AFTER PAHALGAM

AFTER PAHALGAM

 The sun was setting in the west beyond the Pir Panjal ranges. I was walking along the small artificial lake in which the ducks were aimlessly, it seemed, floating around. Birds amongst the kashmir willows were chirping sweetly ; disturbing but not spoiling the calm evening. Suddenly a hundred loudspeakers opened up with the muezins across the city announcing the Maghrib Namaz for the believers. It was impossible to make anything of the cacophony. Not that I knew arabic. Its a totally muslim population out here - I thought, Why is it needed. I was transported to Meerut where the temples and mosques used to compete for getting heard. 

Most of the meuzins, barring a couple are very much out of tune. They try to make up their lack of melody by upping their volume. I walked waiting for the onslaught to stop when I saw Farooq coming towards me. 

' Salam Walekum Thakur saab' He said.

' Walekum Salam bhai'

' Aur aap theek hain? Madam aur bachhe kaise hain'?

'Sab Theek'

Prelimenary Kashmiri Greetings over, I asked Farooq directly - 'Yaar what do you think about this noise'? I pointed towards the city from where the steady cacophony was eminating and floating towards the Zabarwan. 

'Oh this! You don't understand the meaning of the verses. Otherwise it would sound sweet to you' Farooq replied.

I stared at him flummoxed. Farooq is from a pir family. They are ancestral keepers of a shrine in their village. He is an Army contractor and not at all rigid in his convictions though very devout. 

Over the next year I remembered Farooq whenever my ears experienced the call of muezin and the azan became more and more bearable. 

' Kashmir militancy is here to stay. Because its basis is religious' Gurpreet, a Kashmiri Sikh had told me. 

I had asked him if with the normalization of life, business, booming tourism and opportunities, was the end of terror in sight. 

Kashmiri Sikh population that is miniscule has somewhat survived militancy. Though this small community bore the brunt of 1947 -48 onslaught by Pakhtoon raiders and Pakistan Army and then massacres like Chattisinghpora, still relatively more Sikhs than Pundits stayed back. Though their migration still continues. I have read a book by a local Sikh about the valiant struggle of these remarkable people. It is ' Those who stayed - The Sikhs of Kashmir' by Bhupinder Singh Bali. It gives an elaborate account of the Sikhs caught in crossfire.

The other day Hafiz, a government contractor came to my office. He looked disturbed and worn out. After pleasantries, talk inevitably took turn to Pahalgam aftermath. 

' Pahalgam has done unimaginable damage to Kashmir' I said.

"Yes. Its very very sad. What can be done. These pakistani terrorists didn't like normalcy and peace in valley'. He replied.

' Pakis will do their mischief. We have no better hopes from them. However people are feeling let down and betrayed by the locals who give them support and shelter'.

'Where is local support? Locals this time protested against these terrorists'.

' My dear Hafiz, such attack can not be accomplished without local support. You are forgetting those demons are still at large. Complicity of local pony walas and chaiwalas is beyond doubt. The video of the zipline guy who pushed the tourist towards his death while chanting 'Allah hu Akbar' is viral' I chided him.

'Sir Allah hu Akbar is also said when one is afraid and asks for the almighty's help' argued Hafiz, 'Its something like Jai Shri Ram'.

' Jai Shri Ram' like 'Har Har Mahadev' as well as 'Allah hu Akbar' is primarily a war cry. Anyway, Kashmir tourism is bleeding' I told him.

'Thats true sir. However tourism is hardly 20 % of Kashmir economy.

' Are you kidding' I asked. ' Even if its 20 % as you say, do you know what 20% means to economy'? Go and ask your sister who owns that hotel in Gulmarg. 

Hafiz left downcast.

Today I called Shabir, the houseboat owner. 

' You were right that something sinister will happen after the formation of state government. But its not handiwork of the elected government but something else' 

' You are right. Everything is destroyed. But first you tell me are you, ma'am and kids ok'?

' Oh yes Shabir Bhai. We are ok. But its so sad. This attack, its left such a bad taste'.

' True sir. This time they have done massive damage. It will take years to recover. Future is bleak' He confessed.

' Hafiz says tourism is just 20% of Kashmir economy'.

'He's a fool. 90 % of Kashmiris are linked to tourism - Directly or indirectly. Its not only hotels and taxis - Handicrafts, Shawls, Dry fruits - you name a thing. People took loans and invested heavily in tourism. Now there are zero tourists. At 5 PM the boulevard is deserted'.

I remembered the boulevard I saw at midnight from Shabir's Shikara a fortnight ago. We were enjoying some single malt with an old time friend of Shabir. He's a Sikh from Chandigarh, a regular visitor like many who keep coming to Shabir. These tourists are like family members. So entwined with the family.

' A friend of mine has borrowed heavily and bought 15 Urbania mini buses. What will he do? Paying fees of children in college will be difficult now' Said Aqib, Shabir's son who had taken the phone.

' Bhai this time people in country are so sad, They have no love left for Kashmiri stuff. I believe the sale of Kashmir handicrafts will nosedive all over country'.

Aqib said ' What to do. Even today there is a march by taxi operators from Srinagar to Pahalgam for peace. Its a long wait now for normalcy'.

' But what is the guarantee now of peace staying? I don't know how peace can come to the valley. Maybe the pundits have to be brought back. The population has to be somehow made multireligious. I don't see any other way'.

The other day I got a call from Abdul Rahman. He's the patriarch of the famiy that owns MJS Bat industry in Avantipora. The business had shot to National fame overnight 

when 'The Master Blaster' out of the blue had suddenly appeared at the shop. 'It turned out that he was gifted one of our bats by his relative when he was a child. The name had stuck in his memory and when he landed in Srinagar, he told the security he wanted to visit us. As the fleet of vehicles stopped at our showroom, the police officer with him asked me if I could guess who was in the car. When I saw Sachin, I almost had a stroke! I was frozen! The God of Cricket was visiting us! He saw our factory while his daughter and wife were taken to our house behind the showroom by my wife. They sat on the foor in our traditional kitchen and had tea and biscuits. The photos we took - people tell me he charges crores for such! Javed, the eldest of the three brothers had explained to me. I had looked again at the rows of photos on the wall .By then, Rahman who was loitering outside had chatted up Hina and took her to house behind the factory for having tea with his bahu. I was sharing tea and kashmiri bread with the broothers when they came back. ' We celebrated the day Sachin landed this year with a party. the DC, SP, Commandant of CRPF - all were here. The room where Tendulkar had tea; we have named it - 'Sachin'. You guys have to visit our ancestral home in village for wazwan' Rahman invited us.

' Now that Baba has got hold of you, he won't rest till he hosts you' Javed had winked. Rahman had told me how he had worked for a manufacturer in his youth and marketed the bats in Bengal. Later he had started his own business and it was a long journey of persevarance and hard work. Sachin's visit had catapulted sales as everyone in India wanted their bats. Hundreds of taxis with tourists landed at the showroom to pick a souvenir. 'Kashmir willow is considered poorer to English willow. But its Good enough for professionals. Many International players are also opting for it. Many unscrupulous businesses remove our stickers and rebrand our bats as 'English Willow' Shaheen - the youngest had explained. 

They showed me the willow tree in backyard. I realised we had hundreds in the cantt! A fully grown tree can fetch Rs 25000 to farmer. They grow these trees on the periphery of fields. Same trees are also in my village in Shimla but we himachalis are neither so gifted nor so industrious I thought. The other day I got  a call from Rahman. After inquiring of my, Hina's and kids wellbeing he came to the point. 'When are you coming for Wazwan' He inquired. I told him post Pahalgam , it was not possible. 'How is the business'? I had inquired. 'Zero' came the reply.

Now I recall amid the bonhomie, the blinding neon lights, the choked roads and the festivities, how wizened kashmiri lips had often wondered if it were not a quiet that comes before the storm. There was a suppressed anger for removal of 370 and snatching of statehood. Afterall, even HH Dr Karan Singh has mentioned that J&K was the second largest princely state! Beyond the blinding neon lights, choked roads and festivities there's always satan hiding in the mazes of downtown, imprgnable forests of kulgam and seminaries of the south.The increasing number of Burqas and lengthening beards on the street portend increasing religiosity that is assertive. Some learned observers say the political phase of militancy got over way back. Theres no political aim. Its now religious. Part of the Global Jihad. If so, there's a long difficult way ahead. Its going to be demanding.