Mid-May, elswhere it was burning with the Sun beating down unforgivingly. Not so in Srinagar--the erstwhile heaven on Earth. The sub-20 degrees Celsius temperature was a welcome one to say the least.
The tall green Kashmiri willows and the gracious deodhars with the mighty blue Himalayas in the background--the scenery was the same as one saw during kindegarten days in old Hindi movies--the likes of Shammi Kapoors and Rajendra Kumars romancing the Saira Banus and Sadhnas.
2006: Times have changed. The boy in short pants who used to see Kashmir only in reel life in another far off valley -- Imphal -- has grown up, having left the place to explore the outside world, and arrived at Srinagar to feel the place in real life.
There was a special feeling while setting foot on the valley. Growing up in a valley and coming to another, one could not help but compare the similarities of the two valleys. More so, after considering the socio-politico and economic conditions of the two places.
As luck would have it the Centaur Hotel, set on the shores of the magnificient Dal Lake, where one had to put up during the trip had already assumed the proposition of a fortress, courtesy Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's round table conference.
The friskings, security checks and to say the least, the CRPF personnels, all reminded one of those days in Imphal, where one underwent same exercise every second corner. The blade-barbed wires and X-rays silently told that the situation, however, was far more dangerous in Srinagar.
"Life goes on. You can't be sitting all the day at home for the fear of getting caught in a crossfire. If you don't earn, you might as well die of starvation," Shakeel, the minibus driver said.
Despite the security situation, what was surprising was the number of Indian tourists from other states flocking places like the Chesmashahi
Garden, the Nishant Garden and lining up to take a ride on the Shikara at the famous Dal Lake.
And at places like Gulmarg, it was a long long serpetine queue to get a ticket to ride on the highest gondola (cable car) on Earth. Once on the cable car, rest assured, the facility was as good as any other in the world.
The message from those people holidaying in Kashmir was loud and clear, at least the domestic tourism industry was providing a vital support to the Jammu and Kashmir's economy. The infrastructure is in place and people are willing to brave terrorism to witness one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
At this point one could not help but ask: what about Manipur?
Is it less beautiful than J&K?
Cannot Loktak stand upto Dal?
To a hopelessly lovestruck Manipuri, the answers were pretty clear. If Dal Lake was Cleopatra, then Loktak would have been Helen of Troy!
The beauty of nature apart, J&K undoubtedly is way ahead of Manipur in terms of economy. As the state Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azaad said during an interaction that the state, at about 10 per cent last fiscal year, had in fact managed to outgrow India's GDP . Moreover, many Indian corporate houses have promised big ticket investments in J&K.
A far cry from that of Manipur, which has been notoriously known for overdrafts and the government unable to pay employees their salaries and potential investors being driven out by extortion threats.
Sad but truth, despite similarities of the socio-political situation, as far as economy is concerned Manipur has a lot of catching up to do compared to J&K.
* this piece is based on a trip to Srinagar earlier in May this year.
Pengba Aruuba Eshingee , a pseudonym , writes regularly to e-pao.net
You can email the writer at [email protected]
This article was webcasted on 22nd June 2006.
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