाचे या सैन्याच्या बाबतीत वाटले. ड्रायव्हर शब्बीर ला या सैन्याबद्दल विचारले असता त्याने एका वाक्यात सांगितले- "ये बहोत ज्यादा है. यहा इतनी फौज की जरूरत नही है. " त्याच्या म्हणण्याप्रमाणे या सैन्याचा होणारा खर्च हा सर्वसामान्य लोकांकडूनच वसूल केला जातो. तसेच त्याच्या म्हणण्याप्रमाणे  आजतागायत सैन्याकडे सुमारे २ कोटी एकर जमीन ताब्यात आहे. सर्व मोक्याची ठिकाणे सैन्याने बळकावली आहेत. जिथे पर्यटनाचा विकास होऊ शकतो तिथे सैन्य असल्यामुळे तिथे काहीच होणं शक्य नाही. एकूणच स्थानिक सरकार, पोलिस, भारत सरकार, सैन्य या सगळ्यांबद्दल त्याच्या मनात खदखदता असंतोष होता . रागच म्हणा ना ! "ये गवर्मेंट चोर है ." "पुलिस काम कुछ  करती नही सिर्फ पैसा खाती है " " ये इलेक्शन के  दौरान  बम ब्लास्ट मंत्री लोग ही करते है " अशी काहीशी पूर्वग्रहदूषित आणि generalization केलेली वाक्ये तो छातीठोकपणे टाकायचा. प्रत्येक घटनेकडे बघायचे त्याचे एक वेगळे व्हर्जन होते. त्याच्या म्हणण्याप्रमाणे काश्मिरी पंडितांना राज्यपाल जगमोहन यांनीच काश्मीर सोडून जायला सांगितलं कारण त्यांच्या जीवाला त्यावेळी धोका होता.पूर्वी एकूण लोकसंख्येच्या १०% असणारे पंडित आता जेमतेम १ % आहेत हे ही त्यानेच सांगितले होते. आता ते का परत येत नाहीत. यावरही त्याचे उत्तर होते-वो क्यू यहा आयेंगे? उनको सब जगह सरकारी  नौकरी मिलती  है." 

एकूणच नकळतपणे त्याच्यात आणि आमच्यात एक अंतर होते आणि ते आम्ही समजू शकत नव्हतो. त्याच्या मते एक संपूर्ण तरूण  पिढी या militancy च्या नावाखाली बरबाद झाली. अतिरेकींच्या नावाखाली कित्येक निर्दोष लोकांना उचलून नेण्यात आलं. कित्येकांचा अजून पत्ता नाही. कित्येक मारले गेले. "गलतिया तो सब लोग करते है लेकिन उसकी इतनी बडी सजा तो नही होती ना !" त्याच्या मनातल्या रागाचं तो कारणच मांडत होता. म्हणूनच जेव्हा त्याला -तुम्हांला कोणी निवड करायला सांगितली तर काय निवडाल असं विचारल्यावर क्षणाचाही विलंब न लावता तो म्हणाला- "हमे १०० % आजादी चाहिये. ना इंडिया से जुडे रहेंगे ना पाकिस्तानसे ! यहा सब लोग यही चाहते है" पुढे मी त्याला माझ्या भौगोलिक, आर्थिक, राजकीय इ .ज्ञानाचा वापर करून सांगायचा प्रयत्न करत होतो की त्याचं कसं चुकतंय. पण तो बधला नाही. काश्मीर समस्या आणि त्याचे वेगवेगळे पैलू न समजताच काहीतरी बरळत राहणं हे काही राजकीय नेते करतात आणि सध्या Whatsapp वर अनेक असे संदेश फिरतात त्यांच्यात आणि माझ्यात फारसा फरक नव्हता हेच खरं ! 

(To be continued...)