Spring brings blossoms and nostalgia in Kashmir (Letter from Kashmir)

SRINAGAR - Spring brings memories flooding back in Kashmir, like it does the almond blossoms. In the heart of old Srinagar, Badamwari - the garden of almonds with its flowerladen trees - these days presents a mesmerising sight.

“I vividly remember the days when my father would take the family to Badamwari where music and mirth made you forget all your worries,” said Ghulam Hassan Mir, 56, a local businessman.

Mir was in fact referring to the age-old tradition of Srinagar residents thronging the garden of almonds in spring where local singers and musicians would entertain visitors.

“Families would carry food and samovars of steaming salt tea to enjoy their day off in the lap of nature. Children would play hide and seek in the densely planted garden where hiding behind an almond tree made it difficult for friends to trace you,” said Sajad Ahmad, 49, a college teacher here.

Life in the old days was less stressful in Kashmir compared to the rat race of the modern times.

“These days everybody is tense and stressed not only because of the violence that has been plaguing us for the last 20 years but also because of the modern lifestyle that leaves you breathless with its hectic pace,” said Altaf Ahmad Dar, 46, a local engineer.

“Kashmiris in the not so distant past lived life on their terms and today they are driven in vicious circles because everybody wants to beat others one way or the other,” said master Habibullah, 59, who lives in north Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.

“A passenger bus would come to our village in the morning and later carry the passengers home in the evening. The calm and serenity of the countryside would only be interrupted by the noise of the petrol engine twice a day in my childhood, but today every minute roaring automobiles interrupt the songs of the orioles.”

The oriole is a seasonal bird species that comes to Kashmir in spring. It is well known for its colourful plumage and wonderful singing.

“At times I wonder whether such a mad rush is so necessary to run our lives. Now it is a mirage chase which keeps all of us away from identifying ourselves with the majesty of nature,” Habibullah rued.

As multi-storeyed buildings, unplanned residential areas, overcrowded markets, traffic jams and resulting pollution deprive Srinagar city of its claim of being the Venice of Asia, the city’s 1.2 million residents are not sure whether this is the progress and prosperity their ancestors wanted.

“The problem is we have gradually cut off our links with the glorious past and are still far away from what developed nations have achieved through modernisation,” said Fayaz Ahmad, 37, a schoolteacher who teaches environmental science in Baramulla district.

“I strongly dispute the fact that we must blindly copy the so-called developed nations. If all they have achieved would be possible for us only through the loss of tradition and peace of mind, I don’t agree it is worth at all.”

“Our rivers are no longer clean enough to drink their waters; our springs have started withdrawing because of the depleting water table. The lakes in the valley are faced with the dangerous prospect of becoming mud pools and still we think this is needed to keep pace with the developed nations.”

It is, however, heartening to see that the locals have started realising they must stop the wild goose chase for modern amenities as this takes them further way from the glorious tradition of peace and coexistence.

“Unless we reframe our priorities and decide firmly not to give up the time-tested tradition of coexistence with nature, I fear the orioles in my backyard might soon forget how to sing,” said Master Habibullah.

(F. Ahmed can be contacted at f.ahmed@ians.in)