I finally got my wish. When we returned to Mumbai we experienced heavy rains and several days of flooding. During the short breaks in rain, we ran errands in Mumbai, finished our shopping and visited Nadia’s extended family.
After a lot of conversation and some soul searching, we decided to return to California to prepare for our next adventure: Russian lessons and volunteering in Kazakhstan.
We spent a little over a month in California studying Russian, packing and hanging out with friends and family. Highlights include time in the ocean kayaking and surfing, spending time with friends and family in San Diego and LA, BBQ on the beach, 75 cent rides at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, nightlife in San Francisco and family reunions.
We are excited for the opportunity. More from Kazakhstan to come soon…
By chance, we met a member of Nadia’s extended family in Mumbai who had just returned from a week in Kashmir with his family. “It is beautiful this time of year. And the region is stable. You should visit Kashmir because you never know how long the peace will last,” he reported. We excitedly decided to fly to Srinagar and spend several days on and around Lake Dal after our stay in Delhi. Little did we know, unfortunate events were in motion that would surface deep-seated tensions and threaten the peace in Kashmir.
May 26: “The forestland in the Sindh range north of Srinagar was first diverted to the [Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board] on May 26 for raising a prefabricated infrastructure including lavatories at a base-camp for the Amarnath pilgrims.” (Source: Khaleej Times) The Amarnath caves are dedicated to the god Shiva and are one of the most important Hindu sites in India, especially during the holy month of Shravan in July-August.
June 21: Nadia and I set out for Delhi and Agra with news from Kashmir seemingly peaceful.
June 23: “Violent protests broke out in Srinagar once again over the controversial allotment of forest land to Shri Amarnath Shrine Board by the state government. Protesters took to the streets as leaders of both factions of the separatist Hurriyat Conference in Jammu and Kashmir were placed under house arrest. Hurriyat leaders were supposed to be part of the protests.” (Source: Times of India)
June 24: We arrived to Srinagar and headed for our houseboat on Lake Dal. We were tired after three days of packed itineraries in Delhi and Agra so we decided to rest and take a leisurly tour of Lake Dal, backdropped by the majestic Himalayan Mountains.
June 25: We were intrigued by a popular tourist destination near the Pakistan border called Gulmarg. Gulmarg boasts Asia’s highest and longest cable car project, the Gulmarg Gondola, as well as the highest golf course in the world.
The day started early with breakfast at 7am. Tariq from the Chicago Group (our houseboat company on Lake Dal) accompanied us to shore. We had heard from other guests that he had accompanied them to Gulmarg earlier in the week in a company-owned car. Once ashore, he walked us to a taxi, put us inside and thrust his hand through the window to shake mine and wish us good luck. He hurried off before we could ask why we were going alone. Nadia and I exchanged confused looks, but shrugged it off as we drove into Srinagar.
The taxi driver looked unusually tense. As we approached the city center he commented that all of the shops were closed due to a protest. “What are they protesting?,” I asked. “They are protesting the sale of Kashmiri land to non-Kashmiris. This is against our law.” He answered his cell phone and suddenly he stopped the taxi in the middle of street, turned around and started driving in the opposite direction on the wrong side of the street. “Protesters have closed the road and are throwing rocks at cars,” he explained. “They are fighting with the police and two people have been shot.”
Our driver called the Chicago Group, who suggested he take us in the opposite direction to Pahalgam, a popular tourist spot for trekking in the Himalayas. Pahalgram is primarily used as a base camp for Hindu pilgrims visiting the Amarnath caves. By now we were peppering our driver with questions trying to catch up on current events in the region, struggling to understand how we were caught by surprise in the middle of something so serious.
Our driver turned the corner onto the road to Pahalgam and slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting the final car in a long line of cars trying to get out of Srinagar. The road seemed closed, but we weren’t sure who had closed it. As we sat there, we negotiated with our driver and the Chicago Group, who was worried about the money they had planned to charge us for the full day of tours, to take us to the removed Mogul Gardens on the south side of Lake Dal away from Srinagar and the roads leading out of town. We enjoyed a quiet afternoon in the hilltop gardens that were once the summer home of Mogul Emperors, overlooking Lake Dal and the surrounding valley. Our day concluded with the unavoidable stop at a carpet shop on the way home.
June 26: Having gained momentum and public attention, the protesters extended their reach to the lake. Houseboat owners rely almost exclusively on tourism for income and were less inclined to support the protesters. The protesters demanded a full strike on the lake and organized patrols of young shouting men to force participation. Parts of the lake were blockaded by strings of boats tied together.
As a result, we spent the day confined to our houseboat watching the eerily empty waters of the lake. Tourist areas were closed, including the gardens we had visited the day before. Tariq wasn’t able to buy meat that day, but defiantly rowed over to a nearby boat to procure fresh vegetables for dinner.
June 27: “With violence escalating on the fourth day of protests across the Valley against the transfer of forest land to Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), hundreds of tourists fled Srinagar on Thursday, while others are waiting to follow suit.” (Source: Times of India)
A general curfew was announced starting June 27th. We had flights back to Delhi for the afternoon, but had to leave the houseboat around 6am after a sleepless night in order to clear military roadblocks. The Srinagar airport was chaotic and we were forced to become ‘Indian’ – we pushed our way through crowds and lines to make sure we got our seats! We passed through five security checks at: the airport grounds, airport terminal, entering the ticketed area, entering the boarding area and on the tarmac before boarding the plane. It sure felt good when the plane took off!
The Aftermath
The protesters succeeded in gaining a formal revocation of the land transfer on July 1st.
Unfortunately Kashmir remains unstable and unsafe for tourism. In response to the protests we witnessed in the largely Muslim valley over transferring land for use by Hindu pilgrims, protests have broken out in the majority Hindu area around the city of Jammu. Read more…
Tragically, Pakistani and Indian soldiers engaged in the first inter-nation gun battle in Kashmir since 2003 earlier this week. Read more…
Tagore compared the Taj Mahal to a teardrop that glistened “spotlessly bright on the cheek of time”.
We left Mumbai for the north on June 21. Nadia wanted to see a few things in Delhi she missed during her last visit and insisted that I couldn’t come to India and not see the Taj Mahal!
We stayed in the bustling bazaar/backpacker district of Paharanj in Delhi and spent the first day touring sites in the area, including the Red Fort and Jama Masjid – one of the largest mosques in India commissioned by the Mogul emperor Shah Jahan. We were initially caught off guard by the aggressive tactics of touts and con artists in Delhi. It took us over 30 minutes to navigate through the web of stories and people trying to distract us from visiting the official tourist office at the New Delhi train station.
By the second day in Delhi, we were becoming pros at avoiding scams. We took prepaid taxis to the newer neighborhoods of Delhi to see the India gate (or war memorial depending on who you ask), spent several hours in the fantastic National Museum, which houses an amazing collection of historical artifacts from the Indus region and, of course, spent some time shopping in Connaught Place – the second largest financial and commercial center in India (after Mumbai).
On the 23rd, we took a train to Agra and hired a local taxi for the day. We started with a trip to Fatehpur Sikri about 40km outside of Agra. Fatehpur Sikri is a wonderfully preserved fortress city built by the Mogul Emperor Akbar to serve as his capital. Lack of water in the area limited the stay of the Moguls to less than 15 years, but the intricately designed city provides a great glimpse into the Mogul era in India.
We spent so much time at Fatehpur Sikri, we decided to head straight for the Taj Mahal to make sure we had enough time to visit before our return train to Delhi. The Taj Mahal was built by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. The mausoleum is architecturally famous for its perfectly symmetrical design and white marble facade.
Visitors from all cultures, countries and religions come to marvel at the aesthetically beautiful and deeply moving gesture of love and devotion. It seemed fitting to spend the afternoon admiring this tribute to love on our honeymoon.
We arrived to Mumbai on June 14 and were welcomed by Nadia’s uncle Ashraf at the airport. We were a little nervous about visiting India during monsoon season, but the rains stopped a few hours before we arrived and didn’t return until the end of our three-week stay in India.
We spent a few weeks in Mumbai with Nadia’s grandparents – enjoying their very kind hospitality and delicious homemade Indian cuisine. Each day we ventured out to a new part of this bustling and VERY crowded city, usually with Ashraf and/or Nadia’s grandmother.
In addition to meeting Nadia’s family and the wonderful food, highlights included bargain shopping for clothes and souvenirs and a day trip to Elephanta Island in Mumbai Harbor. The island is home to a half dozen ancient Hindu caves, which house one of the country’s most spectacular stone carvings of the god Shiva. The island is also home to very tame (and slightly aggressive when food is around) monkeys.
It was so much fun learning about the history of Nadia’s family in Mumbai! We even got to visit Breach Candy Hospital where Nadia was born and the beautiful ballroom in the Taj Hotel where Nadia’s parents were married.
