Kashmir - What Else!

Impressions

Post superannuation a decade ago, me and my wife have undertaken trips to many places of worship in India, including the four dhams of Kedarnath/Badrinath in north, Dwarka in west, Puri in east and Rameshwaram in the south. A joint visit to Amarnath was on our bucket list for long. Direct flights from Kolkata to Srinagar and becoming ineligible for getting Yatra permit next year for crossing maximum age limit of 70 years hastened our resolve to have darshana this year. We are back in Kolkata where we reside after a blissful spiritual trip last week to the holy cave of Amarnath via Baltal and visit to Ishber Ashram, Meditation centre in Dachigam, Mata Khsir Bhawani temple, Ram Trika Ashram Fateh Kadal, RKM Shivalaya temple and Hazratbal Dargah during our stay of a few days in Srinagar with memories of my early growing up years in valley relived.

As per legend, Amarnath cave was chosen by Lord Shiva to share the secret of immortality with Parvati. At a deeper level, Shiva is Consciousness with Shiva being the static aspect of cosmic energy and Parvati (Shakti) being the dynamic aspect in a conjoint form. The famous Vaak by Lal Ded, ‘Shiv Chuy Thali Thali Rozan’ reminds us all constantly that He lives in every place and every thing. She further advises us to not discriminate based on religions and instead recognise ourselves by looking inwards to find Him. In one of his shurks, Nunda Rishi too advises ‘Shivas ta shunis youd muel Karakh’ alluding to fusion and deep understanding of Shiva and Shunya, concepts of Kashmiri Trika philosophy and Buddhism, respectively. Both, Kashmir Shaivism and Kashmir Sufism are monistic. A reminder of deep spiritual and mystical heritage of Kashmir, that we may need to revive as a way forward for a happier Kashmir for future generations.

While the primary focus of my visit was driven by spiritual quest, I wish to share some takeaways wearing my interest in public policy domain. These are based on impressions from my evening walk on the bank of river Sindh in Sonamarg, driving through the city and downtown roads in Srinagar, visits enroute to Manasbal and Dal Lakes and driving past Vitasta (Jhelum) and its tributaries (Nallahs).

It was a delight to be approached by Danish Mir and his friend, both tech savvy teenagers, armed with a smart phone and a connected gadget to make a video reel on the bank of river Sindh in Sonamarg. They showed two minute reels of youngsters as samples which we as a senior citizen couple were a bit hesitant but their sweet charm and enthusiasm won us over. They asked me to suggest a song that they would play in the background and I instantly suggested they use, “ Suhana Safar hai yeh Mausam haseen “ from Madhumati as it is picturised on my favourite actor, Dilip Kumar, was shot in my residential school in Nainital, a decade before I joined and Sonamarg and Nainital have similar topography ! They made a reel which we happily shared with family and friends as a great memory of our trip.

Tourism can indeed provide skilled youth like Danish with great meaningful opportunity for employment in unimaginable ways. A quick back of the envelope calculation revealed that their earnings are on par with any entry level govt job, besides the freedom to work and enhance their product offerings with right technical skilling and support by the government can increase their income. Such entrepreneurial youth need all encouragement from their parents in Kashmir, rather than forcing them to look for only government jobs.

While I travelled from Sonamarg to Baltal and back to Srinagar, I was happy to see the pace of development to meet the increased demand of tourism. Yet, a thought that struck me is how far is the level of current phase of development though desirable sustainable, keeping in view its ecological environmental impact on ground subsistence and landslide prone habitats in region. Every hill station will sustain habitat for a maximum population.

In view the fast pace of construction in last few years, it may be prudent to undertake a “carrying capacity” using LiDAR ( Light Detection and Ranging high resolution maps ) geological and geotechnical study in Sonamarg to arrive at its coping capacity as a policy planning measure of risk management. Focus must shift in planning from disaster management to proactive risk assessment and management. I did not find much emphasis on “carrying capacity” after a quick look on the net in the State Disaster Management Plans of J&K of 2022-23 and earlier notification of 2017 based on report of TISS Mumbai. Hence, this suggestion. Similar studies may be necessary for high tourist centres like, Pahalgam, Gulmarg, Yusmarg, Dodhpathri and other places, as deemed appropriate.

Looking at the shrinking size of our natural water bodies is always depressing. Dal Lake which was 75 sq Kms in area in 1200 AD was one third of that size when I left Kashmir in late 1970’s. It now stands at one sixth of that size. What our ancestors gave to us has been exploited by illegal encroachment, siltation and eutrophication. From 25 sq Kms in say 1980, it is now about 12 sq Kms in area. Situation in Manasbal, other wetlands, Jhelum and nallahs is no different. Dry spell and heat wave had reduced water levels anyway to almost half of normal levels or lower.

Instead of looking at these natural assets only as sources of water and water bodies in a engineering reductionist way, it may help if we see them holistically as WEBS where W is Water, E is Energy, B is Bio-diversity and S is Sediments. Since, we have an IIT, IIM and NIT in the state, these institutes may be asked to use ecological economic modelling to value bio diversity and allied eco services of livelihood in Kashmir. They can assist in formulation of a systemic response and seek help of CSIR and NEERI in arresting pollution, as deemed necessary. We have to do our utmost to save and improve upon what we inherited.

A lot of work is visibly underway as part of Smart city project in Srinagar and some teething problems during execution are inevitable. However, the traffic management system seems to be in a disarray. Apparently, the traffic management system is not as smart as any intelligent traffic management system ( ITMS) should be. In addition, public too seems not inclined to follow any rules with rage quite visible with too many two and three wheelers being a law unto themselves. In addition to establishment, civil society has to play its constructive role to educate and reprimand offenders in their localities. School children volunteers are full of enthusiasm and have contributed significantly to success of traffic awareness programmes in many cities. They can also sensitise tourists for keeping places clean and help in enforcing ban on single use plastics. Recognising good schools for their contributions is necessary.

Almighty has been generous in granting Kashmir with natural beauty that people envy and often compare with paradise. Inspired by a persian couplet of Jehangir, I recall ending my debut book, “ Kashmir As I see it - From within and afar ( Rupa 2019) with “ When Ashok was asked on his death bed about his last wish, he replied - Kashmir, what else”. Let us preserve Kashmir for handing over to our future generations and not kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.

Ashok Dhar, a published author,  former President, Petroleum business @RIL