Kashmir and Northern State Cities, memories

     
        

      My visit to  Kashmir  taught me many lessons , those  difficult to gain from  other places. First the weather and the beauty of its nature, 
  
         Second the warm and friendly people of Kashmir and , 
  Third the enthusiasm which I noticed in Kashmiri people from  the young to the old. People are industrious regardless of time and weather. They work hard to earn living. None of the land in kashmir left without cultivated. Almost all lands have been utilised for farming. Rice is widely grown everywhere, other than rice, walnut, apricot, almonds and cherries are grown. Willow is grown widely and is used  to make Cricket bats. They sell everything from shawls to Chudithar materials  and sarees ,house hold products to provission.Handicraft is one of the main product . Papier mache  business is something  unique with its fine workmanship

     My f visit to " the Crown of India"  is something I cant forget. What I notice and hear during my stay in Kashmir is about poligamy which is quite common among the Kashmiris. The Kashmiris mary, many women and its normal for a man to have many wives. The caretaker of the boat house in which  we stayed said he is married twice and looking for a third wife. 
     Another incident is, when one of the boat rider asked my sister how many kids and husbands she has. We were quite shocked  to hear that from him. To the natives of Kashmir this could have been something common but not to Malaysian's. The "Shikara man" asked my sister if he can be her boyfriend when he comes to Malaysia. We were taken aback with his question. The reason is , we six ladies stayed in a boat house, and traveled  in the boat house without any guys accompanying us. So he could have assumed that we are in Kashmir seeking  for life partners.

    

      The floating garden in Kashmir is something a traveler should not miss. Turnips, cucumbers and rock melons planted on man made beds. Non of the soil nor corners of the beds wasted, every  corners have been planted with vegetables. The Kashmiris knows and values of the land and soil that’s why  every plot of land is edible land. Roses are available in various colours and huge in size. Along the boat houses, roses are planted in beds. Lotus is grown in the lake at  various parts and available  in many colours. People work so hard to earn  a living and most of  these people  are very slim in size.

     

       Mountain goat meat is one of the favourite dish in Kashmir for its tender meat. Kawa  tea is Kashmir tea mixed with spice and its appeticing . Kashmiris are very sensitive people, they love visitors and their hospitality is fantastic. 

Floating market is a common sight at  Dal lake. Vegetables , accesaries, provision , meat, icecream, drinks and foodcourt, everything is available on “shikara”.

   
        The best homemade icecream  I,ve ever tasted in my life is the almond   and walnut vanilla flavoured ice cream. It was so creamy and rich and cost only 10 rupees. 

     Saffron is another very popular floating market product. We do not have to search for anything, people will search for us to market their products, that  is Kashmir. Things will come to us and we don’t have to go hunting for these items.

    Akhbar Fort and Shangarachariyars temple can be seen from the boat house. Both monument and temple are located on top of the  hills, on the other side is  Dal lake and its  in between those two monuments. We were in Kashmir at the end of Mei and the weather is summer. At 4 am the day is brighter and around 8 am the heat of the sun burnt our skin.

      Shawls and dried Mediterranean fruits are very popular here. The fruits and veggies are organically grown here, so the size of the fruits and nuts are smaller than what is available here. Kashmir chiffon and 'Pashmina  shawls'  are available everywhere here. Kashmir is   shoppers   paradise  and a relaxation centre for anyone who wish to be away from the noisy and busy city life.

    

with our Guide . Mr. Rajesh (sitting far right)

      Other than Kashmir the places we visited are,  Agra, Delhi and Jaipur, at all these places and at the palaces the story of the kings and Queens, were all related to polygamy.

       A king married legally to 12 wives and illegal wives were countless. And all those queens were Muslims , Kristians and Hindus.

       At the Amber Palace in Jaipur, we were told about the "KING Manzi" who had countless wives. We learnt about how the ladies in Rajastan dressed, they were so slim even the granny's looked elegant in their Rajastani suits, slender and sexy, no flesh or fat could be seen. During our visit to the north we met only slender figure ladies and not even a fat lady.

    
       The food in north is simpler and tastier. Dhal gravy was served at every meal with chicken gravy or  Tandoori  with salad. Basmati rice and bread   served with pappadom and pickles.