Road to the Valley

7/29/2019 Road to the Valley

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ROAD TO THE VALLEY

The one day train journey from Delhi to the borders with Kashmir is an unpleasant

experience filled with dying heat and sweat, handicaps and beggars and unforeseen

smells of filth and dirt which accurately describes and applies to all India when themonsoon breaks in.

Arriving at Patnitop we came across an overwhelming sight. Indian armed forces have

placed barricades in the street denying access to the valley to all travelers. The mini bus

driver failed to stop at the whistle and slowly passed over the barricade. One of theofficers with frightening features holding a wooden stick quickly followed the car

shouting angrily something in Kashmiri. The driver opened the window and answered

back in the same manner as if he was ignoring the consequences of his acts. A dozen of

shouting officers heavily armed surrounded us whilst placing mirrors under the carsearching for illegitimate indications. To our amaze, the officer waved his hand towards

me and Mar looking suspicious and determined.

The Kashmiri driver looked at us:Sorry sir, only Kashmiris are allowed to cross this point tonight. This is because of astrike in the valley. You see today its Friday and after the pray Kashmiris will protest

their anger about last weeks incidents and there might be unrest and stone-throwing. .

All non-Kashmiri travelers will have to stay here overnight and continue their route

tomorrow


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Patnitop is a tourist trap 200 kilometers before the valley -a village situated on the top of

a mountain. A few tourist resorts and top end hotels are scattered around barelydistinguishable inside the forest offering as much privacy as required by the rich

Kashmiris who come here-far away from their traditional neighborhood- to spend a night

or two sometimes with their lover or with a group of male friends to drink and smoke

legal and illegal substances which is strictly forbidden by both Islamic religion and theconservative Kashmiri society,

Already drunk a group of Kashmiri friends in their late 20ies observed the spectacle

unfolding as two foreigners (Mar and I) are checking in to the room next to them.

Without wasting time they instantly invited us to the party, which was already in fullswing, offering expensive Whiskey and fresh local food.

-Why are you heading to Kashmir Sir? Havent you heard about the troubles?, one asks

- I am aware of them I replied-but we really want to visit the valley. We spend a

whole month in India only to meet rude and unfriendly people. A friend recommendedKashmir for its cool climate and hospitable locals.

-Thats true Sir, he replied. We are different than Indians. We hate them but we love

foreign guests! Dont worry Sir about having to spend the night here, the valley is safefor non-Indians and we will be honored to give you a lift there tomorrow. On the way wecan stop to our town for breakfast but be careful not to mention anything to our wives

about our little party here, as they dont know we smoke and drink. You see Kasmiri

women are very conservative.....

The next morning about 6 am I heard someone knocking aggressively our door;Wake up Sir, we have to go NOW! It is imperative to avoid the traffic jam! We will wait

for you in the car but please hurry up.

Ten minutes later.....Madam, because you are a woman you shall be seated in the front next to me

said the jewelry shop owner who was driving the car and your partner on the back seats

with my two cousins. I was pretty fast but failed to overtake the two hairy cousins whoforcibly jumped in the car to secure the two window back seats leaving me without anyreal option but to sit in the middle.

Shit!-I thought- I will have to stay in between the two alcohol, cigarette and dirt

smelling Kashmiris for the rest of the day but the fact that Mar is sitting safely in the

front and not next to these two gave me comfort. Indeed, the sight of a sleeveless Westernwoman in this part of the world where women hardly leave the interior of the house -and

if they do they will cover themselves from up to down regardless the weather conditions-

is a spectacle capable enough to distract every male; alive or dead, human or animal. This

is probably what the driver had in mind when offering the co-driver seat to Mar and notout of respect or generosity to the female sex.


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Crossing the mountains of Kashmir in order to arrive to Srinagar or else called thevalley is not an easy task. In theory it is approximately 250 kilometers to the valley but

in practice there is no local Kashmiri that could tell with accuracy how many hours drive

it takes to get to the destination: It takes 7 hours, one told us, another interrupts him NO

it is 10 hours, 15 hours another kashmiri adds and so on..... Perhaps they are engaged in

a routine debate: will the vehicle or wont it get there? For traveling in this corner of theHimalayan region (same in North Pakistan-only 150 kilometers West from here) is a

risky adventure a perpetual uncertainty. Indeed, both cars and buses as well as trucks are

to fragile for this terrain: rocky mountains and a national road reaching 3000 meters fullof dangerous curves, poorly constructed asphalt with loose stones hanging above and the

absence of a barrier between the road and the slippery edge all contribute to this

uncertainty- a vehicle advances at a snail speed through the mountains a few kilometers

per hour. One heavy downpour-happening more often than not- inevitably will result to alandslide blocking the road and traffic for weeks. For not to mention the suicidal

tendencies that these drivers have up here neglecting basic traffic rules such as the

obvious risk whilst overtaking a lorry in a 100-180 degrees curve! These mountains

South to Indias Jammu region is the only gateway Kashmiris have to the civilizedworld of India as for more than 50 years they are denied access to other routes to either

Pakistan or China in the North-West and East thus also responsible for the traffic jam that

occurs up here. All lorries with goods and trade have to cross the mountains to reach thevalley, the same applies for Kashmiris using their own vehicles, government buses and

cheap transport jeeps of questionable safety and quality.


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The view down from the edge breathtaking and one cant help imagining nightmarish

scenarios that could easily challenge Hollywoods most mainstream filmmakers and

screenwriters fantasy world. It is here where Gypsy Kashmiris build their houses far

away from the villages, towns and roads so they can observe undisrupted the valley. Itseems more a mission impossible to get to their houses having to walk for hours down or

up the inclined mountain to get home. Perhaps they dont even bother to leave home or at

the very most the edge of the mountain as along these inaccessible terrains far away from

the spotlight they can avoid the troubles that their displaced European Gypsy counterpartsface and thus find a place they can eventually call home.


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More importantly, what defines how long one takes to reach the valley is closely related

to social and political unrest and other cultural factors such as religious celebrations.

Although main religion is Islam (and during the main festivals Muslims travel to

Kashmir) on the way to the valley and specifically in the Yatra region-somewhere insidea cave- is where Hindu believers have decide to celebrate one of the biggest festival

which lasts for two months every year. Inevitably believers from nearby provinces but

also as far as East Coast and South travel by any means of transport to reach Yatra and

pay their homage to the cave.It is exactly this time of the year when we are crossing the mountains: caravans of cars

are creating huge queues of kilometers only to exaggerate the anger and frustration of the

local Kashmiris following the unreasonable killing of two youngsters who were shot deadfrom Indian armed forces while protesting in the valley.

The news of the unjustified killing spread anger across the valley and counter

demonstrations were held most of them peaceful demanding the resignation of the local

government. Nevertheless central Indian government officials decided to send army inKashmir to protect the citizens from the so-called Valley terrorists. Furthermore, anti-

democratic practices were applied, Internet was shut down, calls were barred and so did

text messages. So vast the similarities between Kashmir and Chinas Xinjiang that calling

Kashmir the Xinjiang of India is a statement that shall probably allow me to passunchallenged. Heavily armed the security forces are now scattered along the mountains

searching for evidences of terror performing checkpoints every 2-3 kilometers to all

travelers contributing to the traffic chaos already in place.

Not surprisingly there is no sign of foreign tourists (besides Myself and Mar) heading to

the valley but only a number of tourists leaving the valley for Jammu and southern

provinces. I have experienced this situation also in Xinjiang (China) after last year riots

all tourists abandoned the region after security alerts issued by official media and policeas well as from foreign embassies. Similarly, in Kashmir tourist presence is very small

and everyone seems to be getting out (and quickly). I could spend hours talking about


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these tourists-you know whom I mean; tourists seeking for marihuana, tea and cheap

beer, naturists and mountain lovers, pseudo hippies, adventurers and professional trekkersall rushing to abandon a place when the first protest breaks in parroting the debatable

excuse it is not safe. They could argue for hours about the best tea- marihuana- drugs

and handcrafts, how many hours they trekked without breaking not even for a zip of

water or the best time of the day one should visit the Taj Mahal monument but when itcomes to politics, human rights abuse and Muslim minorities they will most likely change

the subject, reply that they are not interested in politics or at the very best will remain

silent.

There is some type of foreign presence though that these days have dominated the road tothe valley. What I am referring too is foreign vehicle presence; more specifically army

vehicles and weaponry are occupying my sight to all possible directions only to

compensate for the absence of the foreign tourists. Most of the equipment originates from

well-known American and European weapon manufacturers but as clarified by theKashmiris driving us Indias nuclear technology has contributed to the growth of the

Indian War industry that is now capable of providing rifles for their soldiers.


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I am worried that this national road built 3 thousand meters above sea level will not be

able to cope with the weight of the steel that this modern terrorist is made of. What if

the road starts cracking or one of the thousand guns accidentally or intentionally starts

firing towards our direction? I tried to count the vehicles: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 910..20...50...70...100...200....300........I lost count!(without exaggerating).

Why on earth was all these artillery sent to the Kashmiri mountains? To prevent

bloodshed and terrorism one can argue. Indeed, there are many terrorists in the mountains

surrounding the valley and they are very well trained and skilful ones. From the verybeginning of their lives they learn how to fly around the highest peaks of the mountains

for hours so that they can locate the weakness of their enemies and when they do they

free fall to catch they pray. Kashmiri Eagles are very fearsome predators here terrorizing

every small creature-including human- and there is very few one can do if targeted bythese birds. This is probably what the Indian Government had in mind when deciding to

send the cavalry to the valley and not the other terrorists the ones that Media and political

analysts always talk about but nobody ever sees.


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To attempt to photograph the surrounding military would be auto catastrophic as the area

here has been classified under strict military control due to the fact that an armed conflictwith Pakistan was held here and as suggested -by the Kashmiris driving us to the valley-

photographing soldiers here will more often than not, result to arrest, something that

Mar wouldnt be very enthusiastic about.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeppppp............. The sound of the horn of a falling apart lorry dangerouslyclosing in at around 60 km p/h from an endless curve is violently interrupting my

thoughts. JUST MISSED! What a relief.... And there comes another one and another one.

I can see Mar on the front seat holding her self from whatever she can grab trying to hold

tight from the deadly crash. Her eyes petrified!A familiar and persistent Middle East ring tone sound is repeating itself increasingly. It is

not mine, says the Kashmiri on my left so does the Kashmiri on my right. It is the drivers

mobile phone. Is he going to pick it up? I wondered.....Dont you dare motherfucker; you

are going to get us killed.To exaggerate our despair he attempts to reach the mobile without the slightest sign of

hesitation. After a few failed attempts he finally picks up. He seems to be quite a capable

driver and his car is both brand new and reliable but driving on the wrong side of thecurvy road is something impossible to comprehend, for not to mention last nightsdrinking party. What should we do? Stop and wait for a bus? Turn around? Confused I

would stop the car, wondering.... Where? It is Impossible to pull over. Anxiety and panic

in Mars alluring eyes, running to one side and then to the other as if they are trying to

find an uncomplicated way to jump out of the car.All the sudden, I heard the familiar sound of a lighter lighting a cigarette; It is the black

beard Kashmiri seating on my left who starts smoking nervously a cigarette.

In order to lower the tension and anxiety that has conquered me and everyone else -besides the driver- I ask:

-Would you prefer an Indonesian cigarette? I bought them in Malaysia, tax free for

about 40 Rupees. It has clove inside, Kretek. It leaves a smooth sweet taste on your lipsduring and after smoking I clarified-Yes, why not (he replied) not very convinced about my offer but rather wanting to be

polite.

He took the cigarette and after lighting it a hint of enthusiasm is released from his lips.

-Asol, Asol (that translates as good) he replied and passed over the cigarette to the driver.This is probably the only time in my life I got close enough to having a heart attack but I

kept quiet unable to react to what was unfolding in front of me. Mar kept looking at me

angrily, her dazzling eyes reflecting her feelings of astonishment and anticipation of me

taking some sort of action to prevent something horrific that is about to happen! I gaveher a look of reassurance before speaking up;

-Hey man, dont smoke now (I shouted at him), I will give you another later when westop for the Kashmiri tea you have promised but he was too busy- arguing on the phone

with his wife- and he did not acknowledge.Everyone laughed but the driver. The driver continued speaking on the phone with one

hand and with the other hand holding the cigarette and the steering wheel simultaneously.

Seconds later he changed the gear, inhaled the smoke, shouted at his wife and

successfully managed to pull out one of the most dangerous curves I have ever comeacross. The more time passed, the farther we drove, the more anxious I became. We had

not came upon neither a larger road nor any kind of signpost to indicate we are closing in

to the valley.


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Driving through the mountains I did count 3 lorries that have flipped over blocking part

of the potholed asphalt and a number of buses with the front window broken as well asother vehicles with serious or minor accidents. The voyage that was supposed to be only

5-6 hours lasted for 24 but the mountains passed ever so slowly before our eyes that it felt

weeks, months. But the worse by far is to come quite soon when we have planned to

cross the highest highway in the world-The Karakoram highway in North Pakistan- to

China. We will probably have to revise these plans but firstly lets hope will get out ofthis unharmed- I thought.

Hey Angelos, the man on my right interrupted me with a sign of guilt as if he has

something to confess.What? I answered with curiosity.

Check out this video he asked me whilst pressing the play button. A familiar sound -

that of a riot- coming out from his mobile phone instantaneously grasped my attention.The kashmiri was quite religious, dressed in white gown that completely concealed his

body, he was quite reflected, proudly declaring his standpoints of pro Independence and

ecstatically repeating his full participation to last years numerous protests. Only a few

meters away from the action he had no other ethical choice but to cover by mobile phone

the atrocities frame by frame; gun shoots aiming to kill, deaths and violence and then ahelpless armed officer who is begging for his life. The videos, although amateurish and

shaky, clearly convey the incidents. I have seen other videos of the same events in the

sensationalist Indian media (very much resembling the Greek) but most of the hard corescenes have been banned to avoid tension escalating or perhaps to follow the worldwide

example of most governments and corrupted Media which is to hide the crimes and

practices of theyre armed forces so they dont have to account for them.

-May I have them? I asked. It was an especially urgent question, since the man was aboutto leave a few minutes later.


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-Do you have Bluetooth device on your mobile? He responded whilst looking nervously

outside the car to different directions as if he was about to engage to any sort ofconspiracy. He quickly made a rough selection of a few videos but there were many

videos, perhaps too many...

The car is advancing deeper and deeper into the thick, tall mountain, signaling that we are

slowly approaching the valley.Can you cover up? The driver asks Mar who is wearing a sleeveless T-shirt and loose

long trousers. Previously he was re-assuring her that there is no need for foreign women

to cover up whilst in the valley because Kashmiris are not alike other Muslims but now

since we are approaching to his village he seems determined to get serious. I glacinglylooked at mar She must feel regret to have chosen to join me here I thought. Nevertheless

she obeyed without hesitating.

Both sides of the road are lushly green, forests of eucalyptus, large plantations of tea and

rice and on the edges of the road precisely where the asphalt meets the soil wildmarihuana plants pop out everywhere. When opening the window one is struck

immediately by the sights and smells of this bushy plant. Together, travelers and locals

cant resist the temptation of stopping for a quick smoke of marihuana thus having tocontinue their risky journey through the mountains in much less agony.

The valley is surrounded by green mountains and snow capped peaks reaching 4000meters and in the middle vast grasslands and lakes providing shelter to one of the most

important ecosystems in the region- all together contributing to an harmony of colors and

peaceful sounds of the so-called heaven on earth. This is a society where the basic

means of income come from tourism and small-scale production of handcrafts, Kashmiri


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Pashmina, cotton, wool, and precious metals such as gold and silver. But politics more

often than not are responsible for endless curfews and strikes that keep everyone indoorsthus disrupting local life and economy and keeping tourists away from the valley.

There are three types of forces conducting the Kashmiri debate. There is the Indian

government and its army, the numerous officials, secret police and the local status quo

(mainly rich Kashmiris who have earned a fortune from tourism, commerce or bycollaborating with the central government and thus unwilling to take any risks). Opposing

to this ruling force is the local opposition, the Muslim brotherhoods, students and the

intellect. Finally there is the local elected government that is trying to keep a balance

between the two forces by balancing on a tight rope using rhetoric populism to satisfy thepopular demand for independence and the powerful influence of the mosque and at the

same time proclaiming its obedience to the India central government securing in that

way the money India pours in the region-official money and unofficial. Some Kashmiris

are pro-Independence whilst others due to geographical proximity and religion prefer tobe governed by Pakistan instead of India but what most of the locals seem to agree on is

that Indian army shouldnt be allowed in but immediately withdrawn from all populated

areas, or at the very least should be relocated near the borderline with Pakistan, which isthe reason for the recent unrest which left two kids shot dead, and hundreds arrestedwhilst protesting their unreasonable death.

Armed forces and its paramilitary groups together with the counter militias have been

responsible of tens of thousands of deaths of innocent Kashmiris the last 20 years. The

Armed forces (special power) act (AFSPA) gives Army officers legal immunity for theiractions thus there can be no prosecution or any other legal proceeding against anyoneacting under that law.

The downtown of Srinagar once densely populated is now totally deserted. Where didthey go? What happened to them? The only sound that breaks the silence is the voice of

the Imam who calls the believers to prepare for the evening prays. His voice echoes


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throughout the valley momentarily but then silence again. In the distance, far away we

spotted several barracks where heavily armed Indian Special Forces are blocking our wayto the old quarter. It occurred to me that it might not be a good idea to attempt to drive

through the old city today, rather wait for tomorrow. What if we traveled from so far only

to be denied entry by the guard post officers? A dark skinned Kashmiri- who just boarded

the vehicle- straightaway approached us. He works on a commission basis bringingtourists to hotels and guesthouses and claims he knows a dirt-cheap hotel that charges

300 rupees (4,5 Euros) for the night. Mar sighed with relief. We arrived here with no

obvious goal and maybe its better that way.

The evening pray has just finished and the Imams using the public address system of themosque ask the believers to join their feasts altogether. Thousands of voices transmitted

from the mosque speakers are joined to become one that forcibly echoes through the

valley; FREEDOM.........FREEDOM........FREEDOM.......

The most captivating moment was approaching-the end of the day.

EXTRA MATERIAL

Kolkata-June 2010

Heroin is a big social problem in Kolkata. Addicts spend hours in the busiest streets trying to find a good

vein. And there are not only Indians but many Italians, East Europeans and so on.....


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`Varanasi-June 2010

Foulmani (translates as flower) is Mars new friend. She is a modern Indian business girl who doesnt go to

school but is fluent in three foreign languages! She gets Commission by bringing unaware tourists to

restaurants and silk stores. She is so sweet that I dont think many tourists would mind being deceived.

Right?


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Lahore (Pakistan) July 2010

Lahore is a city one shouldnt miss if traveling in this part of the world. Definitely the most interesting city

we came across in our 8-month stroll around Asia. Almost every day the neighborhood shuts down by the

locals and Panjabi musicians (Gypsie style) to perform. During the peak moments of excitement guns of all

kind and origin come out.....

Road to the Valley

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