TULIP GARDEN OF KASHMIR

Dears

TULIPS grow on Bulbous spring flowering plants. The flowers can be traced to have been brought by Ottomman Turks to Holland (Netherlands) in early 16th centuary. Tulips are also cultivated in Austria .But in Netherlands , Tulips have now become as one of the symbols of the country . Tulip Bulbs and their future options are traded in Stock Exchanges in Holland (Netherlands ). Being Colourful, captivating and tender , these flowers have a limited life every season.

TULIP Garden of Kashmir which is about 7 kms from the srinagar city, was inaugurated in March2008 by Smt Sonia Gandhi.The garden is just on Boulevard Chashme Shahi Link Road proximal to the Botanical Garden. Developed recently with the support from Dutch Experts , the garden has mid spring Varieties of TULIPS lasting for one month only from mid April to Mid may. The garden is perched in the lap of foothills of the ZABARWAN mountain range with scenic Dal Lake forming the front view from the garden . It is terraced in three levels with two terraces completely occupying the Tulip Beds . These beds are being laid in the last or the uppermost terrace now.Fountais have also been laid in the garden .Though the Tulip Gardens of Amesterdam (Netherlands ) are known world over for their varieties and expanse yet Tulip Garden of Kashmir has come up as the largest mid spring Tulip garden in Asia. .

Enjoy the views with four lines from a poem of my reverred teacher Prof Gh Nabi Firaq noted Kashmiri Poet. Like Firaq Gorakhpuri ,the doyen of Urdu Poetry , Our own Firaq sahib was a Professor of English in S P College . Erudite scholar , sensitive poet , Kashmiri to the core and affectionate teacher to his students , Firaq sahib dominated the Kashmir's Cultural scene for four decades alogwith Dina Nath Naadim ,Prof Rehman Raahi , G R santosh , Amin Kaamil , Mirza arif Beg , Moti Lal Saqi and Som nath Zutshi . I remeber Firaq sahib (sometimes in his mood ) explaining Lal Vakhs or Shrukhs of Nund reshi to us in his English class in S P College srinagar .Lately in 2004, Firaq Sahib Was awarded sahitya academy award for his Book Sada Te Samander.

Subahik Vaavo ,Kath Akh Vanhay

Tsitee Maa Chhuham Gomut Sarkaari.

Brainti Khabar Kous Kath Buzikh Tay

Haavus Heran Vaeuth NanVaari

( Gh Nabi Firaq )

O Refreshing morning Breeze,

Come this way listen to us as well .

Have you too turned Pro Establishment ?

My sorrrows listened a word of relief somewhere ,

Barefooted they made me to rush down the Staircase .

( Translation A K mota )

Warning

All Photographs bear copyrights. May be downloaded with Permission . Commercial Usage not Permitted.

HARWAN GARDEN

Dears

Harwan garden is about 15 Kms from srinagar city and is not a Mughal Garden as such ln the strict sense of the term. No central canal Fountains and No terraces ;Yet sprawling flower beds with lush green sitting spaces under tall and shady chinars. Water from the SARBAND forms the central canal of the garden . The SARBAND or the old drinking water reservoir of the city gets its water from the nearby Dachhigam Nallah. As already said in my previous Blog , DACHHIGAM is a famous wild life sanctury having the extinct creature called Kashmiri HANGUL.Mahadev Mountain forms the backdrop of this garden .The Chinars of this Garden are the most majestic lot amongst the CHINARS of the Kashmir valley. one can see some remarkable remains of ancient ornamented tile pavements of the Buddhist era in the village HARWAN Nearby. Enjoy the views of this garden with a write up on Mahadevi Verma . I have already introduced Mahadevi Verma in my BLOG . Shri Gyaneshwar Mishra from Allahabad has asked me to say more about Mahadevi Ji. Here it goes :-

Mahadevi ji ( 1907-1987 ) was born in Farrukhabad ( U P ) in a family of lawyers. Her father Shri Govind Prasad was a leading lawyer . At a tender age of 9 She was married to Dr Swrup Narain Verma of Indore . She did her BA and MA ( Sanskrit ) and joined as Headmistress of a Girl’s school in Allahabad . She rose to become Vice Chancellor Prayag Mahilla VidyaPeeth Allahabad . She fought for the education of girl child and justice to poor and helpless women till her death. As mutually agreed ,Mahadevi Ji and her husband lived separately pursuing their respective interests and used to meet occasionally . Alongwith her maid , she also lived and moved in Himalayas in her spiritual quest. She was deeply affected by Budhism and had profound knowledge of SIKH and JAIN scriptures and practices. A stern teacher , a profound thinker totally devoted to the cause of emancipation of poor women and girls all along her life, Mahadevi ji was a freedom fighter as well. She was awarded Padam Bhushan, Sahitya academy award as well as the prestigious Jnanpith in 1982. She was the first woman to be made a Fellow of the Sahitya Akademi.

Mahadevi ji was a distinguished Painter and The illustrations in her book DEEPSHIKHA have been drawn by her only.. The principal theme of the poetry of Mahadevi ji is pain of separation from the supreme being . In this regard she is comparable to saint poetess Meera Bai of 16th centuary . She is also regarded as one amongst the four strong pillars of CHHAYAVAAD movement of Hindi Poetry , others being Surya kant Tripathi Nirala , Jai Shanker Prasad and Sumitra Nandan Pant .Her literature is a treasure house of deepest truths unfolded by Indian Philosophy. Mysticism is also her forte . She is considered as a mixture of the personality of Rani Jhansi and Meera Bai by her admirers . Incidentally, the Last Sikh Guru shri Guru Gobind singh ji was also called as SANT ( Saint ) and SIPAAHI ( soldier ). I am also an admirer of her personality and poetry . Enjoy some lines of her poem Ab yeh Chidiya Kahan Rahegi ( Where shall this sparrow live now? ). This is a simple poem for children apparently but in it lies the deep philosophy of life . The core content of the poem is an issue relevant to poor women only. Mahadevi ji also drew drawings for this poem herself.

Aandhi Aayee Zor shor se
Daali Tooti hai Jhakor se
Udda Ghonslaa Bechaari Ka
Kiss Se Apni Baat Kahegi
Ab Yeh Chidiya Kahan Rahegi
( Mahadevi Verma )

( The storm and winds were Furious ,
They broke the branches of the tree in fury,
The poor sparrow lost her dwelling .
To whom shall she convey her pain ?
Oh God ! Where shall this sparrow go now.)
(Translation a k Mota )

Warning

Photographs bear copyrights. May be downloaded with permission . Reproduction for Any commercial usage not Permitted .

CHINARS OF HARWAN GARDEN

Dears

some of the tall shady and live Chinars in Kashmir can be seen in Harwan garden . Though Shalimar garden too has Chinars yet the Chinars of Harwan Garden have no match. I have experienced the shade of the chinars of Shalimar , Nishat , Bijbihara park , Naseem Bagh and Zero Bridge bank of Vitasta but the Grandeur of Chinars of Harwan is unique . There are some chinars in Kishtwar and Bhaderwah as well . some chinars have also been Planted in jammu especially at the Airport or in Baghe Bahu which continue to remain dwarf.Late Dr. M.S. Randhawa (ICS) as Chief Adminstrator (Chandigarh)/Vice Chancellor PAU had obtained Chinars from Kashmir for being planted at Chandigarh and PAU Campus Ludhiana. Similarly, late Dr. L. S. Negi, Director Agriculture Horticulture H. P. Shimla had also procured these trees for being planted in Shimla. Couple of them stood at the ridge in Shimla. I am not in know of their present status.

Chinars have a golden look in Autumn. Looking at these royal trees in Autumn , One can understand what Albert Camus meant when he when said :-
"Autumn is another spring when every leaf is a flower "

Apart from providing Shade , Dry Chinar leaves are used extensively as charcoal in Kangri by kashmiris . In spite of government restrictions on felling of Chinar trees in the valley, the plant population has been drastically declining over the years. Enjoy the views uploaded with two lines from Laleshwari ( Lal Ded )

Kenchan Rouni Chhai Shijij Booni

Nairov Neubar Shoohulaa Karav

(Lalleshwari or Lal Ded )

Some have their life Partners like the cool Chinars

Go to them and Bathe in their cool shade.

Warning

All Photographs bear copyrights . May be downloaded with Permission . Commercial Usage not permitted

WATER RESERVOIR OF HARWAN

The water supply to srinagar city was organized in 1906 with the impounding of Dachigam Water Nallah in earthen reservoir at Harwan. In fact the reservoir Embankement forms one of the the terraced wall of of the beautiful Harwan Garden.Since the Dachhigam Nallah is gradually drying up , this reservoir is also supplying less and less water now. previously this water was supplied raw to the city but later on a filtration plant was set up at Nishat . later water from SINDH nallah was also supplied to the city through the ALUSTENG plant set up in 1964.subsequently Doodganga plant was also commissioned in 1972 to supply water to New colonies of Channpora ,Barzulla , Rawalpora , Natipora and Jawahir Nagar . Due to increase in population in this area a DOODGANGA VT reservoir pump house at Kralpora now supplies water to half of the city while the other half and old city( Now Known as SHAHRE- KHAAS ) get water from SINDH Nallah through the RANGIL Resrvoir Ganderbal.The views uploaded are the old reservoir at HARWAN locally known as SARBAND. Water from the Dachigam Nalah still pours into it . Dachi Gam is a wild life sanctuary wherein the endangered HANGUL can be seen. we were not allowed to go inside as it was too late and a proper permission from Wild Life Department was required . I have also uploaded a view of DHARA area .This reservoir of HARWAN is located in a picturesque area of Kashmir with Mahadev mountain on one side and majestic HARWAN garden on the other side. We met a kashmiri family at Harwan who informed that they had tasted water of the entire country but the water of kashmir especially from the Chashme Shahi Spring , Sindh nallah at PRANG and Lidder at Pahalgham is just the Nectar of life and has no match anywhere in terms of taste and colour . I too join them in total agreement . Enjoy the photographs and a poem of FAIZ AHMED FAIZ.

Mere Dil! Mere Musaafir !
Hua Phir Se Huqm Saadir ,
Ke Watan Badar Hon Hum Tum
Dein Gali Gali Sadaayein.
Karein Rukh Nagar Nagar Ka,
Ki Suraag Koi Payein ,
Kisi Aarey Naamabar ka .
Har Ek Ajnabi Se Poochein ,
Jo Pataa Thaa Apne Ghar Ka.

Sare Kooye Na Shanaasa,
Hamein Din Se Raat Karna ,
Kabhi oos se Baat Karna
Kabhi iss Se Baat Karna .
Tumhe Kya Kahoon Ki Kya Hai ,
Shabe Gham Buree Balaa hai,
Hamein Ye Bhi Thaa Ganeemat,
Jo Koi Shumaar Hota ,
Hamein Kya Buraa Tha Marna ,
Agar Ek Baar Hotaa.
Mere Dil Mere Musaafir
( Faiz Ahmed faiz )

O Traveller! My Heart!
The decree was passed for us, .
To leave this beloved land .
To Cry and weep in distant lands, .
Sitting in alien cities,
We search for the a postman
to bring us letters from our land .
From every stranger we seek ,
The fate of our left over dwellings .
In this land of unknown people

We have been ordained to spend our days and nights .
O Heart ! Pass this time by talking to this or that fellow.
Do not ask us the pangs and agony of
This terrible evening of sorrow.
Even this living was better Heart!
If only we were made to know for how many days more .
For us even death was not unwelcome
Should it visit once only?
O Traveller! My Heart!

Warning

Warning

All Photographs bear Copyrights . may be downloaded with Permission. Commercial Usage not Permitteed .

SUNDAY MARKET OF KASHMIR

Every Sunday a Foot Path market is held right from Tourist Reception Centre to Hari Singh High Street with core market settling from Polo Ground to radio Kashmir on one side of the Road.. Crowds throng to buy everything from this market . One has to jostle his way to move ahead from the surging buyers .Buyers pour out from cars , they come on two wheelers and some make it on foot . One can buy clothes ( New and Internationally branded Old stuff ), Crockery , Shoes ( Branded Old ), Caps ( Branded ) Quilts ( Chinese ) , Blankets ( Chinese ) , Toys ( Chinese ) Books ( Mostly By Canadian Authors ), Jackets , Jeans ( Second hand Branded lee a, Levis Strauss or Flying Machine ), Cardigans and pullovers , socks , overcoats , leather jackets and coats , electric appliances , Towels , Lingerie , Carpets , Bed covers and sheets ( Chinese ), Cameras , perfumes , Wrist watches , Pigeons , Parrots , Furniture , Plastic wares and numberless kitchen appliances .The make shift shopkeepers hail every passerby and can be heard crying from their stalls (Cots) :-

“ Le Jaa Le Jaa
Angrez Ne Bhejaa
Kashmir Se Le Jaa “

“ He Bobu He Laala
Pehno Coat Kaala ”

“ O Khan
Maal Pehchaan”

“Idhar Idhar
Nazar Hai Kidhar”

You enjoy the trust of the sellers once you find that everything in the market is sold at fixed price. No One Bargains . The sellers are educated and financed by J&K Bank under a special scheme known as Loans to SUNDAY MARKET TRADERS devised by Dr Haseeb Drabu present Chairman of J&K Bank. Incidentally Dr Drabu is an orator and a Banker who is widely read and a man of varied interests . Based on my brief interaction with Dr Drabu in some SLBC meetings i may add that his conceptual framework is clear on almost all issues of our state and country . Prior to this appointment , he was Editor of a national Daily Financial Express . Now something on the tallest Modern Punjabi Poet Shiv Kumar Batalvi whom Prakash singh Badal called “PUNJAB DA VIRSA” and who is also known as “BIRHAA DA SULTAAN” .

Shiv Kumar Batalvi (1937-1973) was called the Keats of Punjabi poetry. Like ALBERT CAMUS , he too died young. Camus had Nobel prize with him at the age of 42 years , Shiv had the Sahitya Academy award conferred on him when he was barely 28 years for writing the verse Drama LOONA in Punjabi. He had a melodious voice as well. Shiv sang his won poems for hours in the company of his friends with liquor flowing like water. Like Majaz, he had bouts of liver ailment but he drank and wrote and the world cheered till he collapsed one day.

During my posting at Basholi in 1994 as Manager of our branch over there , I happened to know some relatives ( His inlaws who lived in village Keri Mangyal near Pathankot ) of Shiv kumar Batalvi . Through them I came to know much about this great poet who drank himself to death leaving behind a courageous and devoted wife and two daughters Meharbaan and Puja .His family got a plot of Land , Awards , recognition and special Pension from Government of Punjab after his death. All along his life shiv struggled with poverty and Alcohal.

While working at Amritsar in the years 2000 to 2002 , I read him again and again through books, Cassettes given by some of my Punjabi friends especially my friend from Jalandhar shri Jaswant singh Saggu.I attended several marriage functions where Shiv was sung . His songs are sadness personified . A sadness that does not make you to sink but elevates. Songs like Peeran Daa paragaa Bun le Au Pathi Waliye , Aey Meraa Geet Kisse Naa gaana , Maaye Ni Maaye Mera Geetaan Dhe Naina Vich Birhaa Di Radak Pove, Gamman Dhee Raat Lamee hai , Ek Kudi Jidda Naam Mohhabbat hai Gum Hai Gum hai and Yaar adiya Rab kar Ke Mainyu Pein Birhon de keede Ve were heard regularly from the radio in Amritsar .I have heard Assa singh Mastaana , Dolly Guleria and surrender kour sing Shiv . Maaye ni Maaye Mein Ek Shikra Yaar Banaaya and Kee Puchhde Ho Haal Faquiraan daa has been sung by most of the Indo Pak singers. These poems are straight from the heart of the poet. Tears roll down unknowingly when you listen these soulful songs of Shiv . Enjoy some lines from this poem and also enjoy some views of the SUNDAY MARKET Of KASHMIR uploaded by me .


Maaye Ni Maaye Mein Ek Shikra yaar Banaaya
Audhe Sar Te Kalgi
Audhe Pairaan Jhanjar
Ve Ao Chog Chuginda Aayaa
Chhori Kutaan taon Khandaa Nahi
Ve Assan Dil Da Maans Khavayaa
Ek Udaari .........Aisee Maari
Mud Watanee Nahin Aayaa
Maaye Ni Maaye Mein Ek Shikra Yaar Banaaya .
( Shiv Kumar Batalvi )

Mother ,O mother !
What a Pity ! My heart loved a Migratory bird ,
Decorating his head with a Kalgi,
With Paayal playing in his feet ,
He came to my Chamber of love .
He did not take the food from my hands ,
So I put forth the slices of my heart.
After this he took one flight up in the sky
And never returned to this country.

( Attempted Translated from original Punjabi By a k Mota )

Warning

Photographs bear copyrights . may be downloaded with Permission. Commercial Uasage not Permitted .

FIVE VIEWS OF VITASTA FROM ZERO BRIDGE

Faiz Ahmad Faiz (1914-1984): was One of the foremost poets in the Indian sub-continent, born in Sialkot in Pakistan. He studied philosophy and English literature, but poetry and politics preoccupied him more than anything else. For writing poetry that always antagonizes the ruling Úlite and challenges colonial and feudal values, he had to go to jail repeatedly.Faiz's poetry exhibits a strong sense of commitment to lower-class people, yet it always maintains a unique beauty nourished by the long, rich tradition of Urdu literature. His love poems are as appealing as his political poems, and he is considered primarily responsible for shaping poetic diction in contemporary Urdu poetry. What is his attitude towards loneliness ? Enjoy two poems of Faiz laced with Photographs of Vitasta at Zero Bridge .

Loneliness

Loneliness like a good old friend,
visits my house to pour wine in the evening.

And we sit together,

waiting for the moon,

and for your face to sparkle in every shadow.

Tonight

Do not strike the chord of sorrow tonight!

Days burning with pain turn to ashes.

Who knows what happens tomorrow?

Last night is lost; tomorrow's frontier wiped out:

Who knows if there will be another dawn?

Life is nothing, it's only tonight!

Tonight we can be what the gods are!

Do not strike the chord of sorrow, tonight!

Do not repeat stories of sufferings now,

Do not complain, let your fate play its role,

Do not think of tomorrows,

give a damn--Shed no tears for seasons gone by,

All sighs and cries wind up their tales,

Oh, do not strike the same chord again!

(FAIZ AHMED FAIZ)

Warning

All the photographs bear copyrights . Any Download for reproduction , reuse or any commercial use requires specific permission of the blog writer