The Straits Times, August 26, 2009
TO have absorbed some of the serenity that is Kashmir is to have snatched a glimpse of nature's wonders out of the turmoil of human strife.
Not my words, but those of former ST reporter Koh Buck Song, who travelled to Kashmir in 1996. His article on the trip lies framed and hanging on the wall of a houseboat in Srinagar where he stayed.
Not my words, but those of former ST reporter Koh Buck Song, who travelled to Kashmir in 1996. His article on the trip lies framed and hanging on the wall of a houseboat in Srinagar where he stayed.
ST PHOTO: Nicholas Yong
By sheer coincidence, I stayed in the very same houseboat on Dal Lake for a night, during five days of travel in the region bitterly contested by India and Pakistan since 1947.
Abdul, the genial butler who served Buck Song 13 years ago, remembers him as “a very good person”.
A quick glance through the houseboat’s guestbook also revealed a surprisingly large number of Singaporeans who stayed there in August alone.
ST PHOTO: Nicholas Yong
Our hosts noted that they had entertained many Asian tourists, mainly from Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong. Nevertheless, we attracted curious looks and concealed giggles from locals seemingly unaccustomed to seeing Chinese faces, as we walked around town.
According to our guide, Srinagar largely attracts domestic tourists, with Westerners often staying away due to the ever-present threat of violence. Bobbing on a shikara (river taxi) around Dal Lake and admiring the floating gardens, one wondered how the serenity of the place could ever be disturbed.
Traders haggle at the early morning floating market on Dal Lake. -- ST PHOTO: Nicholas Yong
But just as Buck Song travelled amid the spectre of unrest all those years ago, so the knowledge that tensions bubbled just beneath the surface was never far away from our minds. Just last month, hundreds were arrested in Srinagar for rioting, amid allegations that Indian troops had raped and murdered two local women. Lonely Planet also advises travellers to check the latest updates on the security situation in Kashmir before venturing there.
But despite the presence of Indian troops with guns everywhere, we were never made to feel unsafe during our stay in Leh and Srinagar. Instead, we pondered the words of the 17th century Mughal emperor Jahangir in praise of the beauty of Kashmir: “If there is a paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this.”
Walking in the Shalimar gardens that Jahangir had built in honour of his deceased wife, against the backdrop of the spectacular Himalayan mountain ranges, it was easy to see why he had uttered those words. Perhaps it also becomes easier to understand why India and Pakistan have fought three wars over the region, the most recent in 1999.
At the Shalimar Gardens, with the Himalayan mountain ranges in the distance. -- ST PHOTO: Nicholas Yong
Locals enjoying themselves at the Shalimar Gardens. -- ST PHOTO: Nicholas Yong
Dileep, our concierge at the hotel in Leh, indignantly told me: “If you look at a map, Kashmir is really the head of India. And Pakistan wants to take it away from us because it is so beautiful.”
I could not help but feel that talking to a Pakistani would only elicit equally heated sentiments about the region’s rightful ownership. But all talk of conflict and dispute were lost amid the peace and serenity of Kashmir. We merely counted our blessings for the opportunity to be amidst paradise on earth, even if it was just for a little while.
Sitting on the edge of the Indus Valley. -- ST PHOTO: Nicholas Yong
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