AHARBAL WATER FALL OF KASHMIR

AHARBAL WATERFALL OF KASHMIR

I have been to Aharbal many times. The first time was as a college boy, with friends and a packed lunch and far too much noise. The last time was in 2009. Between those years the road changed, the parking changed, the tea stalls multiplied, but the fall itself never did. It still roars the same way. It still throws mist into your face and dares you to come closer.

Of all the places to see in Kashmir, Aharbal stays with you. Not because it is the highest or the grandest, but because it feels alive. 

The Fall and the River

Aharbal is about 76 kilometres from Srinagar if you take the shorter route via Pulwama and Shopian. The other route is through Khanabal and Kulgam, roughly 95 kilometres. From Shopian town, it is another 16 kilometres to the site. 

The waterfall is created by the River Veshaw, also mentioned  in Sanskrit texts as Vishnupaad. The Veshaw begins at the high-altitude Kounser Nag Lake, a glacial lake that Kashmiri pilgrims have associated with Lord Vishnu for centuries. From Kungwattan, the river gathers force and drops 24.4 metres  at Aharbal before continuing down to join the Jhelum, or Vitasta, at Sangam near Bijbehara Bridge.

What many visitors do not notice at once is that there are two falls. The main fall is the 24.4-metre drop that everyone photographs. About 50 metres downstream,  there is a second fall, around 7 metres high. It is smaller, but in monsoon it is just as furious. The sound of both together, with the spray rising like smoke, is what people mean when they say Aharbal is "horribly beautiful". Horrible in the old sense of the word: it inspires awe and a little fear.

The geology here matters. The Veshaw cuts through soft Karewa soil and harder rock. That is why the gorge is deep and narrow, and why the water has such power. Government surveys have noted that Aharbal has a potential of about 100 MW of hydroelectric generation. For a power-starved state, that number has been discussed for decades. 

 Memory, Tragedy, and Caution

I remember my school days when we heard a sad and tragic news about death of two students  at Aharbal . They had come on an excursion organised by the organised by the University of Kashmir.  A Muslim  girl slipped near the edge. A Kashmiri Pandit  boy jumped in after her. Neither came out. 

I was reminded of it again in 2009 when I last visited. I spoke to Ghulam Hassan, a casual employee with the Aharbal Development Authority. He has worked there for years. He told me, plainly, that accidents still happen every year. People climb past the fencing to get "the perfect photo". The mist makes the rocks slick. The current below is not forgiving.

There are now 100 well-laid steps from the car parking spot  down to the main viewpoint, with railings. There are designated view spots. But water does not negotiate. If you go to Aharbal, go with respect. Stand back. Listen.

The People and the Place

The Aharbal area is being developed steadily by the Aharbal Development Authority. When I first went, there was one Dhaba and a dirt track. By 2009 there were small restaurants, wooden huts for night stays, tea stalls, and proper parking. Work continues.

The villages around are inhabited mostly by  Gujjar and Pahari-speaking communities, with  some Kashmiri speaking families living in and around as well. In summer,  you will see Bakarwals with their sheep. In winter the place empties and the fall half-freezes at the edges. The silence then is different , heavier.

Hospitality is simple. You will be offered Noon chai, Rajma-chawal, and directions that involve "turn left at the big pine". People know the river. They know when it will rise. 

The Road to History: Mughal Road and Bafliyaz

Just 3 kilometres from Shopian town, near Chowgam village, a road branches off towards Bafliyaz in Poonch district of Jammu . This is the old Mughal Road.  I have been familiar with the name Bafliyaz since school. Krishen Chander, the renowned Urdu writer of the subcontinent has mentioned  this area in his novels . He has mentioned Bafliyaz  in his  short stories as well  . For a boy reading in Srinagar, that name linked literature to a real place on a map.

The Mughal Road is about 75 kilometres long, connecting Shopian to Bafliyaz. Mughal emperors used this route to enter Kashmir. Armies used it too. In 1819 AD, the Sikh army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh marched through here from Lahore, defeated the Afghans of Kabul, and took control of Kashmir. A pitched battle was fought in Shopian town itself.

Near Chowgam stands the Ziyarat of Sheikh Nur-ud-Din, revered as Alamdar-e-Kashmir, the Patron Saint of Kashmir. It is said he meditated in these hills. People from the surrounding villages visit this Ziarat  especially on Thursdays.  The Mughal Road is now  fully open and upgraded, Aharbal now sits  on a corridor that connects the Valley to the Pir Panjal and beyond. 

Visiting Notes of 2009 

A few practical things, because people always ask:

Best time: April to October. In spring the Veshaw is full from snowmelt. In autumn the surrounding forests turn gold. Winter visits are possible but the steps ice over.

Stay: The Development Authority huts and a few private guesthouses are available. Book ahead in peak season. 

Food: Local dhabas serve Kashmiri and simple North Indian food. Try the Harisa in Shopian town on the way back.

What to carry: A raincoat or windcheater. The mist will soak you in ten minutes. Good shoes. Do not rely on phone signal.

Respect: Do not litter. Do not cross fences. This is not just advice. It is what the place demands.

I have seen Aharbal in a student group, with family, alone with a notebook, and last in 2009 with a friend who kept saying "just one more photo". Each time it gave me something different. Once it gave me grief. Once it gave me quiet. Once it gave me that line from Nadim stuck in my head for days. Aharbal does not belong to any one story. It belongs to the Gujjar shepherd, to the tourist from Delhi, to the college student, and to the engineer who dreams of 100 MW. If you go, do not rush. Sit for an hour. Let the roar get into you. Then, when you leave, you will carry a little of that fury and a little of that calm with you.

                                                                   

Why Aharbal Feels Different

Kashmir has many waterfalls. But Aharbal is not tucked away like a secret. It is accessible, loud, and public. That is why families come, why students come, why poets come. There is a Kashmiri idea that water is not just scenery. It is character. It shapes temperament. The Veshaw at Aharbal is restless. It does not meander. It breaks, it falls, it remakes itself.  That is perhaps why the lines of Dina Nath Nadim feel so right here. Nadim, one of the great voices of modern Kashmiri poetry, wrote about youth, change, and responsibility. Standing at Aharbal, you understand what he meant.

"Tse Naar Chhuk Aalaav Chhuk,  

Tse Yaavnuk Jalaav Chhuk.  

Tse Neir Koh Te Van Tsatith,  

Toofaan Tul Toofaan Bun.  

Tse Mir e Karwaan Bun,  

Kashiri Paasbaan Bun."

(You are fire and fury,  

You are the flame of young hearts.  

You break through mountains and forests,  

And carve your own path.  

 Bring change, and lead that change,  

 For you are the guide of Kashmir’s caravan.  

Be the protector of Kashmir too.)

( Avar Mota )

 

CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.