The driver we got this time round was a super cool and understanding. While speaking with him, when I told him that the children were disappointed they did not get to experience snowfall, he very nicely said “Inshallah Gulmarg main milega”.
The drive to Gulmarg was extremely picturesque.
We had booked The Vintage and based on the tariff I was expecting a super luxurious property. However, the actual property was quite underwhelming.
After checking in, Ridhi and I went for a walk. Gulmarg is an extremely small town and you can explore the entire town on foot.
The locals promised us that we will get snowfall the next day and we kept our fingers crossed.
After we came back from our walk, Vikas wanted to go for a walk so I went on another one with him.
By the time we got back, it was dark and we spent the evening chilling in the hotel itself.
Anaya has been going to Vasundhara Academy for a couple of years now and she missed the concert last year due to travel commitments.
Everyone was extremely excited for her concert (including her), Ridhi had plans to go to Gwalior, she postponed her trip ensuring she attends Anaya’s concert. She also arranged for a couple of extra tickets so that mummy, papa could also attend.
Anaya had 3 songs she would be performing.
The first one was a religious song (Karpur Gauram Karunavtaram Mantra), which she sang in choir along with students from her batch.
This the best quality when the camera’s digital zoom is maxed out
The second performance was the one for which all of us were the most excited for. She had trained extremely hard for this song. It was an old Bollywood song – Aa chal ke tujhe main leke chaloon.
Anaya had confided in me before the concert that she was nervous and I had told her not to worry because she wouldn’t be able to see the audience anyways. But the confidence with which she started her performance exceeded my expectations. Her enjoyment whilst performing was infectious and hers was the first performance where the entire audience clapped throughout.
Somehow all the ovation from the audience got me extremely emotional. Maybe it was father’s pride or the realisation that my daughter’s all grown up and capable of performing in front of more than 100 people.
A big shout out to her teacher who was by her side the entire time for support.
The third song again was a group performance and it was wonderful.
The concert went on for 2.5 hours but at no point it felt it was stretched.
We had a wonderful evening seeing all the talented kids perform whether it was singing or dancing and it made me appreciate Anaya’s singing classes all the more!!!
So finally the day came where the kids got to experience real snow (or that’s what we thought!!!).
We had to take another taxi to go to Sinthan Top as Taxi Unions in Kashmir are very strong and do not let any Taxi’s from outside their jurisdiction ferry passengers.
The drive though long was absolutely brilliant with beautiful views.
At that point in time, Sinthan Top was the only place in Kashmir that had received snowfall. By the time we went, the snow had turned to ice and wearing rubber boots did not help us and the terrain was extremely slippery.
On the other hand, the girls had a wonderful experience with snow ledging.
We could not stay at Sinthan Top for too long as it was freezing and the kids soon got very tired from all the walking.
On the way back, our driver took us to the Ancient Temple of Martand which was dedicated to the Sun god. Even in the run down state, we could make out the grandeur it must have possessed.
We also visited Kokernag as one of the hotel staff had told us that the mineral water found there had various medicinal properties. However, seeing all the algae in the water, we decided against consuming the water. The garden however, was quite beautiful and well maintained.
By now, we realised we had skipped breakfast and everyone was famished. For the first time on the trip we had difficulty finding vegetarian food which was kid friendly.
We then decided to have lunch at Pahalgam as we had identified a South Indian joint there.
Post a very late lunch, we proceeded to the Hotel and then spent the evening chilling at the property.
Our stay at Srinagar ended and we moved on to Pahalgam.
I had intimated Hotel Radisson before hand that it is our 11th Anniversary requesting them to organise a cake for us. However, they went above and beyond our expectations and decorated our entire room.
The room all decked up
The drive to Pahalgam had taken a lot longer than what we had anticipated and thus we had a very difficult decision regarding what we will do for the rest of the day. Initially we though about visiting Baisaran which is often referred to as the “Mini Switzerland”. However, only Ridhi and Vikas were game for it as it involved a pretty treacherous horse back ride and after our Sonmarg experience the kids, Ritika and me made it abundantly clear we would not go. Other option we had was to cover a couple of valleys like Betaab and Aru. However, the weather being what it was, we knew we would get only more dried out trees as views. So we decided to spend the day chilling in Pahalgam and cover Sinthan Valley the next day.
The day started with a temple visit. We were initially supposed to go to the Shankaracharya Temple, however our driver informed us that its a 250 step endeavor and we immediately dropped the idea as we were with two young kids. Then we went to another temple (Durga Nag temple) as Vikas had gotten very spiritual all of a sudden. Nestled on a mountain top, the views from the Temple compound were absolutely mesmerizing and we had a very good Darshan as we were the only ones there.
After the darshan, we drove to Pari Mahal. Here, Anaya and Ridhi got an opportunity to click pictures in the traditional Kashmiri attire.
Once the photo shoot was done, we went about exploring the gardens. Built on three levels, every level has something unique to offer.
Couple of monkeys atop a tree on the top level.
Although we did not get any greenery at Pari Mahal, the views were brilliant and we were able to click some amazing pictures.
After Pari Mahal we moved to Chashme Shahi Gardens. This was a major disappointment as we did not get any greenery, and the fountain wasn’t operational. Being lower than Pari Mahal, the views weren’t that great as well.
Post this, we were famished. The ladies and the kids did not want any Indian fare, so we decided on going to Winterfell Cafe which was recommended to us by a friend. The restaurant is located close to the Dal Lake based on the Game of Thrones theme. I have to admit, this excited me more than it did the kids.
Fight for the Iron Throne continues
Vikas Jain, first of his name, from the House of Jains was able to capture the throne.
And he was dethroned soon after
After a wonderful lunch, we moved on to Nishat Gardens. The girls got an opportunity to dress up in Kashmiri attires again. Clicked a few pics and then on to our next destination.
By now the kids and the ladies were tired of the same old no greenery garden hopping and we decided to skip the Shalimar Gardens as our driver told us its going to be similar to the previous one.
On the way back to the Hotel, Vikas and I decided to take a walk in the city centre. We got off the car mid way and walked to Lal Chowk which is the most famous (or infamous) square in Srinagar. The square itself was beautiful and immaculately maintained.
As we were approaching Indian Republic Day, the was very stringent security measure in place and for the first time in my life I saw army personnel atop balconies in alert positions. Roamed the city centre area for an hour or so, then walked back to the Hotel and called it a day.
I usually would not have taken a break from my travel blog series posts but attending Anaya’s first concert today motivated me to go ahead and document her very first concert.
A little background. We came to know about the concert a couple of weeks back and Anaya was almost not allowed to participate as she would have been travelling to Kashmir and thus missing most of the rehearsals. However, we sent a request to her class teacher, Barna Ma’am and she kindly agreed to letting Anaya participate in the concert. Good thing she was allowed to participate as I have seen very few things getting her as excited as being part of this concert.
The D Day finally arrived. Here is a glimpse of the wolf:
She had made me promise that I would have to walk her to the school bus on the day of the concert. I could feel her excitement walking to the school bus.
I had to get back home, get ready and reach her school within the hour so that we got decent seats. As we were walking from the car park to the auditorium we ran into Anaya’s class walking from their classroom to the auditorium.
The wolf in its natural habitat with its closest friend Hridaan
The level of discipline Heritage School has inculcated in its student is crazy. There are straight lines drawn everywhere and students (some as young as 4 year old) follow them without fuss.
Coming back to the concert, the magnitude of the event amazed me. Coordinating over 550 students, all below the ages of 6 for an hour long concert is no easy task and the teachers did a fantastic job at it.
The concert started with the Principal addressing the guests followed by a traditional Indian folk dance by a 4 year old girl. She was cheered on by everyone present and not only her folks.
Then the main concert started. The theme was “Roar”. Basically story of a lion cub, also the Prince of the jungle who could not learn to roar and how he failed whilst trying to learn roaring from different animals. But what actually allowed him to learn the skill was dipping deep into his lion instinct.
The entire concert had extremely positive vibe and we thoroughly enjoyed each and every moment of the show.
The children were given a celebrity like send off with over a thousand people cheering for them as they left the auditorium.
As I had mentioned earlier my inspiration for this trip was for Anaya to experience snow. This year, Kashmir had the driest winter in almost 40 years and there was a very high probability we neither get any snow nor any of the natural green beauty Kashmir is famous for. Up until now all we saw were withered trees or trees whose green leaves seemed brown due to the dust accumulation due to lack of snow.
Boy this was about to change. When I read up on Sonmarg, I saw this image:
So when Ridhi and I were discussing our attires for the day, I confidently told her its going to be a bright and sunny day and we do not need to worry. Boy was I wrong. On the way to Sonmarg, our driver informed us that we will be going up to the Thajiwas glacier where we will definitely find snow and we will need to do so on horseback. Seemed fine. But this was not any normal horse ride. Considering the size of the horses which we were allocated, it seemed unlikely they would take our weights. But we were assured these are the best horses for the conditions so apprehensively we got on them. The path to the glacier itself was full up steep curves and honestly I found the ride quite scary at some places where we were right on the ledge.
Once we reached the glacier, we were awestruck by the views. The breathtaking beauty was again spoilt by the vendors who would offer you sledging services and were extremely aggressive while at it. Kashmir tourism has to work on how the local populace treats tourists otherwise there will come a time when people will start looking for alternatives.
The kids were extremely excited to see snow for the first time in their lives and they immediately got to work building some sort of a structure the name of which only they know.
Who the boss?
Now for every 2 horses, you get a helper who walks on foot to the glacier and once you reach the glacier, they themselves offer sledging services. Once the temperatures started to drop we decided it was time to get back as the kids had started to feel cold. Vikas had also slipped while crossing a stream and was drenched. Imagine drenched clothes in -5C weather. We got to where our helpers had dropped us of and to our surprise 2 of them had gone away to give sledging sessions. We were made to wait around half an hour in biting cold whilst the third helper found them and their horses.
The horseback ride back was excruciating as the temperature had further dipped and we were quite drained from all the horseback riding and walking in the snow. It had got quite windy and the helper who was with Anaya and me informed me that kids tend to fall asleep and I should ensure the Anaya does not fall asleep. Anaya is not the kind of kid who takes an afternoon nap but even she started telling me that she was sleepy. I asked the helper to hold on to her the entire time and I kept chatting with her the entire ride back.
Luckily we made it to the car without any incident. Vikas wasn’t so lucky. He fell off his horse right at the end of the ride. Luckily didn’t get hurt just had to shell out for hotel laundry.
For people who do not ride horses normally, the experience can be quite taxing specially in the lower half of the body. My horse riding quota for the trip was done and so was the kids.
Stopped at a dhaba for tea on the way back and called it a day once back at the hotel.
We had an early flight from Delhi to Srinagar so we got up and early and headed for breakfast. The restaurant at the Holiday Inn is located right next to the tarmac and we had pretty neat views from our table. Again we were escorted from the hotel to the security check area by a hotel employee.
The flight into Srinagar has to be the most picturesque flight I have ever taken. The mesmerizing views of mountains covered with snow was spectacular.
Upon reaching Srinagar, we were waiting for Vikas’s family. My mobile did not work as Indian Government does not allow prepaid mobile connections in Kashmir. We waited for an hour and then decided to go out and call Vikas from the drivers phone. To our shock his flight hadn’t taken off yet due to some Republic Day preparations in Delhi. The driver asked us to wait for them but the weather was extremely cold and I did not want to take a chance with Anaya’s health. So I told him to charge us whatever the rate is for airport pick up but drop us and then come back to pick up Vikas’s family.
The hotel we chose in Srinagar (Kabo) was suggested to us by our travel agent and they went out of their way to make us comfortable including offering hot Kashmiri Kawa upon arrival and giving us an early check in. We had a quick lunch at the restaurant and went upto the room for a brief shut eye.
Once Vikas reached, we immediately left for the renowned Dal Lake Shikara ride after the long lost friends Anaya and Nayra had their reunion.
We were warned before hand of all the shikara hawkers pestering us to buy stuff and our boat oarsman trying to upsell a longer ride. But it was way worse and we did not have a single moment of quite us time the entire ride.
Once the shikara ride was done, we were famished. Visited a nearby dhaba for hi tea and then back to the Hotel for some well deserved rest.
So right after our Dubai trip, I asked Anaya where to next and she said she wanted to see snow next. Kashmir had always been on my bucket list and when she said snow, it just clicked. Initially we had planned the trip in December 2023 but due to some reasons we postponed it to second last week of Jan 2024 to coincide with our 11th Anniversary.
We were travelling with my Uni housemate and one of my closest friend Vikas, his wife Ritika and their daughter Nayra. Anaya and Nayra are extremely close friends and Anaya was extremely excited about the prospect of travelling with her.
Like our previous travels, this trip again wasn’t without drama. 2 days before the flight, Vistara preponed our connecting flight from Delhi to Srinagar so we had to fly to Delhi the night before so that we would be able to take the flight to Srinagar. Considering the harsh Delhi winters, we decided to stay at the Holiday Inn transit hotel so that we do not expose Anaya to the bitter cold.
The transit hotel in Delhi operated by Holiday Inn is quite unique. They have a hotline at the arrival lounge and you need to call them and they will send someone to pick you up. We were made to wait for half an hour before someone turned up. Getting to the Hotel was an experience in itself. We had to go through security clearance, get our bags X-Rayed and enter our contact details before we could use the elevator which would take us to our Hotel which is located on Level 5 of the T3 terminal in Delhi. The entire process is extremely long and cumbersome and by the time we reached our room, it was almost 11.30 PM and we just crashed once we reached our room.
Last weekend Anaya participated in her very first Kiddathon which was basically a 1.25 km run for a Charity event organised by Round Table India.
I had various options which I could have chosen for Anaya like a 500m run with a parent or a 1.25 km solo run. I went ahead with the 1.25 km solo run as it was suggested for a 5+ year old kid.
Initially, I was extremely skeptical whether Anaya would be able to run the entire stretch of 1.25 kms. However, she aced it like a pro and had a wonderful time while at it. Having her best friend running along with her would have surely motivated her.
I could not attend the event with her as I had a cricket tournament on the same day. When I asked her later in the evening if she felt tired or anything, she was like no papa, it was easy.
The run
The mandatory post completion pose!!!
Being a Tabler myself I appreciate the hard work which goes on in organising such an event and the good work which happens with the funds raised including setting up new schools, renovating existing ones, various donation activities etc.
My Little Munchkin 