IF there is a paradise in this world it is in Kashmir. So very true. The beauty is eternal .You have to experience it to believe it
And we were lucky enough to experience this first Hand . That too in the spring time. There were flowers in full bloom every where. The Shalimar, The Nishaat Bagh ,Chasme Shahi and of course the celestial Pari Mahal . Every nook and corner of Srinagar was blooming. spectacular sight. The beauty of Dal Lake was also in its prime We were Lucky to have visited The Hari Parbat Fort ,courtesy a lots of help from the local tourist help center. A stay at House Boat was the icing on the cake. Out of this world experience. We could never have enough of the beauty of Srinagar. But-
Like all good things, our stay at Srinagar came to an end .Time to move on to another destination of the paradise . Gulmarg. We hired a taxi form Srinagar to Gulmarg . A strong & comfortable SUV would be ideal for a short 50 k.m journey through the valley of Baramulla . To top it all Our chauffeur was sturdy looking guy called Ghulam-e -Mustafa.
We were impressed , Both with the name and his built. We decided that we were in safe hands .
Very soon we were to realize the importance of two proverbs . That, looks are deceptive and There is nothing in a name.
Our man on the wheels was in full control till Tanmarg from where ,Gulmarg Is just 12 kms . He would occasionally toss his long hair ,his rugged looks and the pathani attire made him a character right from a Bollywood pot boiler .He entertained with his travel stories . His adventures amused us. No doubt a man with his personality would be having stories to tell and we were all ears .
. Not knowing that ours would be the story he would not be reciting to anyone although we would never ever forget this story of our travel to Gulmarg with Ghulam e Mustafa
As soon as we left Tanmarg , after a tea break, to our pleasant surprise , it started snowing. We were ecstatic. We had never seen snowfall in our life. To witness this beautiful phenomenon in such picturesque backdrop. was a dream come true . we were spellbound .mesmerized by the small silvery flakes flowing in the air . We felt like we were riding on a reindeer dashing through the snow .Well Ghulam e Mustafa was no Santa Claus and our ecstasy was short lived.
CRASH...there was a huge sound and our sturdy SUV was hit by another car head on.. Taking us to a slide of our life .Our car skidded and kept on skidding downhill and our good old man of action could do nothing to stop it. Our car hit another car and so on , it started a ripple effect. After few hiccups and crashes our car finally came to a halt. Our first experience of snowfall was overshadowed by the horror of this relay crashes. We were scared to death and were expecting some worthy solution from our man in command , at least a few words, to console our dyeing spirits . To our horror, Mr. Mustafa was scared as hell. All his confidence , all his stories, all his adventures were washed away in the snowflakes.
No daring, No adventure , No confidence . Just turn back and run was his solution . only he could think was to get back to tanmarg . we ourselves had our safety in concern but we were expecting some daring solutions from a man brimming with confidence in srinagar
well, we all passed our No Confidence motion against the filmy character and resigned to our fate. we returned back to tanmarg , disheartened, defeated and full of anger with this man ,ghulam e mustafa. He left us at tanmarg and played another filmy character - Mr India. nowhere to be seen .
At tanmarg, we soon realized that we were not alone who were left high and dry .there were a horde of people scurrying here and there. Someone then told us that the hustle was to hire a car which had chains. . When you cover the car with chains the tyres would not slip on the road ,making it easier to manoeuvre.well such a small trick and our charioteer should have known it. We cursed him silently again.
Our immediate concern was to get hold of this chained car before it went out of stock. Perhaps we were late in our search and most of the cars were already hired.
Dejected and disheartened we were sipping tea at a roadside restaurant,when this non descript person approached us. Are you looking for taxi to Gulmarg? ,He asked.
Without hiding our surprise and excitement we all exclaimed YESS.But do you have chains .
O. Yess he replied .
Well then ,let's get going.
We could not believe our luck.
Going by his name ,Raju and his personality he was nothing in comparison to our previous charioteer . But we had learnt our lesson and were willing to trust this person.
He started the engine and was on the move. But where are the chains? We enquired.
I have them in the boot of the car and will use them when required , otherwise it would unnecessary slow us down.
Quite reasonable explanation .
We kept enjoying our mesmerizing view of the valley.
Suddenly the weather changed again and it began snowing.
But this time instead of enjoying the snowfall, we were on our edges .we were waiting for Raju bhai
to take out the chains and drive through the slippery snow clad roads.
But he never stopped and continued with calm disposition.
No panic , no tension ,not a frown on the face.
Well we awaited with baited breath. This must be it. If not now then when?
When will he use the chains.?
The moment never came and we reached our destination safely.
We thanked God and got out of the car. we thanked our chariot driver. No words were enough. We thanked again and again. After tipping him generously there was one question in all ours mind.
Why didn't he used the chains despite the road being slippery and weather playing a spoil sport.
Because I didn't had any chain.he replied with an air of confidence.
We were awestruck.our mouth left opened and eyes gone for a spin.we could not comprehend what he just said
You didn't had the chains?
You cheated on us . You scoundrel.
He was not at all bothered.
Look saheb ,I agreed to take to your destination safe and sound and here you are. How does it matter if I gave you ride on the car covered with chains or my attitude full of confidence.
We totally agreed.
Who would have imagined a frail lanky man named Raju can take us to to a journey of our life just riding on a confidence motion.
We decided that it was not cheating and infact a good gesture on his part to glide us through this treacherous route.
We blessed him with all our heart
Well ,that surely was a memorable trip where we are in confidence motion