The Bargain

Doesn’t this word bring out our inner child, the dreamy eyes and that smile on our faces?! The steal. The victory. The accomplishment. The treasure that we don’t need at a price we can’t resist! You getting the drift, eh?

Well, shopping bargains have been overdone. I was recently a witness to another kind of bargain. The bargain between the unsuspecting tourists and the know-it-all tourist guides. The bargain of life and death. The bargain of travelling all the way to ‘the Heaven on Earth’ and the desire to see all its unique offerings. The sly tourists who first avoid the guides and claim that they don’t want to see the ‘famous points’ with the aim of getting the top bargains vs the regulars-to-this-behaviour guides with their gang of wing men.... I wonder who actually wins it!

This week, I had the wonderful opportunity of visiting Kashmir with my family. Wonderful because I got to take a break from playing Mom. Nope... make that merely a change of location. Opportunity because hubby could manage a week off. I bargained with my husband on travelling light this time with no laptop on the journey. I bargained with my kids on no electronics this time with the freedom of late nights. As they (should) say... Bargaining begins at home!

The trip included visiting all the mandatory tourist spots in search of natural scenery and snow and mountains and valleys and rivers and lakes. It also included shikaras and gondolas and sledging and snow-biking and horse-riding and mountain climbing. Imagine the number of places we had to put our bargaining skills to test. Hubby and I make a good team... playing the good cop-bad cop. And savouring our sweet victories... bringing down the price from 2500 to 2000 for a visit to the top of the mountain in a ‘special’ taxi, with our kids staring at us with wide eyes full of amusement.

In the hindsight, the whole trip gives me shivers. The whole system there(and probably at other tourist places) works on pure and blind trust. I sat on that horse... in search of ‘mini Switzerland’. His name was ‘Deewana’, apparently. I placed my life in the hands of that fellow whose only credentials were that he was taking tourists up and down the mountains since ever. Nobody was holding the horse because.... ‘Madam, don’t worry. The horse knows where to go.’ I held on dearly to the saddle ring... so much that it hurt my palms for three days..(enough to give my hubby and kids to laugh about.) The only words that the horse understood were... Lou, Hurrr, Husshhhh, kee kee, burrrrr!!! How the hell did I end up on a horse?!!! 

Another crazy event was going up in search of snow... all the way through the Zoji La pass. The rough terrain, the surprise land slides out of nowhere, the narrow lane with no railing protection towards the valley side, the sub-zero temperature, the never-ending passage of the army convoys, the over-enthusiastic drivers causing traffic jams at 11500+ feet... and the mesmerising breathtaking (literally, too, for me... being an asthamatic!) natural beauty at the deeper end.... too beautiful to resist. Thankfully, the ‘expert’ driver told us after the ride that we successfully crossed several ‘suicide points’!! Were we relieved to hear this? I had nightmares that night! But the children had the time of their lives in the snow. Talk about priorities and inhibitions.... I silently prayed so much during that climb that I am sure Lord Shiva definitely visited Sonamarg from Mount Kailash! I have renamed that pass ‘Zalzala’... no questions asked.

We had left the best for the last. The shikara rides. An old, feeble yet confident fellow wearing the phiran claiming, ‘Arey Madam, jaise road pe chalte ho waise hi step karo ispe. Kuch nahi hoga!’ As if!! He knew, so well, that the shikara wouldn’t topple under my weight. Again... no lifeguards in sight, no life jackets, no anchor holding the shikara... just the old man and his ‘nephew’ holding the shikara somehow. The other shop-shikaras coming and banging our shikara and shaking it at 100 miles an hour... to sell the local goodies. God... all I wanted to do was enjoy the tranquility of the Dal Lake... which we have seen in pictures and movies. And then my own children wanted to row the boat themselves! Again, Lord Shiva to the rescue!

How could I miss the nagging photographers and their crew?! They were just about everywhere.... at the heights of the mountains, at the depths of the lakes, at the beautiful Mughal gardens, in the valleys, at the roadside dhabas....! With their bright, fancy, colourful Kashmiri costumes and jewellery. With someone who carries a sanitizer everywhere... they couldn’t sell the idea of me donning the Kashmiri look! All I could think of was... how many have worn this before now! But I do admire their persistence.

Another refreshing aspect of Kashmir was how the tourism is sold in the name of the movies shot there and the movie stars that either stayed here or passed from there. The Betaab Valley and the Jai Jai Shiv Shankar Temple and the Bajrangi Bhaijaan Bus and the Race 3 Track and the bridge from 3 Idiots and the TV tower blown off in Mission Kashmir and the steps of that houseboat from where young Preity Zinta pushes Hrithik Roshan.... they had us from the first mention of it!

Having shared all of my inner fears.... I feel so rejuvenated after the trip. Kashmir, the crown of India, is undoubtedly the closest to what Heaven might be like. With tourism the strongest industry there, the locals have taken it on with pride and stride. We dealt with only friendly people, eager to make it the best experience for us. The cultures were similar yet different. We enjoyed the Kashmiri Dosa as much as we relished the Kahwa. The nuts and saffron and apples and cherries and the Kashmiri willow bats... we sure had an extra luggage while returning. Airtel network was definitely strong there... I trust the Airtel girl from the advertisement now! The Kashmiri and Urdu languages spoken there was a treat for the ears. Learning about how the locals manage the unforgiving climate was quite an experience. The high mountains and the deep valleys were unapologetic but awe-inspiring. The tan was totally worth it!

As they say.... the road to Heaven is not simple, but definitely worth it! Cheers to many more visits!