Curries & Stories: 2022

Last year when I was in Kolkata for my annual vacation time, I could spend prolonged time at my hometown. Because of the work from home policy, for the first time after I left home for my job, I could spend so much time back at home. And once you stay for so long you start understanding what you have been missing staying away from your home state. Like almost every weekends we would go and spend time at my relatives, there would be long adda sessions just like the old times when I was in my teens. It would be so good spending time talking with others instead of being glued to the phone or laptop.

Then there would be the trips of the local produce markets. Kolkata has undoubtedly some of the best produce market in the whole country. The moment you step into one you will be bedazzled with the vast variety of fresh vegetables, fruits and fishes. The sheer variety of leafy vegetables itself is such a temptation, mainly because in Pune where I live, the variety is limited to maximum 3-4 varieties at a time. I think more than going out for sightseeing in Kolkata I love visiting the produce markets. For a foodie like me, they are literally a temptation central.

The third thing is definitely the availability of infinite choices of street food. You would get the most exotic flatbreads and curries even in your neighborhood food shack. I would often get rumali rotis and chicken chaap packed from my nearest food shack and it was super delicious. You are really spoilt for choices I food when you are in Kolkata. I wonder how people manage to maintain their weights, because the moment I see all those street food I am tempted to eat them all! And best part, it is cheap. Street food in Kolkata would not burn a hole in your pocket but definitely make you full.

And not only street foods, since you have so many relatives around whenever you visit their home you get treated to delicious home made food. Some of them which I had not had in like million years. Just like the dish called Muri ghonto - a signature dish in Bengali cuisine. Muri or Muro in Bengali means fishhead. So Muri ghonto literally translates to fish head medley. Traditionally there are a couple of ways to make it - either the crispy fried fish head is cooked with rice like a biryani or it is cooked with daal. Muri ghonto is typically considered to be a side dish and is had along with rice. So in yesteryears it was also made with chide or poha (flattened rice) instead of rice. I think the recipe originated to utilize the leftover fish heads in the household in older days. Our great grandmas and grandmas were really pro chefs who could think of making such amazing lip smacking dishes from even leftover ingredients. And Bengali cuisine is full of many such traditional recipes which were born out of the need to use leftover produce.

To be honest, I had only head about muri ghonto before but never got the chance to taste it. Since the cooking process for this recipe is a little elaborated and many a times the fish heads are the most under rated things, gradually not many households used to make these old elaborate recipes on daily basis. So last year when I was visiting one of my masis home and she informed that my dida (grandma) was making muri ghonto for us that day I was really excited. And I was so ill informed about this dish that I had thought muri ghonto was like other ghontos where you would make a medley of some veggies and masalas and add the fish head to it. But at the lunch table when my dida served the muri ghonto, to my surprise it had rice in it. I was a little flabbergasted for a few seconds, I was trying to understand how to eat a rice dish as a side with steamed rice. But then I decided what the heck, let me just try it on its own first. So i took the very first spoonful of it and was totally taken aback by the flavourful dish. Rich in spices, the flavour of the fried fish head was like the perfect match with the aromatic gobindobhog rice. To the uninitiated the combination of fish head in rice might sound a little weird but believe me it was really a match made in heaven and you wont understand how good it tastes unless you eat the version made by someone's grandma. Yes that's right, you just cannot bring the magic into this dish that your grandma would!

But I was not gonna let that deter me from making this myself. So once I was back in Pune I asked my mom to get the recipe from grandma once again ( because I had forgotten when she had told me) and decided to go all in for it. How bad can it be was what I was thinking when I made it. And surprisingly it turned out amazing even at the first try. I was so overjoyed by it that I made it again a couple of times and each time loved it more. So I am now sharing this recipe with you all. While I would still say this definitely would not measure upto what your grandma would probably make but still it is worth the try - at least you will be able to keep a traditional recipe going and help it not get lost in the folds of time. I have added raisin and cashew in this recipe because I liked the taste. But traditionally they are not added so you can skip it. Also if you would have noticed from the title itself this is a pressure cooker method I have used just to make your lives easier and believe it the consistency turned out great. But if you have enough time at hand then go for a kadai method by all means. At the last step instead of pressure cooker use the kadai and cook it.

Marination Time : 10 minutes
Preparation Time : 10 minutes
Cooking Time : 30 minutes

Serves - 2 adults

Ingredients :

Catla Fish Head - 4 half pieces
Gobindobhog/ Ambemohar Rice - 200 gm
Onion - 1 medium sized, chopped
Potato - 1 big, cubed
Garlic Cloves - 8-9 or 1 tsp
Ginger - 1 1/2 inch or 1 tsp
Dried Red Chili - 3
Bay Leaf - 2
Kismis (Raisin) - 15-20 (Optional)
Kaju (Cashew) - 8-10 (Optional)
Cardamom - 3
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
Cloves - 2-3
Jeera Powder - 1 tsp
Dhaniya (Coriander) powder - 1 tsp
Kashmiri Red Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala powder - 1 pinch (optional)
Green Chili - 2-3 slitted
Ghee - 1 1/2 tsp + 1 tsp
Mustard Oil - 1/3 cup
Salt - as per taste
Sugar - as per taste
Warm water - as needed

Procedure:

1. Take the fish head from a big Catla or a paka mach as we say in Bengali. For this recipe I had taken the head of a Catla fish which weighed around 1.5 to 2 Kg. Clean the head thoroughly. If you want to keep the gills you can clean it and keep them too. Marinate the clean fish heads with 1/2 tsp of turmeric, salt and 1/2 tsp of mustard oil. Let it rest for 10-15 minutes.

2. Now wash the rice till the water runs clear. Drain the water and place the washed rice in a sieve with small pores. Place a bowl below to collect any excess water. Let it air dry. Or put it under a fan. The sieve will help in better air circulation and dry the rice easily. It will take around 30 minutes for the rice to dry.

3. Make a paste of the ginger and garlic. Chop the onions finely. Keep aside.

4. To make the masala paste in a bowl take turmeric, red chili powder, jeera powder, dhaniya powder and garam masala powder. Add 2 tbsp of water, give it a good mix and let the masala paste rest for 10-15 minutes before using it.

5. Heat mustard oil in a Kadai. When the oil is hot fry the marinated fish heads in batches till it is a little browned on both sides. Keep it aside.

6. In the same oil fry the cubed potatoes till the sides start getting some color. We don't need to completely cook the potatoes at this stage. Keep aside.

7. Now take mustard oil and 1 tsp ghee in a Kadai and heat it. Once the oil is hot, add the Kaju and Kismis. Fry on medium heat for about a minute. Now add the airdried rice. Fry for about 1-2 minutes on medium heat. Take out the fried rice with kaju and kismis in a separate bowl.

Note: Please note Kaju & kismis is totally optional. It is not traditionally added to muri ghonto, but I like the sweetness from the kismis and the crunch of the kaju in the final version hence I added these.

8. Now top up the mustard oil and 1 tsp ghee in the same Kadai and heat it. Once the oil is hot, toss in the bay leaves, whole red chili (break the chili and add), cloves, cinnamon and cardamom. Give it a toss till fragrant.

9. Add the chopped onions and a pinch of salt. Fry till the onions are slightly browned.

10. Add the ginger garlic paste. Sauté till the raw smell is gone.

11. Now add the masala paste that you had made in Step 4. Give it a good stir. Cook the masalas till oil separates.

12. Add the fried fish heads and fried potato cubes into the masala. Fold everything in so that the fish heads are coated in the masala. Fry for 2 minutes.

13. Now add the fried rice you prepared in step 7. Fold everything in. If you like break the fish heads at this point. I liked to keep them fairly whole so that it is easy to fish them out while serving.

14. I made this recipe in a pressure cooker/pan so amount of water is very important here. We do not want a completely dry or a completely mushy texture at the end. Transfer the whole thing from the Kadai to the pressure cooker/pan. Add exactly 2 times the water of the amount of rice you had taken and then add about 1/4 cup of more water. For me this was the perfect water ratio. Throw 2-3 slitted green chili. Stir in 1 tsp of ghee and a pinch of garam masala powder. Close the lid and pressure cook it for two whistles. Let the rice sit for a while without any flame before you open the lid.

Usually Muri ghonto is considered a side dish which is served with steamed rice. But I had added more rice to make this muri ghonto because I wanted to have it as is, somewhat like a pulao. I had it with fresh salad.

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Day 3:

Continued from Day 2

*For the trip video from Day 3 scroll down to bottom of the page *

Welcome to Day 3 of our Kashmir trip. I think I have so many stories to tell about this trip that each blog and video is taking a lot of time to pen down and create. When I start about those 7 magical days we spent in this beautiful valley my heart fills with a lot of joy. Each and every day was unique and we kept falling a little more in love with the place as the trip progressed.

Initially I had thought I will be able to complete Day 3 in one single blog but as I sat down to sort and edit the pictures I felt it would be an injustice not to show you every single picture I took at Gurez village and the sightseeing places we went to around it. The whole place is such a wonderland that I felt I need to put every minor detail in the day to let you enjoy the whole feel. So this part would just have the experience we had at the Gurez village in the morning before we set out for the sightseeing tour in the day. Enjoy this one which is more of a photoblog.

Last night we slept with the pitter patter of the rains on our window, hoping that the next day would be a sunny one as we had plans to do local sightseeing of Gurez today. The power had come back at night so I had placed my phone on charge and went to bed. I woke up around 4.30 am beating my alarm. I think this is the earliest I have woken up without an alarm. Inside the room it was still dark as we had closed all the curtains at night to keep the room warmer. The first thing I did instinctively was to check the battery level on my phone. It showed 100% which put me at ease. The reason being I was aiming at taking a lot of photos with my brand new phone on this trip rather than my DSLR. Before the trip started I was frantically looking for a good budget camera phone which would also later double up as my primary phone. After endless days of research, I finally chose the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE over Nord and other phones. And would you believe if I say I got this phone just 2 days before travel and set it up overnight with all necessary softwares and backups. It was stressful but it was totally worth it. I was amazed by the photo and video quality that this phone gave me on my entire trip, considering it to be a budget phone. The photos and videos of Kashmir that you see on my blog are a mixture of both my DSLR and my Xiaomi, do let me know if you can figure out which was shot with which camera. The best part was that when I was post processing the photos taken with my phone on photoshop, they gave me a lot of color details to work with. So I would definitely 100% recommend this phone if you are looking for a budget phone with amazing photo qualities (Please note this is not a sponsored post). And I hope this post will justify the visuals I could capture with my phone and DSLR.

I have never seen a morning more surreal than this!

Habba Khatoon is majestic

The other mountains nearby in those early hours

Now coming back to our original discussion. Once satisfied with the battery level, I parted the curtains behind my bed to take a look outside. And to my utter surprise I could see sunlight was already there! 4.30 AM was the usual Azan time too and I think we could hear faint strains of the azan from our room. Usually while travelling I like to wake up early and explore the place before there is too much crowd outside. I feel you can enjoy the true beauty of a place best during the early morning hours. So I got out of the bed and freshened up. My mom was also awake and while she freshened up I took a look at the Habba Khatoon. The majestic mountain looked surreal behind the pink and orange sky. The early rays of the sun was just just hitting the peaks of the mountain. No matter how or when you looked at the Habba Khatoon mountain, it always looked regal - be it during the rains, at dawn, dusk or even evenings. And I was really patting my back for choosing this room instead of the other.

I quickly bundled up because the idea was to take a walk around the village and stepped out of the room. I went straight up the sitting space on our floor and looked out of the window which was facing the mountain with India and Pakistan camps along Line of control (LOC). Last evening when we saw it, it had good amount of greenery on the mountain top with some traces of snow. Now when I saw it, it was completely white! That entire huge mountain was covered with fresh snow overnight! I cant express how amazing it looked from there. Little did I know that it was just the beginning of many more surprises the day had in hold for us.

We anticipated the weather outside to be pretty cold so both me and mom had bundled up well. A couple of things about the room we were staying in - the wash basin was outside the room in the common area which was both good and bad. Bad because if you are inside the room and wanted to wash your hands or brush you always had to come out into the common area to do so. Now since we were the only guys in the hotel at that point, it didn't matter to us much because the whole place felt like ours only. But this was good because they had kept a shoe rack just outside the rooms and after wearing or opening your shoes you didn't need to go inside to wash your hands. Keeping a shoe rack also was a touch of brilliance I must say, because it helped keep the carpeted floors inside the rooms clean from any dirt or mud. As we were wearing our shoes to go out, Shakeel bhai came out of the room at the corner. He greeted us and asked whether we were all good. I told him that we were going for a walk around the village and once we come back we will have breakfast and tea.

View of Razdan Pass from inside our hotel

A little close up of Razdan Paas

Razdan Top shot with maximum zoom on my camera

Apart from Shakeel bhai I could see no one else around in the hotel. Even Khursheed bhai was not seen. The ground floor had two exit doors but only one was kept open for boarders. The door had two layers - one net and one wooden door. The wooden door was already kept ajar, so I pushed open the net door and went outside. As I released the door behind me it closed with such a loud thud that I was afraid it might wakeup the entire household if they were not already awake. After waiting for a couple of minutes to check the damage done, when no one came out running to check if someone had broken in to their home, we made our way down the short flight of steps. There were small mud puddled around made by the rains from last night. Our car was stationed in front of the door itself. This hotel was still under construction and there was no formal parking space designated as such. mostly once they have the complete premise ready, the parking space also would be made properly.

I had seen in the pictures of this hotel on Facebook that there was a field just behind it, but now I saw that the fence between the hotel and the field had a green cloth covering so the view on the other side was not visible from ground floor. I hope later they remove the green cloth as well, because it doesn't do anything to enhance the beauty of this hotel. We walked carefully avoiding the mud puddles. The main gate still had the latch on, which meant we were the first souls to walk out of the hotel this morning. I opened the latch and pushed the gate open. It was a big and heavy iron gate, so it wasn't a mean task at that. It was a beautiful morning outside. Thankfully the road outside didn't have any puddles or cracks.

Looking back at our hotel from the path that leads to the entrance. The double storied building is our hotel

The right hand side view once you step out of the hotel premise

The mountain behind our hotel. This was shot around 6 AM and hence the light conditions were still not very bright

The village looked pretty even last evening in the dimming light. But now in the morning it looked like a fairytale kind of quaint hamlet. The first thing I noticed was that all the peaks around us were mostly covered in fresh now. Even the mountain top of Razdaan pass had more snow cover than what we saw yesterday. We could either walk to our right or left from the hotel as the road went both ways. There was no where any soul to be seen. So we randomly thought of taking the right.

I wanted to save my camera battery charge hence I started taking pictures with the DSLR as we walked. The sun had not risen completely so the light was still in a cooler shade around. Usually in the hills and mountains I have seen people wake up and start their day very early. But here it was unusually calm and quite around the homes we walked past. I think that made us enjoy the surroundings even more. The only sound around us was the chirps of birds. Within a couple of minutes, we came to a clearing which showed us the field behind our hotel which I was referring to earlier. The field didn't have any crops sowed in yet. Habba Khatoon majestically stood behind in the backdrop drenched in the early morning sunlight.

Have you ever seen a village more beautiful than this in India?

Early morning there was no soul on the village road. We took the right hand side road and kept walking

This road leads to Krishnaganga River

The field that I was referring to earlier in full view. Far in the corner you can see a part of our hotel with green roof

Too much beauty for the city based eyes to get used to!

Just as we came around the bend of the road we saw two local women picking something from the bushes behind a house. Those two were the first ladies we saw in this village. While we saw them they also took notice of us. I smiled at them deliberating whether it would be okay to speak to them. They also smiled back. I have had previous experience where locals usually do not like to speak to tourists randomly and might feel we were intruding into their private space. With that thought we were almost about to walk past them, when one of the ladies called out to us and asked when did we arrive. It was definitely a good sign when a local themselves engage with you. We started talking and the next thing they asked us was - "Chalo ghar chalo, chai piyo humare ghar me" (Come to our home and have tea). This was the second time a local was inviting us to their home (first time was in Bandipora) and this time I was more than eager to visit their homes, after all what can be a better opportunity to understand the local life up close than with a local. But showing too much eagerness might also be perceived as an uncouth gesture so I was hesitating a bit. But the lady coaxed us and said we had to come with them. We happily agreed.

These women were mostly in their 40s. One of them was very friendly and talkative and we immediately felt at ease with her. Also she could communicate in Hindi fluently (the only common language between us) and hence it was easy to talk to her. The other lady was not that talkative and also she was not that fluent in Hindi, but still I managed to strike a conversation with her. The first one was Raja and I don't remember properly the name of the second woman. They had come to get some leaves from the bushes where we saw them first. Raja said these were mainly very good cow fodder. It was cooked and given to the cows. They would everyday come very early in the morning to gather these and then get back home.

My mom with Raja and the other lady who invited us to their home. This was our first time we experienced amazing Kashmiri mehman nawazi up close and personal

The local folks of Kashmir are real gems

Now we were walking in the opposite direction to where we were heading initially which means now we took the left side road from our Hotel. There is a big hotel named - Hotel Grand Gurez just beside our hotel. This one was a little more expensive and not available when we made the booking. However we didn't see many cars parked inside the hotel premises in the very first day of our stay. We walked past this hotel and the road took a bed towards the right. Everything looked like a freshly painted canvas - washed by the rain from last night. The fields and trees looked even more green flanked by faraway mountains with snow on top. The whole contrast of the dark grey and green looked pretty. I noticed that the street lamp had small solar panels on them which I felt was a very good move, considering the sun was very strong here in the day time and at night there was always long hours of power cut. The government/ hotels should start installing solar panels in their premises for effective power management during night. However the hydel power project that was coming up nearby might actually help resolve this electricity crisis soon. And on the flipside it would mean, giving access to more tourists which might render this place crowded like Gulmarg and Pahalgam and destroy its secluded and tranquil feel. But it is what it is.

We kept walking along the road. Raja was especially chatty. She was telling us which was which building. We saw a mosque down the road, probably the only lone mosque of the village. Again as we saw in Srinagar this mosque also had a sloping roof with spires on top. I think it was this mosque from where the sound of Azan carried to our rooms. Both of them were Dards, who speak Shina language.

Soon we came into a clearing. There was a large field in front of us. I had initially thought Raja's home would be some where down the road, but she motioned us to follow her through the field. There were still few muddy patches in the field so we walked carefully avoiding them. Raja and the other lady was so used to these paths that they kept telling us where to walk on to avoid more mud puddles. There were a couple of large buildings spread out along the fringes of the field on the other side. We asked her what were those buildings. So she told us those were the primary and secondary schools on the right hand side. And the largest building we saw in front was the college. I was so surprised and impressed at the same time to hear this. let's be honest, how many times have you seen all levels of educational institutions present in the same place in a small remote village in India? Schools maybe, but college also? I don't remember I have seen this anywhere. This also proves that while based on media reports we always carry an impression of Kashmir as backward and riddled with issues, the real Kashmir is so much focused on making education available for all - which can become the key to resolving all issues in this valley. And that's actually true, because when you talk to the local villagers like Raza, who probably never stepped out of their villages and yet so much aware of what is right and what is wrong that is happening in the valley and in the world.

Raza said, it was very essential to have all levels of education right in the villages so that the women in the village also could get higher levels of education without the need to leave their villages. This in turn also proves that women education is also deemed as a very important thing in the Kashmiri culture. As I had been saying earlier also, when you talk to the local women you would immediately feel they were much more enlightened than many other village women in other parts. And this comes from the education they receive from their early years. Also you would feel that the small girls here are more tenacious when it comes to education because they understand the value it will provide for them in empowering them later on. In fact I have read somewhere that the literacy rate in Gurez is around 99%, that itself shows how advanced this small hamlet is in their thought process.

Only the roof of Hotel Grand Gurez was visible from the road because they had a tall boundary wall around

Walking along the road

These were the houses we could see from our hotel room window

Majestic habba Khatoon, you can identify it from any where in Gurez by the sharp triangular shape

Primary & Secondary school

In the backdrop is the Razdan Pass

From the field, looking back at the path we took. You can see the mosque and the mountain with India-Pakistan base camps. Notice the amount of snow from last night on the peaks.

There was one more large building premise under construction behind the college. We got to know it was going to be a hostel for the college students which would further encourage kids to take up higher education. Frankly within the first 15 minutes with these two women we got to know so many things which made me really respect many things here in Kashmir.

I stopped for a bit to look behind the trail we had come by so far. The few words that kept coming to my mind was majestic, surreal, out of the world beautiful. And I could categorize everything I saw around with these words alone. If you see the image above I think you will also agree. I was able to see the full expanse of the mountain behind our hotel, one which had the India-Pakistan border and base camps. There was a lot of snow on that mountain and billowy shawl of clouds wrapped around its curves to keep away the morning cold.

We walked past the under construction building and took a slight left. One thing to note was that there was no street light anywhere in this field which meant that this was a shortcut villagers might be taking while the daylight remains. As we walked past the building, we again came into a clearing, just that this time it was even more beautiful. There was a small canal of water cutting across the field. There was so much silence around that we could hear the burbling of the stream water. There were tiny white and yellow blossoms adorning the edges of the stream. It looked right out of any imaginary mountain painting scenery. I think this is what I had envisioned every time I read the words 'babbling brook' in any story. If we were staying more than 2 days in Gurez I think I would have loved to come and sit by this stream with a cup of kehwa every single morning when there was no one else. This would be the ideal spot for spending some me time among nature.

I think I took at least a hundred pictures and videos of this stream alone. And while doing so I realized the rest of the group were already much ahead of me. So I resisted taking more photos and made a beeline towards them.

We saw a stream cutting through the field

Walking towards Raja's home, notice that tower in the distance

White & yellow blossoms along the stream

Close up of the dainty blossoms

Raja told these were uprooted deliberately and kept to dry

In the distance you can see the entrance of her village

Raja was still being her chatty best when I rejoined the group. I could see, she and my mom were getting along great. We had almost reached the fringes of the village where Raja's home was. The stream had become more vocal as we neared the village. The water was so clear that I could also see the multi colored pebbles below the stream.

In 1895, the British author Sir Walter Lawrence called the Gurez Valley “one of the most beautiful scenes in all of Kashmir,” where the tourmaline waters of the Kishenganga River are framed by “mountain scarps of indescribable grandeur.” In the book he wrote after traveling throughout the princely state, Lawrence predicted that Gurez would soon become one of Kashmir’s most popular Himalayan tourist destinations. And how true his predictions were!

Most of the times the Kashmir we envisage is the one portrayed by Bollywood or in recent times by the Instagram/Youtube influencers - beautiful valleys surrounded by tall pine trees, snow clad mountains and gorgeous rivers. But Kashmir is all that and much more than that. I would say what makes Kashmir Jannat is not only its natural beauty but the people of this land. You might go around the world, but you wont find such warm and hospitable people anywhere else. People who would treat you like family even without knowing you. They would offer you to stay at their homes no matter how well off or not they are. They would offer their food without even thinking twice. And they would always talk to you with lot of affection as if, you are their near and dear ones. And all this without even expecting anything in return. And the heart of Kashmir lies in far flung places like Gurez. Gurez is much more than just a visual extravaganza for the eyes, this hamlet and its people will tug at your heartstrings effortlessly and make you fall in love with the place instantly. But you would miss interacting with the villagers if you are staying in the places which is little away from the main village (like Kaka Palace, TRC etc.). While you would definitely be enjoying the Kashmiri hospitality anywhere else, the real feel of village life would only experienced if you are staying inside the village like us.

Gurez (Gorai in local Shina Language) valley which was the part of ancient Dardistan which stretched from from Sharda Peeth (P.A.K) in the west, Minimarg in the north, Drass the east, and Bagtore-Kanzalwan in the south. The Gurez Valley falls along the section of the ancient Silk Route, which connected the Kashmir Valley with Gilgit. Currently Gurez is a heavily militarized zone as its sits in sight of the Line of control (LOC) between India and Pakistan.

Entrance of the Village, crooked wooden fence making way to stone fence

An old man walking ahead of us

The old man

I kept looking back at the trail we came through and this stunning view greeted me, that snow capped mountain is where the LOC is

The small bridge over the stream

A local lady taking her herd for grazing

The final few steps towards Raja's home

The Jio tower in front of Raja's home

Crooked fences made of wooden planks dotted the entrance to Raja's village. A narrow cemented path led us inside the cluster of log huts in the village. The wide stream became narrow but still followed us along the pathway. The village looked sleepy. We only saw an old man wearing a traditional Kashmiri dress walking ahead of us. Soon the wooden fence was replaced by a short fence made with stone and boulders. Rows of willow trees stood along this fence like sentinels guarding the village. There were some tilled farm lands behind the stone fence. Almost all the houses had the same sloping roofs and made with a mix of wood and stone. The place was so silent, that I felt conscious of the sound levels of our voices. After walking for a couple of minutes we reached a spot which had a bridge over the stream. We saw another village lady coming with a herd of cows which she was possibly taking for grazing. We waited till she passed the bridge and then we crossed. It was a short 2-3 minutes walk from here to Raja's home. We had to cross one more narrow canal just before her home.

It was a pukka house which meant they were a little more well off than some of the other homes we saw on the way. There was a huge tower right in front of her house. Raja told us it was the Jio tower. We couldn't but admire the lengths to which Jio has gone to setup connectivity even in the remotest parts of India thereby giving access to cheap internet and opening up avenues for the locals to know and interact with the rest of the world. And this is also one reason that even homemakers like Raja are also so up to date with current affairs today.

The seating space in the kitchen with floor to floor carpet. My mom and the other lady sitting, while Raja was speaking to them

Look at the sparkling clean utensils!

Beautiful traditional utensils

Raja making tea for us

Notice the drainage area

The chullah on the side

We left our shoes outside and stepped in. It was a double storied house. We saw a flight of stairs going up. On the right hand side was a door through which we were led into a seating area cum kitchen. The seating area had a red wall to wall carpeting and there were some maroon colored pillows scattered. This was the area where women of the house cooked and talked to their family, friends and neighbors.

The carpet looked a little dated but the kitchen space was stunningly spic and span. I especially liked a few arrangements in the kitchen. For starters, the gas stove was placed on the floor instead of the kitchen slab. The city folks usually have it the other way round where we need to stand for the entire duration of cooking. The way it was at Raja's home, it would be easier for the women folk to cook without getting tired standing on their feet for long hours. They could simply sit on the ground and prepare food. The next thing was the kitchen sink pipe which opened to an outlet space below which also had one tap. Usually the space below our kitchen sink is not used for anything. But here they could utilize the space for washing dishes or for any other cleaning purpose. The other thing I noticed was that though this was a remote village, all the basic modern amenities were in place like water filters, flask, mixers etc. And with the modern the traditional existed side by side. In that small kitchen there was also a mud chullah / mud hearth for wood fire on the side. I guess that was used for cooking dishes on dum (slow cooking technique) which is very typical of Kashmiri cuisine. Apart from all this the most noticeable fact was that all her utensils were shining like silver. I do not have the faintest idea how one can keep their steel or aluminum ware looking this good! And it was not just the kitchen space. I happened to see their washroom as well, which was super neat and clean.

Tea getting ready

Those cookies were super yummy and tasted like cakes

Chai served to us with snacks

We sat down on the carpeted seating place and began to chat. The windows of the kitchen were closed to keep out the morning chill. Raja sat down beside the gas and started preparing tea for all of us. She told us that her husband, kids and mother in law are asleep. She made a joke that the men folks of the village would only wake up for morning namaz and then go off to sleep while the ladies would do all the house hold chores, take out their cows to the fields and prepare for the day. After finishing their chores around noon or evening the ladies would again go out to gather their respective herds and bring them back home.

We kept talking about so many things like the daily trials and tribulations of the village folk. Raja said all the empty land around the village was once theirs but now the government had taken those and there was some dispute going on about it. She also told that when a couple of years back this area used to face a lot of unrest due to terror attacks, there were instances when shells fired from the LOC would fall in this village also destroying lives and property. It was hard to believe or visualize it going by the calmness and serenity we had experienced since we stepped in Gurez.

We also heard that due to the dam being built (which we saw on way to Gurez) on one hand it was bringing more people (the workers) in the village and giving job opportunities. While on the other hand it had led to the relocation of many villagers and how they were struggling to preserve the life they have created for themselves there.

The tea was ready and before serving Raja rolled out a table runner on the floor in front of us and then placed the white porcelain cups with piping hot milk tea. She also placed a box in front of us which had 4 sections - each with either biscuits or some namkeen snacks. I had the biscuits and they were very yummy, it was a little soft like cake and very fresh. At that moment it felt like a proper chai party at some friends house. All the ladies sitting together, talking and enjoying the tea.

During some discussion Raja mentioned she was from some other village where her parents are staying and post marriage she came here. I asked her how did one know if their was a suitable match in any far away village. She smiled and said, in these villages it is all word of mouth by which you come to know of a prospective bride or groom and then the families meet and decide the marriage. Raja said her village was even more beautiful than this one (but I don't remember that village name). The other lady also told a similar story about her marriage.

Meanwhile Raja had already finished her tea and got started with her next chore which was making food for her family. She pulled out a vessel containing a fermented dough. The elasticity of the dough was amazing. Raja made balls from the dough, rolled them and on the back of an inverted kadai she placed the rotis to get cooked. The entire process was very interesting to see.

Mom and me in some intense discussion (me behind camera!)

Raja working with the fermented dough

Unique way of making the chapatis

Raja asked us where all we plan to go later in the day. We told her that there was some far away village ( at that point in time I kept forgetting where we were about to go!) which was on the itinerary. She then said Tulail was a very pretty village, if we were going that direction we should stop by Tulail. I noted this and later we did cross Tulail on the way but we didn't stop. Indeed it was a very pretty village as well from distance what we could see.

After what seemed like eternity, we realized that we have been gone long and probably the people at the hotel might be wondering where we are. So we decided to take their leave and go back to our hotel. We thanked her for the chai and came out. Raja then showed me the small vegetable farm they had in the backyard. They would get fresh vegetables directly from this farm. The other lady asked to come to her home as well but we were already short on time so we excused ourselves. After a final round of thanks we left. I really wanted to give Raja something as a token of gratitude but unfortunately we were not carrying anything which could be gifted to her. The market was also not nearby. I thought maybe on our way if we happen to get something I would get it for her.

View of the LOC mountain from Raja's home

On our way back the sun was much brighter and the mountains looked like a dream

How beautiful a snow mountain can be!

The greenery on the fringes made it more spectacular

Some more close ups

That's a trail of melting snow

I loved all the close ups

You can never get tired of these views

We followed the same path back. The sun was quite bright by then and so the snow capped mountains were now standing out in the backdrop - stunning white among the blue and green. I took a lot of close up shots of the mountain in front just to see if I could spot the LOC , but I didn't! Nonetheless you can enjoy the close ups above. Now that we were not talking as much we did while coming here, we could take in the nature around us more deeply. It was simply picture perfect in its own unique way. Whatever I saw in front looked straight out of a fairytale village. I have not been to Switzerland yet but I think Gurez was definitely India's Switzerland equivalent or more. Some of the black cows gazing nearby looked like the perfect contrast the landscape needed. Just enjoy some of the moments from that morning below (And I must say my phone performed extremely well with the landscape photography, almost competing with my DSLR on equal levels).

The farmlands beside the stone fence

Walking back on the trail towards the exit

It was simply a feast for the eyes

I grew very fond of this stream

The left hand side view from the village entrance/exit

Surreal views

Loved how this lone cow added so much contrast to the pictures

Walking beside the hostel that is under construction

The air was so pure

Looking back at the village left behind

Habba Khatoon peeking from behind

The village mosque

Close up of the Mosque

Back on the main road cutting across the Gurez village

Walking back towards our hotel

Hotel Grand Gurez on the right

It took us around 10-15 minutes to be back to our hotel with occasional pit stops for capturing photos along the way. We met Shakeel bhai just as we entered the hotel and told him that we were visiting a local's home for chai. In fact coincidentally it happened that Shakeel bhai was a distant relative of Raja. She had recognized his name when we referred to the hotel we were staying in.

We asked Shakeel bhai if breakfast was still some time away. He said yes. So we went to our rooms for a bit. I gave a call to Khursheed bhai's number but it was switched off. Tried a couple of more times with same result. It was almost 8 AM and we had earlier thought that we will start today's sightseeing around 9 AM. I thought I will check with Shakeel bhai regarding whereabouts of Khursheed bhai so I went down and asked. Shakeel bhai said he might be getting up from sleep now so its best we relax for some more time and then we can have breakfast and bath and leave.

I came back to the room but the problem was that with nothing to do at the room you itch for going out. So after spending some 10-15 minutes I suggested mom that we can go for another quick stroll this time in the direction we had intended to go first thing in the morning. Mom agreed so we again left the hotel. It seemed what Raja had said was true, men in the village were late risers and their day started even later than we do in the cities.

Since I had this new phone I was still experimenting with a few additional feature it came with like macro shots. Below is a macro shot I took with it, but unfortunately forgot to take the shot of the flower with real dimensions so that you could see a comparison of how good this macro was. But just to give you an idea, this was a very tiny grass flower of half an inch size. I have taken more macro shots later with the original picture which I will post in the future blogs.

Macro shot with my phone - this one was about half an inch flower

We came out of the gate and took a right. I was still trying to get a hang of the directions since it was a new place but I did have a hunch that this way led to the Krishnaganga river. The one thing you will keep noticing in Kashmir be it in city like Srinagar or a village like Gurez was its level of cleanliness. The litter was almost close to none on the roads. Which might be because still there was no major tourist influx in these parts of the state. But I would still urge all my fellow travelers who are planning to come to Kashmir or Gurez, please do not litter the place. Be a responsible traveler and throw trash only in the designated bins. Let's help keep the jannat a jannat always.

There was a tin fencing that went along with us on our left hand side covering the houses that were behind it. But we could hear faint voices of ladies of the house. On the way we noticed many sparrows on the roofs and fences. It was a rare sight for city dwellers like me. We kept walking down the almost deserted road enjoying the last traces of the morning chill. The sun was already out and was getting pretty strong already.

A little down the road we met two local women again. They saw and smiled at us and we smiled back. They then asked the standard questions when did we arrive and where are we staying. And as expected they dropped in the invitation - "Ghar aao, chai piyo". It almost sounded like a deja vu of the morning events. Though I was again tempted to take up this offer not for the chai but for getting another opportunity to spend some time with the locals but I reminded myself that we had plans to go out. So with a heavy heart I politely declined their offer and told them that we had just been to another local's home and had tea. We thanked them and moved ahead. I think because it was only two women walking around the village, the women folks here were welcoming us everywhere we went without any hesitation.

As I was doing earlier in the morning, this time also I kept looking back to see how the landscape looked. The Razdan Pass mountains were now on our back. I took some closeup shots of those peaks as well.

The road on this side was also very beautiful in a rugged kind of way. From a distance itself I could hear the roar of the river and my hunch was proving to be right. Within the next five minutes we saw the first glimpse of the turquoise Krishnaganga river. I think the mountainous rivers are the most gorgeous ones - unpolluted, crystal clear and with a strong current.

Closeup of the peaks at Razdan Pass

Sparrows on the tin roofs

Taking the road leading to right

Notice the tubewell on the roadside. This road forks here, the right takes you to Dawar Market

The first glimpses of Krishnaganga

Puddles in the pot holes due to rain last night

The color of Krishnaganga was truly majestic

Krishnaganga up close

We crossed the road and got down on the grass. Faraway we could see the signature hanging bridge of Gurez - but it was a little distance away so we thought we will get a little closer look of the river form this point itself. After a couple of minutes walk we reached the edge of the river which was covered in uneven stones and pebbles. though it was not a very ideal place to walk but we still went ahead, treading carefully on the stones.

The river looked pristine with the sunlight reflecting off its foaming waters. We stood there for a while taking in the silence and the view. The bridge in the backdrop beckoned us but mom reminded me that we were getting late and it would be advisable to turn back now. After taking a lot of pictures with the river we started to return. I thought if time permits tomorrow we will again go for a early morning walk and checkout the bridge before we left Gurez for our next destination.

The sun was already making us feel warm. Suddenly as if there was a sharp contrast between the temperature we felt even 15 minutes back. We had to shed a few of our warm clothes on way back.

You would also notice in one of the pictures below that at few places they had solar panels attached to street lamps, which made perfect sense. The sun was so strong that solar panels ideally should be the go to things here for an eco friendly way to get electricity.

Walking back through the village road

Some factory/workshop on the way

Streetlights with solar panels

Walking down such scenic roads is an experience in itself

You can notice one thing, the pictures taken later in the day once the sun was up, are more vibrant than the ones taken early morning in low light.

It was almost 8.40 AM by the time we reached the hotel. Shakeel bhai informed that breakfast would be ready in next few minutes. So we told him to serve us on the first floor as soon as it was ready. We decided to bath post the breakfast. Meanwhile we could also connect with Khursheed bhai. He was coming down in half an hour he said.

I would conclude the Part 1 of this long photo blog here and continue Day 3 Part 2 (local sightseeing) in the next blog. If you found this blog useful do leave me a comment and tell me what more details should I include for my Kashmir trip. Stay tuned for more!

Continued in Day 3 (Part 2)...

Day 3 Trip Video: