Jose's India Travel Newsletter
 

 K A S H M I R

Kashmir Section 3                                                                        Kashmir:   Section 1 I Section 2 I Section 3 I Section 4 I Section 5

The City of Srinagar
Srinagar is the city that surrounds Dal Lake.  It is quite large, over one million people but easy to get around.  You can get everywhere on an auto rickshaw.  I also used to get on a bus and get off anywhere that looked interesting.  I managed to get really lost a few times but after a while, just like Ladakh, I learned the bus routes.  I was truly a novelty on the buses since I was the only foreigner on them; but this was really good because they all wanted to talk to me and were always helpful when I got totally lost. 

 

    
Imra Kadal bridge                                                                                Man buying spices

The one thing that really stands out about these people is that they are simply the most hospitable and friendly people I have ever met; and I have been in over 50 counties.  When I walked down the boardwalk or downtown, I was stopped and invited to tea or lunch or dinner at least 20 times a day, and that’s not stretching it.  I have drunk so much tea that my teeth are turning yellow. 

 
Ahmid and his son   

Unlike Ladakh where I met and made friends mostly with foreigners, here in Srinagar, I have met and made friends with the locals. Days would pass where I did not see any a single foreigner, at times, I thought I was the last foreigner left in Kashmir. 

A few times a week, I went downtown to Lal Chowk to see the masses of people and to go to restaurants and cafes.  The food here was the best I have had in India.  There are a couple of places where I believe I have had some of the best meals in my life; The Linz, Alka Salka and kebabs at Sherak.  I also went to the Arabica Café for great coffee and desserts.  It reminds me of “Epic Café”, one of my favorite hangouts in Tucson but right here in Kashmir.  It is here at the Arabica Café that I have met many Kashmiris and discussed the history of Kashmir, philosophy, and of course solved the world’s problems.  As you know, it just would not be a proper coffee house if you didn’t meet up with friends and or total strangers and at one point solve the world’s problems. 

 
The best mutton I have had, slathered early in the morning     Fresh veggies

I also loved just walking through the many markets shopping for fruit, vegetables, chickens, mutton, eggs, milk, and yogurt, whatever looked good--and of course, it was all fresh.  On one of my many walks, I watched a man buy a chicken.  He asked me to take some pictures; they are always asking me to take their pictures.  So the boy got the chicken from the cage that the man selected, sliced the chicken’s throat, held down the chicken with his foot until all the blood has drained, meanwhile, the chicken was still moving.  According to the Islamic religion, all the blood must be drained from the animal in order for it to be considered clean…this process is called “Halal”.  Then he cut off the claws and took the skin off…the feathers came right off with the skin…all in about five minutes. 

 
Customer picks his live chicken                   In five minutes it is skinned and ready     Proud owner of a fresh chicken ready for curry   

The city comes alive around 9-10 in the morning and by noon the streets are buzzing.  From what I saw, people seemed to be doing well, and just like Ladakh, you don’t see many people out on the streets begging, I think they are too proud for that.

One of my favorite places to just hang out and watch life was on the bridge of Imra Kadal.  This is a bridge that crosses the river and connects Lal Chowk to another neighborhood, I don’t know the name.  Anyhow, the sheer number of people and vehicles going back and forth across this bridge was just mind-boggling. 

The fish in the buckets are still alive and breathing, she has a winter wife next to her

There is a group of women that set up a quasi fish market right on the sidewalk.  Their husbands catch the fish and, very unlike the Kashmir tradition where the women work behind the scenes and the men take the products to market, here the women take the fish to market.  The fish is caught daily and when looking in their buckets, the fish are still moving and breathing.  It looks strange to see the poor fish taking their last breaths.  Maybe because of this role reversal, these women have become tough negotiators and don’t take any lip from anyone, even the men are afraid of them.  They all come from one village and they have some unique facial features that I found to be quite pretty and when they smile, they melt your heart.

   
The quasi fish market on the bridge            One of the fisher women                         What a sweet smile

             
One of the few black persons I saw    These kids are looking over their grades      There are countless number of buses