I was feeling feverish as the third day started. We planned to go to Pahalgam, a name made by two words; Pahal means ‘shepherd’ and Gam means ‘village or gaon’ as shared by the driver. It is situated at a height comparable to the height of Srinagar, so it was going to be a bit cold. We started from the hotel at 10.30 am. It took us two and a half hours to reach Pahalgam from Srinagar. There are two ways to go to Pahalgam, and we took the new highway. We also crossed Pulwama on the way. The highlight for me was Pampore – The Saffron (Kesar) land. All of you must have heard about Kesar, used in various delicacies like kheer, ras malai, and milk. It is very costly, a gram of it costs Rs. 200 which means 100 grams will cost Rs. 20,000 and one kg of Kesar will cost Rs 20 lacs. Muzzafer told me that Kashmiri Kesar is the best in the world and it is harvested in only four places in the whole world. Kashmir, Iran, Afghanistan, and one more place I have forgotten about. I was excited to see the Kesar fields beside the highway.
Kesar flowers are light purple and each flower has three delicate red-colored stems which are sold as Kesar and are a mine of gold. The seed of Kesar is similar to garlic. Once the seed is sown, Kesar can be harvested for three years from the same seed. The harvesting period is concise and in 15-20 days this yearly crop is harvested. It is used in a very less quantity, 3-4 stems are enough for a cup of milk as Muzzafar said “Iski bas 3 patti ek cup doodh mein daalo, is se zyada nahi daalna nahi ton kaan mein se dhuan nikal jayega”. They say that Kesar has many health benefits.
I clicked a few photographs of Kesar flowers. Military personnel were there everywhere and even in Kesar fields. Other than Kesar, Mamra Badam, Akhrot, Khurmani are a few other dry fruits that are harvested in Kashmir. Nanra badam is small in size.
After visiting Kesar fields, we stopped at an Apple Orchard and I relished a glass of fresh apple juice. It was delicious unlike Appy fiz.
There was no phone network at all (Vodafone) after we crossed the range of Srinagar city. In Pahalgam, you can visit sightseeing points by taxi or horse ride. I chose a horse ride but as soon as I sat on the horse and it started walking I realized it is going to be a difficult ride. I started crying ‘mujhe nahi jana, mujhe neeche utaaro’. The horse wala tried to comfort me that I’ll be alright but I was afraid that I can’t do it. But he insisted that I’ll be alright and will not let me fall etc. etc. There are hardly any visitors due to lockdown and he didn’t want to let go of his customer. It was as difficult for him to take a customer like me as it was for me to sit for 3 hours on the horse going uphill and coming downhill from a steep difficult track. Especially the last part of the way was steep. I was feeling sorry for myself and more so for the horse & horse owner. Their job is really difficult when clients are like me who have never sat on a horse earlier and whose height is small because at each point he had to help me get on the back of the horse and get me down. But to be fair to me, it was equally difficult for me and ‘maine kaan ko hath lagaye, tauba ki wapis ghode par nahi baithungi’. Pata nahi kitni baar raste mein bhaiya se maafi mangi, horse se maafi mangi ki kitna pareshan hue wo meri wajah se but bhaiya was like ‘we have no work since several months, aap hamare customer hain, hum aapko girne nahi dega madam, aap chinta mat karo, aap hamari behan hai hum aapko aaram se pahuncha dega. Aap neeche mat dekho, ghode ko pata hai kidhar se chalna hai, aap upar dekho pedon ki taraf, dekho kitni upar se tum aaya, bas aise hi neeche chale jayenge.’
The horse’s name was “Dilkhush” and his owner’s Irfan Ahmed. We stopped at 4-5 points up and downhill and he also clicked my photographs with my camera and said madam hum pehle photographer tha’.
Almost everyone who had a chance to have a conversation with me had a few pet questions. One, where do I belong to? And almost everyone after I told them that I am from Punjab said Punjabi bahut ache hote hain. Punjabi hamesha hum Kashmiriyon ki help karte. The second question they ask is aap shaadi shuda hain? And then aapki umr kya hai? and then more incidental questions on knowing ki shaadi shuda NAHI hain. The next question that almost everyone asked including the godewala was Modi ji ke baare mein aapka khayal hai. Hamara rozi roti bhi cheen liya. Hamein mehnat karke bhi nahi khane deta. (except Dilkhush, who asked only one question silently – why, why are you riding on my back, can’t you trek, girl!)
By the time I reached back at the parking lot, the point where we started was 5 pm already. I must have gone in the earliest lot and came back after everyone else because I was very afraid and bhaiya made the horse walk slow.
I had a high fever while returning to Srinagar. I took a hot salt water bath after returning to the hotel, had khichdi for dinner, and slept off taking another dose of paracetamol in the hope that I would feel better the next morning. The fever had indeed gone the next morning 30/10 and I was ready to explore another place.
