Sunday, December 28, 2014

Mission Kashmir 2014 - Day 09

Ropar – Ambala – Delhi

The mattress was good hard that it passed in a minute for me. Without even thinking about a bath, we proceeded to the Dining Hall to find that the Attendant was asleep. We were actually happy at knowing that and after an hour, we were sure that a delicious breakfast awaited us at our watering hole – Ambala.
 
IIT Ropar Guest House

Bidding goodbyes for the second time, we reached Delhi at a rare arrival time of 2:30PM – thanks to the fog. Thinking about the IIT Ropar Guest House, I assured myself “Whatever happens – happens for Good”.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Mission Kashmir 2014 - Day 08

Katra – Bhavan – Katra – Hoshiarpur – Ropar 

We had checked into Tridev when we found it to be a little better than Shradhha especially due to enclosed Parking. I had decided to take rest today and my brother had advised me to be ready by 11:30 AM – after all they had started the trek by 4PM. Today, finally, I was to be at the Wheel from Katra to Delhi. However; starting at 1PM from Katra; after the Lunch Halt at Coral River Resort on Punjab side of JK border, we decided to try the Hoshiarpur-Ropar route.

Stuck in a traffic jam in tight & narrow Hoshiarpur at 4:30 PM, we started to collectively realize we might not be able to make it to Delhi even by 2AM. By 6 PM, the fog had become so heavy on the Hoshiarpur-Ropar highway that we had decided to stay the night at Ambala.

The next 3 hours (6-9PM) proved to be a nightmare for us and the toughest driving experience for me so far in my life. The dark fog was so dense that the cars moved in queues of 6-8 with a supposedly confident driver leading the group at 20 kmh. Once in a while, a CH or a PB Car brazenly overtook the queue at a high speed. The leader surely took relief in this coup as the tedious responsibility of the new leader showed its evidence in the lost vigour in his speed. By 8:30 PM, I was so struck with horror that I declared that continuing post Ropar would be a suicide. We have to find a hotel. My brother quickly dialed an international number, followed by a national number, followed by a Ropar number and voila – our Guest House at IIT Ropar was done. My ordeal with the fog ended only when I parked inside the gate of the Guest House.

At 10PM, with the Guest House Kitchen and the Campus Cafeteria closed, all those items we had carried throughout our trip for emergency situations but never used came out of the bag. Electric Stove, Maggi packs, Cup Noodles gave us the fuel for night with the dry-fruits. Though my brother requested the Guest House Attendant to prepare paranthas for breakfast at 7AM, he also assured me that we’d move south if it was not ready. 

Friday, December 26, 2014

Mission Kashmir 2014 - Day 07

Pahalgam – Achabal – Kokernag – Verinag – Udhampur – Katra 

All good things come to an end and so did our stay at Pahalgam. When we left, the sun shone bright as the temperature read -5 in the Car. As soon as my brother sprayed the cleaner water on the windscreen, it froze. It was better off with dirt than with ice. After we had dispatched a security guard to get some hot water to pour over (like our Dad did during 1991 Shimla Trip), one of the elder stewards vehemently advised us not to lest we wanted the windscreen to crack due to the contrast. We were not sure about this but we followed an easy policy – When in doubt, take the zero risk way. The sun was anyway shining bright and our departure got delayed by no more than 4 minutes when the ice melted away.
 
Frozen Water sprayed over Windshield

Starting to Melt even at -5 degrees

Modern Art by Leaking Pipe

Kokernag

Verinag

Fishes

For Open Public Use

Thanks to directions from Mr Tasadiq (Pahalgam Hotel), our Kokernag-Verinag venture would take us just for 30 km extra before joining the NH1A. So we took the left from Pai Bugh to meet NH1B at Achabal. The name “Kokernag” reminisced us about the 1968 and 1976 month long Kashmir Camping Road Trip stories of our dad and granddad. Standing in front of the Tourism Office, I wondered where must they have put up their camps – where must have my mom-grandmom got water to cook food from – maybe that same corner spring that we would not dare to even drink from today. From the outset, the Kokernag Garden didn’t seem to be extra-ordinary so this time we did mind spending money for the entry ticket. I made another dream promise to myself that maybe someday we would drive along the Chenab from Keylong to Kokernag via Kishtwar & Sinthan Top. Sinthan Top was showing 48km on the Milestone.

The internal one-half lane road to Verinag was scenic despite the barren apple orchards (imagine what would it be during full bloom). The Chashma-Verinag made a much better impression on me vis-à-vis Chashma-e-Shahi. Firstly, it was not so hyped and secondly, the Water was in abundance and evidently flowing naturally from beneath the ground. Many a fishes were fast asleep. In retrospect, I feel Verinag’s sunny weather also had a part to play in contrast to Srinagar’s foggy weather. It also seemed better maintained than its capital city counterpart.

As we joined NH1A, my eyes raced on the road ahead trying to catch the first glimpse of Jawahar Tunnel. Today will be the first time I shall pass it. As the Communication Jammers made their presence felt on our Cellphones, the Entry to Tunnel appeared blaring 2531 and 2547 in the yellow-black. Baglihar Hydel Project was visible in its grandeur (Isn’t it true that every time we travel – we come to see and know so much more and then we realize how little we have seen or known so far?). As we settled in Katra for the night, I quipped to my brother – how possible it came about that we drove around Kashmir valley yet never touched Anantnag.

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Mission Kashmir 2014 - Day 06

Pahalgam – Baisaran – Kashmir Valley – Ganeshbal – Pahalgam 

Next day, relenting to my brother’s insistence, I decided to ignore my ski-bruises and mounted the white horse he had selected for me. The second stop Baisaran was not a pleasant experience for me only due to the hard core selling people keep doing. Desperate into my habit, I struck a controversial political conversation with my horse handler yet again and preached my thoughts of ‘God being one’ and ‘only Work brings money’ to him.




Pretty Shapes at Pahalgam Garden

Baisaran

Kashmir

Joshilay

Pahalgam Hotel
We kept the Kashmir Valley as uneventful as the following rice village & the small waterfall by not dismounting from the horse. Fortunately, there were also no sellers here. Such a big relief! However, the evening routine was not much different from the earlier one. 

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Mission Kashmir 2014 - Day 05

Pahalgam – Aru – Chandanwadi – Betaab – Pahalgam 

Our day started early and I had to literally pressurize the restaurant staff to serve us our breakfast. Due to the cold, entire staff was lazy to wake up and work before 9 AM. The food was absolutely delicious and breathtaking (true to its reputation) – and we overate through the dosa, poha, parantha, cutlet and baked beans till our stomachs started aching.
 
Frozen Lidder

Gutted Block at Pahalgam Hotel
where the movie Khamosh was shot in Fall 1984

Our Bukhari bellowing out White Smoke
No, The Pope hasn't been selected

Meditating at Top of the Aru

Leg indicates it belonged to Equine family
Though I believe it is difficult for any single carnivore
to eat up so much in a Single Night

Like Amitabh Bachchan handles Ranjeeta

We decided to return from this point
Onwards there were no Human foot prints only these

Our Horse at first Step to Amarnath Trek

Ruin of the Bathing Slide of Sunny Deol

Driving to Aru was a lesser experience than climbing the Hilltop. The last para from the title song of the movie ‘Satte Pe Satta’ haunted us while I gathered in the views. Our moment of the day came at Chandanwadi where we got the opportunity to drive our beloved SX4 over snow right upto the first step of Amarnath trek.

Betaab Valley, not to our liking, has been commercialized with an army of ‘Guides’ selling their services. Contrary to the folktales, I strongly believe the original structures from the movie are either the ones that stand rotten in a corner or have vanished. Soon finishing our day-trip, we returned to a dose of the Great Russian Drink with hot served snacks as we decided to extend our stay there for a day. We decided to have our dinner there only for the tandoor breads that we had been missing all through our trip so far.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Mission Kashmir 2014 - Day 04

Srinagar – Shankaracharya – Chashma-e-Shahi – Nishat Bagh – Gagangir – Bij Behara – Pahalgam 

We left at 6:50 AM for Shankaracharya since we found out that would be the only place open at 7 AM. Checking in with CRPF, we were astounded to find the huge number of steps we had to undertake to reach the temple plinth. I surely lost my breath several times – the view was blocked with the heavy fog – and while returning, I felt my bronchial tract not behaving properly.

As we put in the gear, the CRPF jawans came running to stop us. We stopped worried about something we might have done wrong but they politely requested us to take a Tiffin for their colleagues posted downhill. We gladly took their Tiffin from Top to Bottom & I kept guessing what that peculiar smell was (surely that wasnt paratha or achar). As we approached exit, my brother guessed it right – it was probably eggs or omelettes. After handing over the Tiffin, I heaved a sigh of relief at having been able to control my hunger.

As we proceeded towards Chashme-e-Shahi, expectingly the road was blocked due to counting going on at Centaur Hotel and on persistent requesting, the JK Police warned us in a complete filmy style ‘If you utter another word, I will put you behind bars for one day without charge on suspicion under the T Act’. Fortunately, an Army man came to our help and directed us to go around the blockade in a inverted-square-C fashion via the Lalit. We had to request the policemen at 2 more barricades and they let us go. A tough one came at the entrance of the Royal Spring – the JK Policeman asked us straight ‘Daru Hai?’ My brother affirmed. The cop seized them and we didnt know for sure if we would get it back. On asking, he confirmed he would not. We explained that the weather required us weaklings to get a small sip of the liquor otherwise we would not survive. He relented and gave us our bottles back for a fee. My brother nodded at me and I fished out a 100 INR note. He felt glad. We drove on.

Chashma-e-Shahi
The barren Chashma
Nobody except 3 of Us
While visiting the Chashma-e-Shahi, we constantly kept reminding ourselves that the nearby park Dara Shikoh is aptly named because this is the place where the eldest & favorite son of Shah Jahan ‘Dara Shikoh’ (also the more deserving heir prince to Mughal Throne) was killed and buried on instructions of Aurangzeb (in consultation with his sister Roshanara). Since I’ve known this, I watch Roshanara’s grave everyday during my morning walk with a different perspective. The Spring and then the Nishat was absolutely deserted without a single soul. My brother exclaimed – you would not be able to visit these gardens with only 3 of us here ever. The barren-ness of Nishat left us little wish for Shalimar and we re-fuelled to get on our way to Sonamarg.

As we inched north, landscapes became prettier with snow capped higher ridges. I started checking the election results to keep us informed if we would need to turn back sooner. As we crossed Ganderbal, the results came out in accordance with the wishes of the majority junta – PDP. 

Foggy Icy Dal Lake

Shikaras flowing over Dal

Gagangir

Detour to Gurez before Ganderbal

A heap of villagers beat our windows as we crossed Gagangir – we relented. They sold their horse trips, sledge trips and ATV rides. We had decided that we would turn around from here. On the way back, the euphoria of PDP victory was even more evident as we kept driving steadily through the barrage of people and party workers. The turn to Gurez enticed me constantly but better sense prevailed and we didnt take the detour to Gurez albeit I stopped to take the picture and promised to return.

We crossed through Srinagar and took the awkward out-of-nowhere left from Bijbehara to Pahalgam. As confirmed by Sunnyji, it was supposed to be a good route and after the first kilometer, it proved to be so. The final leg of that road connecting with KP road was shown as a trail by the GPS but gladly the cops’ and villagers’ advise was true and we joined the main road to Pahalgam just before the deserted Amarnath Camps.

My brother had returned here after 17 years and his elation fell through his mouth. I also felt much better due to the sunshine after the gloominess of Shopian, Pulwama, Srinagar, et al. After visiting Pahalgam Hotel and Mountview, we decided to go in for a suite at Pahalgam Hotel. My friends, I could now dedicate an entire blog on Pahalgam Hotel (please check my review on tripadvisor). Our stay there was one of the best stays I have had in my life so far in India. The amenities, the service, the food, the views – and above all, the gentleness of the service staff combined with the value and respect they provide you is what made our stay different. This respect of a Customer is what we crave for, in this country, and do not get – especially in peak seasons. Abroad, in developed as well as developing countries that I have travelled, you get that respect that a Customer should get – whether it be a Hotel or a Showroom.

We visited Punjabi Rasoi hoping we might get to meet Sunnyji after we couldn’t in Srinagar but we knew he wouldn’t visit most probably in this off season. Fortunately, it was open and his manager Shaukat catered us well. Alas, the Tandoor was non-functional here also and we missed the Naans. The food was really nice – more than the Punjabi Rasoi & Tadka at Srinagar. With tired bones, my sleep drowned me in the cozy sofa-bed.

Monday, December 22, 2014

Mission Kashmir 2014 - Day 03

Srinagar – Gulmarg – Srinagar 

Due to possibility of finding snow we had decided to hire a Tavera (many thanks to our fellow BCMTian Sunnyji) at a nice price. The Driver Shafaque showed up ontime and took us swiftly to Gulmarg. As we de-boarded from the car, it was all green and our driver advised it has started snowing to which we said What Snow? But yes, the invisible snow soon showed up and started wetting our gloves.
Sand Mining in Jhelum

Invisible Snowfall at Gulmarg

Deboarding at Khilanmarg
Just Like That

Just Fell Down
The army of horse owners started selling their services and due to off season, we felt like 3 crabs amidst 20 hungry cranes. After a while, we gave up and struck a deal with one of them who took us first to the Gondola Base. The horses were not really helpful because their shoes made them slip on the sleety-snowy-road. As we moved in the Gondola, a pile of ‘Guides’ pounced and yet again, we finally had to srike a deal with one of them.
Old Chair Trolley Booth
The experience up above was okay with quite a few skiers and sledgers entertaining the tourists on the imbalanced snow fields. I tried and failed – the experience was nowhere even close to Aspen (Colorado). But I enjoyed walking in the snow and I vowed again & again that as soon as my 6-yr old Woodlands expire, I would buy a pair of Quechua.

Gulmarg Ring Road
On returning, the horse owners had to keep their promise and took us for a round all around Gulmarg forcibly but politely. My brother’s 9 year old Niagara Blue Raincoats gave us a lot of protection from the wetting snow. We also came across a local hatchback that had skid off the road on the snow striking a lamppost.

As we left Gulmarg, the entire valley looked white – no trace of the green. Shafaque enjoyed our Shammi Kapoor – Dev Anand songs with us. The day came to an uneventful end after a quick dinner at Punjabi Tadka. We checked out before sleeping to avoid wastage of time the next morning. We also met a co-manager of the Hotel Mr Basit – a very fluent English speaker. On interacting more, we found out he is an alumnus of UT Dallas (a fellow longhorn of my brother) and now returned to his homeland and works on softwares across companies helping things run better. 

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Mission Kashmir 2014 - Day 02

Akhnoor – Sunderbani – Rajouri – Bhimber Gali – Surankote – Baffliaz – Shopian – Pulwama – Srinagar 

When we woke up at Chenab Hut, I am not sure whether we felt fortunate or unfortunate that we didn’t hear any shelling. Upon looking at the map later, we observed that this was a place where we were the closest to the International Border (let alone LOC) – I really believe no place I have slept or will sleep in future will be so close to any Indian Border.

As planned, we got ready by 6:45 AM and buzzed our hosts. Quickly capturing few pictures, we left for the highlight of our trip. 900m ahead, a right turn took us to Sunderbani quicker than the old Poonch Road. The BRO JE kept calling us to check our progress every hour and as expected, during the last hour his calling came more frequent. All along the way, there were regular army patrols ensuring safety. Through these areas or otherwise, one phrase always keeps me busy: “One Man’s Terrorist is Another Man’s Freedom Fighter”. But I always convince myself with that Dialogue from Shootout at Lokhandwala “There is going to be at least One Man standing with the Gun outside your house. What do you want him to be?”
7AM With Flash
7 AM Without Flash
Rajouri

Bhimber Gali

Link Road Starts

Anyway, our route took us to Bhimber Gali avoiding Rajouri Town (though the GPS showed the road ending at Bhimber Gali). We confirmed that we were following the right way by following the chainage of Jammu-Akhnoor-Poonch road. We actually don’t remember the name of the village we stopped – all we remember is it was chainage 204. We were treated to delicious bread & other veg besan pakoras with tea. As we left after clicking pictures of the LOC ridge, the Link Road from Bhimber Gali to Surankote took us south towards Rajouri. This Link Road shows up on GPS as a trail like the Mughal Road.
Mughal Road Starts

We were told that in the gone days, Surankote was the hub of militant activity where the teams arrived and were then distributed across the valley by their area commanders. We passed through Buffliaz bridge and were welcomed by the Mughal Road. Soon after making the entry at the first check point, we reached the second check point which was now very close to Pir Ki Gali.
Buffliaz Bridge

Pir Ki Gali

Zaznar - Proposed Tunnel Project

Mughal Road ends into Shopian





After having a gala time at the top, the descent into Shopian & Pulwama led us through to Srinagar and a tough task started – finding a “Decent Hotel” (pun intended). After a lot of storming, we checked into Hotel Welcome – the only one hotel that was fully functional on the Boulevard Road. The Electric Blanket was a pleasant surprise. The news of our arrival in Srinagar back home didn’t worry our Dad as much as the fact that we drove through Pulwama approach.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Mission Kashmir 2014 - Day 01

Delhi – Ambala – Akhnoor 

Our bags packed, we could leave almost at our planned time – 4:12 AM and amidst heavy fog, my brother could speedily yet comfortably pull over at our first watering hole at Ambala by 7:20 AM. After a heavy & sumptuous breakfast, we left at 8:30 AM and went non-stop till JK Border. The Crossing had lesser traffic – due to two reasons – Elections & off Season. The Border also looked less wider. We had planned to make a pit stop at Coral River Resort (on the East side of Highway) but in our obedience of traffic rules, we didn’t take the divider cut just before the resort. After the resort, there was no cut before the JK Border. So we did the needful at the filthy JK Border Building.
Same Dilapidated Building
The terrain didn’t really changed after the border. What changed was the scenario of Election Posters, Flags and posters of Modi everywhere (Now you know how BJP triumphed the Jammu area). Kathua, in fact, was holding ballot that day and we could see long queues outside voting booths spilling on the highway.

Just after crossing Tawi Bridge, taking the Canal Road to Akhnoor, we pulled over on a side for the delicious packed lunch from my in-laws. After carefully disposing them off, we reached the 13BRTF HQ at 22-23 Chainage at 3:30 PM.

Now your question would be “What is Chainage?” Chainage is the identification number of each Milestone and is unique for a road-segment. The road segment also would not be identifiable by you & me easily. For example: A milestone showing Ambala at 0 km & Delhi at 200 km would not be Chainage 0. It would have been so if the road-segment was Ambala-Delhi only but as we know NH1 is from Delhi-Wagah hence, the milestone mentioned above would be Chainage 200. You could confirm this by looking at the number written on the side panel of the Milestone. This number, my friends, is the Chainage. This number sets you free from the restrictions of noting the Distance mentioned on either side of the Milestone. The 22-23 Chainage mentioned above meant that on the Jammu-Akhnoor-Poonch road, the destination was between Jammu 22 & Jammu 23 milestone (i.e. if you are looking at it from the oncoming traffic side). This entire gyan would not have been received by me if it wasn’t for the BRO Guest House.

Final Indian Leg of Chenab

Chenab besides Akhnoor Fort

Akhnoor Fort
The evening passed on with visits to Akhnoor Fort (now unmaintained and inaccessible by Archaeological Survey of India), the 2 Cave Temple nearby (the priest of which claimed one cave goes to Vaishnodevi & the other goes to Amarnathji) and the wonderful true-in-it’s-existence Chenab River. I exclaimed to my brother – remember the confluence of Chandra & Bhaga at Keylong! The one-way Bridge over Chenab serves as the main entrance to the town of Akhnoor and we were told that this bridge was of utmost strategic importance during 1971 War since this was the only access to Poonch from anywhere (Mughal Road was also inaccessible that time). After that struggle, many more new roads have been laid down including the Akhnoor By-Pass which we took the next day to reach Sunderbani as well as the Mughal Road.


Over the Supper, my brother finally asked his friend whether Mughal Road is accessible and open right now. He speed-dialled a number and got an affirmation from his colleague. After a brain-storm, we decided to go ahead and in a few minutes, a junior engineer from BRO called us to confirm our next day’s food requirements. We cheered and slept with the Heater on!