Harud by the lake

We, i.e. P and I, love Kashmir. It's the place, the food, the people and the stories which have struck a chord with us. 

The last time we were in Srinagar, Kashmir; for me it was for a really short time. Only 2 days. It so happened that P was working there. When his work got over, it was a Thursday. So we decided that he would stay back and I would join him over the weekend. Those were the last few days of Autumn, sometimes in  early Novermber. It was about to rain and then the red leaves of the chinar trees would start  to fall, heralding the onset of a bitter winter.  Since last 3 years I was planning to be in Kashmir during Autumn, when the Chinars turn red!Every year something would come up and I would miss it. 

Kashmir has it's own charm during all the seasons. And we fell in love with the beautiful Harud (autumn) there. The slight chill in the air, the dry leaves in the trees, those big chinars with their red/brown leaves - everything added to the beauty of this heaven on earth. For those 2 days, we  roamed around the city at our own pace. Walked around the Nishad Garden and Chinar bagh. Sipped Kahwa from roadside small eateries,visited the famed sufi shrine of Khanqah-e-Moula .Looked for Rainbow bakery and had their amazing walnut brownie.We even  made plans with our friendly and trusted Auto driver Manzoor bhai to go to Downtown Srinagar at 5 am to have Harissa,a winter specialty served by just a handful of restaurants in the morning. But alas the last thing we couldn't do because on that day, our last day in Srinagar, there was a bandh called for and Manzoor bhai refused to take any risk by taking us there.

Slightly disheartened we came to Daal lake for a stroll before we left the city. We just sat by the lake, doing nothing just looking into this beautiful lake that defines the city. There were very few "tourists" that early in the morning. The sky was still gloomy after the previous night's shower. As we sat there, the sky slowly started to open up. There was still a light mist in the distance.For Kashmir the last 2 years had been really dismal in terms of tourism. Hotels and Houseboats were empty, shikaras were running into losses. The Shikara owners we got talking to told us how  bad the previous "seasons" were.

But still there was some hope; that the coming year would bring in peace and people will be back to enjoy a Shikara ride on Daal lake. We looked towards the lake and as we were about to leave, P said " Let's take one selfie with the daal lake". We looked out and P hit the click button on his phone, just in time to capture the Shikara in the frame too.

It was a beautiful moment captured in our minds and in P's Selfie Camera forever. 

Selfie with the Shikara

Just like this beautiful moment, there are many more special moments that we want to keep frozen in our lives forever. Here comes Mobiistar ; who has entered Indian market with plans to develop the smartphone segment in India by understanding the consumer need for a selfie smartphone and their desire to gain more enjoyment at great value. The main highlight of the Mobiistar handset is the integration of a dual selfie camera on the front with the ability to capture images in a stunning 120-degree wide-angle shot. So next time we are in Kashmir we can capture a wider image with the stunning mountains around. For that matter anytime we want to click a selfie, we can plan a wider shot with whatever we wish to capture. How cool is that! 

Mobiistar will soon be available on Flipkart. Do check out Mobiistar on Flipkart to enhance your Selfie Experience.

How I fell in love with Kashmir

It is difficult to pinpoint the exact moment. May be when I first landed in beautiful Srinagar and was welcomed by that chill in the air or may be even before that, when my co passenger offered me his window seat. Not to forget all those glimpses that Bollywood offered. Whatever be the reason, I admit I am smitten by this beautiful state of India - Jammu & Kashmir. Jammu has a family connection now with my sister married there. Srinagar and other part of the state always fascinated me. Last year when I finally landed in Leh, I fell in love with it even more. That's a different story; but for now let me look back when and how I fell in love with Kashmir.

Dal

It was during the Good Friday long weekend  in 2012 that I first landed in Srinagar. Jammu I had been before many times. But that was my very first visit to Kashmir. All thanks to Prim, who is another Kashmir fan and a veteran in the travel business, asked me to join her on a trip to Srinagar during the Tulip season. Thus I was on my way to my first trip to the beautiful Srinagar. But as luck would have it, both of us got different rows and I got a middle seat. The passenger next to me in the window seat was sleeping throughout the flight. It was only when the captain announced that we had begun our descend to Srinagar, he woke up. From whatever I could manage to see from my seat, I could see snow clad mountains at a distance and yellow paddy, small cottage type houses. He noticed me trying to see through the window and asked " First time to Srinagar?" I said " Yes". He very generously offered me his seat so that I could have my first glimpse of the valley from the sky. When I protested; he said " I insist and welcome to my beautiful valley." The patches of yellow paddy down, villages scattered around, snow clad mountains at far and a warm gesture of Kashmiri hospitality 35,000 feet above ground - I was falling in love with Kashmir.

The Tulips

My first trip to Kashmir was, as I mentioned before, to see the Tulip Garden. This one is Asia's largest Tulip Garden. On the foothills of Zabarwan Hills and near the famous Dal Lake, this tulip garden is sure a must visit at least once. It opens only during the month of April, when the tulips are in full bloom. The tulip garden is a complete riot of colours. It is as if God himself has spread acres of colourful flower carpets to welcome one and all to the valley. I had my first cup of Kashmiri Kehwa (the fragrant Kashmiri tea) there. And then there are the other royal gardens in Srinagar - Nishad Bagh, Botanical Garden, Chashme Shahi, Mughal gardens etc. All are very well maintained and worth a visit. In one of my later trips, I and my other half, spent a whole day moving from one garden to another completely at the mercy of the Auto driver we hired for the day. That day we did full touristy stuff. That's another story. But trust me if anyone is in Kashmir during April, please make sure you go and see the Tulip garden once. You will not regret.

The Bulb

My first visit to Srinagar meant my first ever tryst with Kashmiri cuisine too and for a foodie like me, Kashmir is heaven.  My first meal in Srinagar was at Ah Doo's , an iconic restaurant in the city. It started in 1918 and still going strong. For the first time in my life I tasted Tabak Maaz which is Kashmiri fried Lamb ribs. The Roghan Josh never tasted so spectacular and not to mention Kashmiri Phirni. I loved every morsel. In the evening we had a "light" dinner of many varieties of kababs with Kashmiri naan in a small place where locals were eating. Next day we had been to Gulmarg. There we made the customary stop at Tangmarg for breakfast of piping hot maggi, bread omelette and tea. I am talking about 2012, maggi was still a part of our lives! On our way back from Gulmarg we again stopped at Tangmarg for lunch. This time we had Kashmiri Biriyani. That simple no fancy restaurant served such amazing biriyani that I and my friend both were floored. In my later visits, I relished that most succulent and flavourful Goshtaba at Khyber Himalayan Resort in Gulmarg. But by then I was already a fan of Kashmiri cuisine.
It will be really unfair if I don't mention about the invitation for dinner at a Kashmiri household. Prim had been to Kashmir many times and she has many friends there. One of the families invited us for dinner and served us chicken saagwala with homemade naans. This chicken dish was unlike any Chicken Saagwala that I had before. This was simple, yet there was something very rustic about it and I could still smell the aroma as type the words in my keypad!


My first trip to Srinagar was a short one. But when I was coming back I already knew that this short trip was just the beginning of a much longer fascination. Since then, I had been to Kashmir 3 more times and still has all the plans to go again and again.

Through the flight window!

The Khyber you must not pass

2014 was ending in 10 days and keeping up the trend of sudden trips that we had in the whole year, P decided to extend his stay by 2 days once his work was over and I decided to sneak out a leave and join him there. "There", this time, was Gulmarg. P was there for the shoot of the Dewarist Season 4 and the whole team stayed and shot at Khyber Himalayan Resort and Spa ; which within 2 years of its existence has been ranked as one of the top Ski resorts in the world. This sure turned out to be one of the most memorable trips of 2014 thanks to the wonderful hospitality extended by the team of Khyber in Gulmarg.






The rooms

From the moment you enter the vast lobby; the warmth of Kashmiri hospitality greets you and each one of the members of the team Khyber makes sure that it stays with you even after you leave. This luxury resort is an experience in itself. Located very near to the Gulmarg Gondola; Khyber Himalayan Resort has 80 rooms 4 Luxury cottages and 1 Presidential Suite; all offering breath taking views of the Affarwat peaks or the evergreen Valley of Gulmarg. We stayed in a room with a balcony overlooking the green meadows of Gulmarg. Though it had not snowed properly yet; there were patches of white from the earlier scattered snow falls.Winter was already setting in, paving the  way for a whiter Christmas and New Year. Since I was there for just 2 days, I decided to make most of it and soak in the luxury that Khyber offers in the midst of  beautiful and serene Gulmarg.




Our room








One of the sitouts

I firmly believe that any resort or hotel , to feature in my personal list of good hotels worth recommending to friends and family, must serve real good food. Khyber sure tops the list in this.With huge glass windows over looking the mountains and meadows; Cloves  is their multi cuisine restaurant offering an array of food from across the globe and Kashmiri cuisine too.  I had one of the best Goshtaba at Cloves. It was perfectly cooked, juicy but really subtle in spices. In fact in all the food, the spices used were never too over powering and I loved every morsel I ate at the Cloves. Add to this the attentive staffs serving each table with a smile; Bilal, Saptarshi, Sajjad to name a few. Besides that, I also had an awesome dosa for breakfast the next morning. I admit I am not at all a Dosa person. Even if I had to have, I avoid the sambhar completely as somehow that ends up ruining the dosa for me. Even in most "authentic" of dosa places, I donot have sambhar. But one fine December morning, I had an amazing Dosa and Sambhar, the signature dish from Southern part of our country, in one of the extreme Nothern corners of the country; thanks to
Chef Chotelal.

Chaikash

The  two evenings that I was there, I spent them doing the same thing. First an hour inside the heated pool overlooking the majestic mountains and after that sipping into a hot cup of Kashmiri Kahwa at Chaikash, the tea lounge. Even though I wanted to, but could not find time to go the Khyber spa by L'OCCITANE . As the spa rightfully claims it "brings to life the changing seasons of Gulmarg with signature treatments where guests are encouraged to choose from a repertoire of home grown seasonal flora which are mixed with natural L’OCCITANE products and fresh Himalayan water to create fusion recipes." But trust you me, this is sure an amazing indulgence not to be missed.  Well for me, I guess this is the reason for me to plan another trip to Gulmarg and Khyber.

On the day we were leaving Gulmarg, all the signs of an impending snowfall were staring at our faces. But alas; we weren't meant to witness  our first  flurry of snowfall that  turns the green meadows into powdery white this time. One more reason to go back.

From Khyber, the Gulmarg Gondola is just few meters away. I thoroughly enjoyed walking around the area during the day with the soft winter sun playing hide and seek amidst clouds. As it was predicted to snow within a day or 2; the Gondola phase 2 was closed for maintenance on that day. P had been to phase 2; just a day ago for shoot. As he vouches for it, this sure is a must in Gulmarg. The ride to phase 2. This time I could go till phase 1 only. I am so convinced that Gulmarg wants me to be back for sure and I know where I am staying.

 

The wonderful team - Khyber

Khyber Himalayan Resort and Spa is a luxurious experience to indulge and enjoy. A special mention of Mr. Jerin Philip, the very welcoming front office manager and ever smiling Aman Dhiman. Actually the whole team of Khyber; it's their warmth and their hospitality which set them apart.

The recognitions