LOVE IN GULMARG

BY ANANT NARAYAN

AS I Gazed at the staggeringly gorgeous landscape of Srinagars outskirts, a tirade of poignant thoughts played hide-and-seek in my mind. My first time in Kashmir, I pondered if this state would ever be able to liberate itself from the mental time warp of Bollywoods sixties that it had been so mercilessly frozen in. Will the mental distance between Kashmir and the consciousness of the common Indian traveller ever be bridged?

When I first heard of a music and adventure festival being organised amidst the stunning locales of Gulmarg, the thought itself seemed like one distant dream. Well, some distant dreams take the shape of cheerful realities. Though I didnt have much to cheer about—nursing a broken heart, Kashmirs picturesque countryside mirrored the sentiments of my heart.

Accompanied by enthusiastic skiers en route to Gulmarg, as our taxi reached Tangmarg, a key tourist attraction for skiers riding down from Gulmarg, we were warned to rent thick overcoats and gumboots. It had snowed torrentially and Gulmarg was freezing at a healthy minus 15 degrees C. We were asked to hop on to a rickety local bus with chained wheels, as vehicles without chained wheels would tend to slip on roads that had been snowed under. Just as we were to depart from Tangmarg to the Gulmarg plateau, an army convoy caused the traffic to come to a standstill. The wait could be as long as six hours we were told—a journey that otherwise takes half an hour by road! So I decided to get adventurous and trek it from Tangmarg to Gulmarg. Paving my way through snowcapped mountains and coniferous trees on both sides, the narrow roads were buried in 3-4 feet of snow. The trek transported me to a romantic fairytale. I began to philosophize why stalwarts of our cinema chose Kashmir as their favourite shooting destination and how effortless it must have been for the yesteryear heroes to romance their leading ladies in a setting that spells sinful romance in every nook and corner. Just about managing to feel the earth beneath my feet, the first visuals of Gulmarg left me spellbound. “Move over Swiss Alps, Gulmarg just stole your thunder,” I thought.

Nestled within larger-than-life perennially snowcovered Himalayan peaks with a dense coniferous pine cover on all sides, Gulmarg was frequented by Yousuf Shah Chak and Mughal Emperor Jahangir. Gulmarg was first named Gaurimarg after Lord Shivas consort Gauri. Yousuf Shah Chak renamed it to Gulmarg, meaning a meadow of flowers or roses. Though I couldnt spot any flowers or roses, a blanket of snow caught my eye. Rated as Asias seventh best ski destination by CNN, Gulmarg is globally being touted as the heartland of winter sports in India. The popular ski resort, famous for the slopes of the Afarwat Hills of the Himalayan Pir Panjal range boasts of one of the longest and highest ski slopes in Asia. Mt Afarwat sits comfortably at a height of 13,780 ft.

Walking on snow is no cakewalk as I trudged cautiously to Hotel zahgeer—my humble abode for the rest of the stay. It was a full moon night in Gulmarg and I was in no mood to loaf around in the hotel, so I ventured out to get familiar with my new ‘habitat. As I strolled along gaping at the stunning full moon casting its shadows over Gulmargs snow blanket, an array of quaint snow-covered huts to slightly high-end bed-and-breakfast motels caught my ever widening eye.

The Gondola, the golf course, the military base camp and the snow had all become my allies after my escapades the previous night. I headed out to explore the market area that was obviously shut during the wee hours of the morning when I was out on my memorable stroll. The place was bustling with activity and people. Local sledge owners were coaxing tourists to go sledging but one look at the disgruntled faces of those seated on the sledges was enough for me to give sledging a miss. After a sunny walk, I settled down for Kashmiri kahwa tea. The local tea stall vendor informed me that summer in Gulmarg is just as eventful. With temperatures ranging from 25 to 30oC, the hill station attracts outdoor sports fanatics with its world-class golfing facilities. Others visit for trekking, mountain biking, horse riding, water skiing, and even fishing. Though I believed him, I couldnt, for the life of me, imagine anyone horse riding or playing golf on a golf course embedded deep in multiple layers of snow as I looked on.

As I moved towards the venue of the Gulmarg Winter Festival, which was running awfully behind schedule, I caught some panoramic views of the slopes and valleys around the military base camp from View Point. No trace of any music or adventure festivities due to ‘technical snags, we were served aloo parathas for lunch at Lala Restaurant. After a wait that had begun to seem eternal, there was an announcement—“For more than 30 years no music has echoed in these meadows, and if Gulmarg Winter Festival becomes a success, we would be known as the first band to perform here. So we are making history, right here, right now,”declared Raghu Dixit, the lead vocalist of his band minutes before strumming his guitar in the spectacular outdoor venue of the festival.

After some blissful slumber, my new found gang of friends and I headed to the Gondola the next morning. Excited to bits, we all wanted to hitch a ride on the worlds highest cable car at a whopping 3,979 m above sea level. The two-stage ropeway ferries about 600 people per hour to and from the Gondola main station in Gulmarg to a shoulder of nearby Mount Apharwat Summit that is at 13,780 ft. A joint venture of the Jammu and Kashmir government and Pomagalski—a French firm, slick cable cars transport tourists and skiers from Gulmarg Main Station to Kongdoori Station nestled in the bowl-shaped Kongdoori valley. Since none of the passengers in my cable car were professional skiers, we decided to hitch the cable car ride till Kongdoori and skipped the second stage of the ropeway that chair-lifts professionals to a height of 12,959 ft. We dig in to some French fries and pakoras with the trademark Kashmiri kahwa at a local Kongdori restaurant. They even sold exotic chocolates for those with a sweet tooth!

As we descended from Kongdoori to Gulmarg, it began to snow. The rays of the sun glistened on the snowflakes creating a glittering spectacle. I was shaken from my blissfully hypnotic state to be told that venue of the music festival has been shifted to the upscale Alpine Ridge Hotel. Since we had some time to kill, we decided to explore the glorious past of the Gulmarg Golf Club. Established in 1902 by the British, the highest, and certainly one of the most beautiful green golf courses in the world, the club was revived in 1953 by gifted Kashmiri golfers. Golf prospered ever since and as many as five national tournaments began to be held every year.

Alpine Ridge Hotel, the new venue of the festival was packed with foreign nationals, locals, skiers, backpackers, mountaineers, musicians, hard-rock singers, bands—I never in my wildest dreams imagined Grammy award winner Adele being a bonding point among the rather eclectic mix of people from all walks of life that had gathered there to make merry that night. In that sea of people, we found new friends, a handsome set of Srinagar boys who drove my friends and I to Hotel Hilltop for a post midnight caffeine fix.

Though disquieting conversation on the situation in Kashmir didnt quite leave me in peace that night, something had significantly changed the next morning. My frozen heart had thawed. My eyes had begun to sparkle again. The heart skipped a beat. Was I in love again? If walking on sunshine meant being in love, then I was guilty as charged. Gulmarg, I owe you one.