From Kashmir diary (Travelogue)
he next morning we were ready again. Today we were going to Gulmarg. On the way there were several small villages. Most of them had a population of Shia Muslims. Due to the Israel-Iran war, after the martyrdom of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, there are large condolence posters of his here. Like in most areas of Kashmir, perhaps here too people came out onto the streets in large numbers to mourn the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and protest against Israel.
The Indian media presented this negatively and, as always, portrayed Muslims as villains. However, during this journey, a classmate of a friend of ours is posted here in Srinagar in the Army with a good rank. We met him too and he told us that the Shia Muslims here cooperate greatly with the Army. But the Indian media sees every Muslim as a villain; how would it ever tell this truth? Never mind…
We reached Gulmarg. We parked our car in the parking lot. To go up from here, you have to hire a taxi. Before that, we rented large leather shoes and jackets to walk in the snow. We reached up by taxi.
Perhaps no place in the world can fully describe the beauty of Gulmarg. It lies in the lap of Kashmir’s snowy mountains, where a sheet of white snow holds the earth in its embrace.
The moment you arrive here, your breath catches. The unusual green hue in the surrounding valleys, the colorful carpets of flowers, and the snow-capped peaks stretching far into the distance take you to a world that exists only in poetry and dreams.
What Hazrat Ali Hajveri said is truly right — that this part of nature brings peace and tranquility to the human heart.
The real joys of coming here lie in moments of adventure. As you ride the gondola and ascend toward the sky, the entire landscape is compressed beneath your feet. This sensation is indescribable. Skiing in winter has a completely different charm. Descending rapidly down the snowy slopes, the wind brushes against your face and your heart beats fast. Trekking, paragliding, horseback riding — each activity gives Gulmarg a different status.
Each season has different colors here: the fragrance of flowers in spring, the freshness of greenery in summer, the play of golden colors in autumn, and a most mysterious silence within the quiet fortress of snow in winter. Gulmarg is not just a place; it is a journey for the soul.
The temperature here was minus one degree Celsius. We all put on our clothes first, then we had the jacket we brought from home, and over that the jacket we rented, but still felt extremely cold.
Sometimes there was so much fog that we couldn’t see anything, and sometimes it cleared completely. Sometimes there was light rain, sometimes heavy. The weather was somewhat spoiled today.
The wind was also blowing strong. However, there were many tourists. We also enjoyed coffee and maggi here. We did ride the gondola, but phase two was closed due to bad weather and we were deprived of it. There was some disappointment, but you should always leave something incomplete so that it invites you to return to Kashmir again.
Waiting in the long line for the gondola on the way back is quite painful. From the gondola station you have to go down by taxi again. If you are with family or have women with you, you should hire a taxi.
We were all friends, and with the hot blood of youth, we decided to walk down on foot. Now there was snow on all four sides. It was raining from above, and to make matters worse, the piercing cold winds showed no sign of stopping. With laughter and jokes, we were walking back from up there.
Then a man, around fifty to sixty years old, stopped us. He was selling boiled eggs. We were eleven people and each of us ate two eggs. He was happy. He said he hadn’t found a single customer all day. After us, he set off for his home because it had become evening and it was raining.
True, people do pass by going down from where he was standing, but because they are in taxis, no one stops, and today with the rain as well, who would stop? But God is capable of providing sustenance in any circumstance. His provision was written through us, and we reached him on foot even as it was raining. Truly, God Almighty’s glory is unique, and He alone is worthy of praise. There was also peace in our hearts that this way at least we could be of help to someone.
Today turned out to be quite exhausting. Today we suffered from the cold. Even in the hotel room, which was closed on all four sides, it was very cold. We had booked three rooms for eleven people. In the room with me were three other friends. I took a hot water shower and lay down on the bed to sleep. One good thing was that the bed here had a heater, and when turned on, it warmed the entire bed, and one could get excellent restful sleep.
