Throwback memory of 2016 visit to Baisaran Valley

Mumbai: The cowardly attack on a paradise that is best known as ‘Mini Switzerland’ turned out to be one of the worst night mares for many who lost their lives for not being Muslims. What caught everyone’s attention the most was the picture of the newly wedded young woman, who was sitting beside the body of her husband. She was wearing a bright red Chooda which implied, she was a bride who was on a honeymoon. However, her blank face was telling a different story. Clearly, she couldn’t believe what had actually happened. Her face brought back my memories of the same Baisaran valley where my husband and I visited nine years ago. We chose to take a pony ride instead of trekking all the way to the spot, exactly where the attack took place. I won’t say I can relate to what the newly married survivor went through, but her face and the picture and the video that are in public domain at the moment, brought back my memories of my visit to Baisaran valley to the extent that for a minute I imagined myself in her place and shivered. The correlation left me horrified, and the thoughts of losing a dear one in a fraction of a second in such a targeted manner disturbed me.

It was June 2016. Baisaran was not a planned destination of our itinerary. There was an afternoon that the tour company had kept free either to rest or to visit Baisaran valley. The tour company had said the Baisaran valley visit would be our independent adventure since it was not officially a part of the tour itinerary. While some travelers including my husband and I chose to visit Baisaran, some stayed back at the hotel in Pahalgam due to a tiring sightseeing for the first half of the day. Five to seven of us decided to go ahead. We negotiated with the pony guides and embarked on our visit to mini-Switzerland. A cool and calm horse ride, scraping through thick and dense cover of trees, as good as a forest. It was truly mesmerizing.

Experience at Baisaran valley

Baisaran valley is often dubbed as ‘Mini Switzerland’ because of its long dark meadows resembling the ones in Switzerland, Baisaran is an eye-catching meadow, located just 5 km away from Pahalgam. The dense pine forest that gives the green carpet look to the meadow provides a contrasting hue to snow-capped peaks of the surrounding mountains. A major tourist place to visit in Pahalgam, a voyage to the meadow is truly a treat for the senses. Additionally, Baisaran is also an ideal campsite for trekkers who want to move further up to Tulian Lake. Accessible through ponies from Pahalgam, this off-beat track of Jammu and Kashmir tourism offers panoramic sights of the town and Lidder Valley. The meadows are fringed by pine forests with snow capped mountain peaks in the backdrop. The picturesque view of the Lidder River lends a charming appeal to the place. The virgin valley appears like a fresh emerald in summer and is ideal for photography sessions. Winters change the backdrop into a snow wonderland. The ever-alluring beauty of this meadow is owed to the misty clouds. The vast area is perfect for picnics and fun times. The beautiful valley is a 5 km trek from Pahalgam. Only ponies and by foot can you arrive in the untouched heaven.

Like a typical tourist we occupied the seats at the eatery there, ordered maggi, had chai, and indulged in the joy of a photo session. When I imagined what could have happened there on Tuesday, nine years after having visited the spot, my thoughts threw me back to a memory of 2015, when I got married. We wished to go to Kashmir for our honeymoon. The entire family opposed the idea by saying, “Not as a newly wedded couple.” We were angry. We had an argument, however we ended up going to Darjeeling instead. An equally wonderful place, probably a safer destination that left our loved ones assured that we would return home safely.

However, Kashmir is something that’s a wish of every Indian traveler. It’s a destination that everyone wants to visit at least once in their lifetime. We were firm that we wanted to visit Kashmir. We finally went ahead and booked a standard itinerary of Kashmir through a popular travel agency that included Srinagar, Pahalgam, Gulmarg and Sonmarg. We were strictly instructed by our family members that we would not go for a customized tour and join their standard safe tour that had 20 odd guests on one package. Needless to say, it was truly worth it. It was June 2016. Our tour began with a houseboat stay at Srinagar. Surprisingly, the houseboat manager called Munna bhai who was a Kashmiri local, in his Kashmir/Pashtuni accent greeted us in Marathi. He said, “Namaskar! Kashmir madhye tumche swagat aahe.” We were shocked. When we asked him how he knew Marathi, he said they all knew four languages- Hindi, Marathi, Gujarathi and their local mother tongue. He cited that Marathis and Gujarathis formed a major chunk of the tourist influx in Kashmir.

The houseboat at Dal lake

The stay in the house boat came with some small, tricky yet hilarious challenges. Locals had pointed out that something called Safeda in the air around could possibly lead to food poisoning symptoms if inhaled. While we didn’t take the warning too seriously, my husband fell prey to that. He was unwell, to an extent that we decided to admit him to a hospital that was on the other side of the Dal lake. We were supposed to head to Gulmarg that morning after a two-day house boat stay. Hospital could be accessed only by a shikara ride. A tour guide escorted us to the hospital, and ensured we were taken care of. What was funnily interesting was, when my husband was asleep, with his drip on in the hospital, a local resident in his late 60’s enquired about the situation. What was annoyingly surprising was the unsolicited sympathy with which he said, “Fikr mat karo, chaho to hum aapko khoon bhi denge.” These dramatic words were not required at all, and that was a point when I actually felt I should probably head back to Mumbai. Fortunately all settled in fast, and we safely joined the group again at Gulmarg.

Memories of Kashmir have been kind to me fortunately, as we returned safely in mid-June 2016. However, probably we were plain lucky because soon after our return, violence left 23 dead, including a policeman after Hizbul Mujahideen’s 21-year-old poster boy Burhan Wani was shot dead by security forces along with two of his accomplices in the Kokernag area. Elimination of Burhan Wani was termed by Director General of J&K Police K Rajendra as a major success for the security forces because he was allegedly instrumental in brainwashing many local boys to take up the gun.