“Kashmir” by Romesh Bhattacharji
My father, Romesh Bhattacharji, has been visiting Kashmir for many decades, from the 1960s. He is a photographer, a high altitude trekker and extremely passionate about the mountains. He knows the Himalayas very well, whether charted treks or not. He has travelled extensively in the state. In the last few years of government service as bureaucrat, his “beat” included Jammu & Kashmir. With him, I too, had to the good fortune of travelling in the state, in all four seasons. We drove everywhere, for hours and hours. Length and breadth of the state. We saw it in summer, winter, and changing of seasons. We witnessed the first snowfall of the season in Gulmarg. We saw plenty of saffron fields. We saw the chinar leaves turn red gold and create the most magnificent carpet on the forest floor. We drove to the upper reaches and with every twist of the road, the stunning beauty of the state would hit one. It is truly astonishing. We experienced the silence of the snow and the drummers waking everyone for sehri during ramzan in the quiet of the early morning snowfall. All said and done, my father knows the main routes and the lesser known routes of Kashmir and it is these routes that he wrote about last year in his book. So, after the events of 22 April 2025, it has been absolutely heartbreaking to see what is happening there. It is unbelievable that this paradise on earth is being assaulted in the most dastardly fashion. The tranquility and the beauty that the cover photo of dad’s book on Kashmir (HarperCollins India, 2024) is at complete variance with what is happening today. While staring at this cover photograph, I can only pray and hope that peace will return soon.
10 May 2025
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