INDIA COFFEE HOUSE, SRINAGAR

     ( INDIA COFFEE HOUSE, SRINAGAR )

                                                           

 The India Coffee House in Srinagar is closed.  Not that coffee is not sold in Srinagar, never do I mean so. We have an ultra-modern coffee outlet near Hotel Broadway exactly in the shops where Sita Travels had their office. Known as Coffea Arabica, this outlet is a destination for a variety of popular dishes from the Middle-East. This is a wonderful restaurant selling continental food and a variety of hot and cold coffee to its clientele. College students, businessmen, tourists, professionals, government officials, and children from well to do families keep visiting this restaurant. During my posting in Srinagar, I would also go to this place to sip the excellent coffee or enjoy my favourite Felafel.

 India  Coffee House on Residency Road, Srinagar just opposite to Sri Chand Chinar Temple ( Sri Chand Ji  was a saint and son of  Guru Nanak Dev Ji ) was always crowded with writers, poets, painters, actors, artists, musicians, politicians, journalists, college teachers, strugglers and men from other social groups. Many persons would chat, smoke and sip cheap but excellently brewed coffee served by smilingly and ever-busy waiters. One could also order a Dosa or Wada or Idli to relish in between; all within one’s budget. One could also buy coffee seeds. The staff from South India was humble and agile. Service was prompt. M L Channa, the manager was also friendly and a local person from Srinagar city.  Here in this coffee house, did Ali Mohammad Lone conceive plots for some of his popular radio plays sipping coffee in the company of his friends and fellow writers. The noted writer Akhtar Mohi uddin, Prof Sattar Ahmed Shahid, Prof Surrinder Tikoo, actor Trilok Dass ,actor Omkar Aima ( whenever in Kashmir ),artist G. R. Santosh ( whenever in Kashmir ), Shafi Shaida ( poet politician ), Abdul Majeed Baba ( businessman ), Zaffar Meraj ( journalist ),  Waheed Raina ( industrialist and political activist ), Shamim Ahmed Shamim ( journalist and   MP  ), Mohammad Sayed Malik ( journalist, whenever in Kashmir ), Mr Bhardwaj ( journalist , Hindustan Times  ), Capt S. K. Tikoo, Shyam Lal Zewan, artist  Bansi Parimu, Mr Bhaskar ( UNI ),  Sunder Dev Sanyal ( dancer ), Bansi Nirdosh, advocate Zaffar Shah, Sharif ud Din , Prof Rehman Rahi, Prof Ghulam Nabi Firaq, Som Nath Sadhu , P N Jalali, G M Bawan, Tahir Muztar , Dr Ab. Wahid , advocate Ashok Bhan , Javed Jalib, Khurshid Shahdad, Ghani Khan,Aijaz Andrabi,  J N Sathu, Saleem Khan, GR Hasrat Gadda,  Avtar Krishen Rehbar, Shafi Shaida, Prof Madan, Zareef Ahmed Zareef, Mohammad Sultan Mandaw,  Tej Bahadur Bhan , Prof Ravi Kaul, M Y Taing, Amin Kamil , Ghulam Nabi Khayal, and many more known persons would sit together for gossip or serious discussion  over a cup of hot coffee. Capt S. K. Tikoo, a regular visitor to the India Coffee House, Srinagar says this:-

“M F Husain was always looking for his friend and fellow artist Bansi Parimu as and when he entered India Coffee House, Residency Road, and Srinagar. He would be seen around Coffee House as and when he visited Srinagar during summers.  . “Captain! Hasn’t Bansi come yet? ". This is how we started our conversation inside the India Coffee House, Srinagar. He had many issues to talk to Bansi Parimu. He disliked sitting in the hall. He disliked sitting in any gossip Mehfil. May be for the cigarette smoke or noise. Can't say the reason but he disliked it. He would pull me out from a gathering inside and say,   ‘Come captain, and let us go to the balcony. Let us look to the road below. I enjoy talking to you. Enough of these discussions on art and culture now.’  And he would ask so many questions and seek replies. One day, he suddenly told me, “captain zara paper lao”. I went inside and brought a cigarette wrapper. He didn't like and asked for paper. I went to Mr Chana, the manager and he gave me a letterhead of the India Coffee House.  I went to Husain but he said, “No, no yeh nahin bhai”.   Then I tore the portion that had India Coffee House written on it and went back to him. He was waiting and said, ‘Okay ’. He then signed on it in Urdu, Hindi and English and put date and place. ‘Keep it with you ’. I thanked him for the unique gift. I lost that precious gift in the blaze and destruction to my Srinagar house by some miscreants during the armed insurgency.”

Dr Farooq Abdullah once dropped in smilingly with friends and looking to someone seated in the central table in the hall, he cried,  ‘ How are you roll number seven  ?’ The man was his college friend Mr Bira from Rainawari. Mr Bira worked for Sita Travels and lived in Jogilanker area.

  M K Raina, a well known theatre personality (whenever in Kashmir) and the restless Safdar Hashmi did also frequent this coffee house. Incidentally, Safdar was teaching English in the Kashmir University for some time probably in 1978 and he was known to me through my friend Tej Dhar son of Prof A N Dhar. He would also come to the bank and sit for some time with us. Safdar was singular in his beliefs and behaviour. He smoked nonstop, wore heavy spectacles, put on a long Kurta over jeans or bell bottoms. He read Camus, Kafka and Faiz and directed some plays at Tagore Hall, Srinagar; One being ‘Woyzek’ wherein Prof Raman’s family (English Department, Kashmir University) also acted. Aloke Aima, son of Onkar Aima and nephew of Mohan Lal Aima played the lead character in this play. Alas, this bubbling Safdar died in some trade union violence in NCR, Delhi during the performance his Play 'Halla Bol’.

 

 I have been visiting this coffee house since our college days. During those days, quite often, I would see Pervaiz Qureshi, the dashing cricketer standing at the balcony of the coffee house and looking at the hustle and bustle of the Residency Road below. Alas! This young man died in a tragic road accident near the Zero Bridge in Srinagar while driving his new motor bicycle. Pervaiz was a heartthrob of many girls from women’s college, Srinagar at that time.Where is our coffee house? Pity! At the moment converted to shop selling readymade garments and all other household goods.

 

 (Avtar Mota....  Srinagar 2009) 

I

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BE NEAR ME ,MY LOVE ! MY DEMOLISHER !

Tum mere paas Raho

Mere qaatil, mere dildaar, mere paas raho
jis ghadi raat chale,

Aasamaanon kaa lahuu pee kar siyah raat chale,

Marham-e-mushq liye Nashtar-e-almaas Liye
Bain karatii huii, hansatii huii, gaatii nikale

Dard kii kaasanii paazeb Bajaatii nikale

jis ghadi seenon me Duubate huye dil,

Aastiion me nihaan haathon kii raah takane nikale

Aas liye
Aur bachchon ke bilakhane kii tarah qul-qul-e-mai

Bahr-e-naasudagii machale to manaaye na mane

jab koi baat banaaye na bane

jab na koi baat chale

jis ghadi raat chale

jis ghadi Maatami , sun-saan, siyah raat chale

paas raho

Mere qaatil, mere dildaar, mere paas raho

( Faiz Ahmed Faiz )

Be Near Me
You who demolish me, you whom I love,be near me.

Remain near me when evening,

drunk on the blood of skies,

becomes night,

with its soothing Balm in one hand ,

and a sword sheathed in the diamond of stars in the other .
Be near me when night laments or sings,

or when it begins to dance,

its stell-blue anklets ringing with grief.
Be here when longings,

long submerged in the heart’s waters,

resurface and everyone begins to look:

Where is the assasin?

In whose sleeve is hidden the redeeming knife?
And when wine,

as it is poured,

is the sobbing of children whom nothing will console.

when nothing holds,

when nothing is:at that dark hour when night mourns,

Be near me, my destroyer, my lover,be near me.(English translation by Agha Shahid Ali a son of kashmir's soil)

PS

The Photographs have been taken by me in September 2009 at Tangmarg and Gulmarg and both the places have been developed as beautiful Hill stations of kashmir .

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PHOTOGRAPHY SHOPS OF KASHMIR

                                                                          

 

In Kashmir , photography business was the domain of men from the plains or Punjabis only. We had Dattas( The Bund ) ,Suris ( Regal Chowk) Mahattas or Mehtas

( The Bund) ,Darly (Partap Park Road but now in Lambert Lane ), Royal Photographers ( Lal Chowk near Kapoor Brothers the book sellers of Kashmir ), Preco ( Residency Road ) and Longman ( Pahalgham ). Then came a new group of photographers who were Kashmiris like Mimic Studio, Lica Studio, College Studio and many more . While Suris sold the business in late seventies , Datta and Royal Photographers migrated out due to turmoil  but one family that continues to stay in Kashmir is the Mehta family which manages their 90 year old business of photography through their shop on the Bund known as  Mahatta And Co .

 
It was in early 1915 when Amar Nath Mehta and Ram Chand Mehta ( two brothers ) established Mehta And Co , a photography shop in Srinagar . Initially the brothers operated from a houseboat .Some years later, they shifted to the Bund area and also set up a shop in Rawalpindi ,  Sialkot ,Lahore and the picturesque hill station Muree . Later,  the firm changed the name to Mahatta And Co  . The partition turmoil made the family  suffer heavy losses as they had to close the business In Lahore , Muree and Rawalpindi . They had only the Bund Shop to go ahead with their photography business . The brothers toiled hard to make this shop a premier photography unit in entire north India . Some of the most beautiful photographs , Colour transparencies and slides of various events shaping history of Kashmir have been photographed by this family . Their stock includes bewitching scenes of Dal , Wular , Birds of Kashmir , flora and fauna of Kashmir , Vitasta in different colours , autumn Chinars , Mughal Gardens and common man or road side scenes portraying the soul of Kashmir . Their customers included The British Resident , Maharaja Hari Singh , Nehrus , Prime Ministers of Kashmir , Sheikh Mohd Abdullah , Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad and scores of Bollywood personalities like Dilip Kumar , Lata Mangeshkar , Rajesh Khanna , Raj Kumar , Raj Kapoor and Balraj Sahni.The firm opend two more shops in Kashmir ; one at gulmarg and the other at Pahalgham.


The old  shop on the Bund   has two entrances ; one from the Bund side while the other is from down the road opposite Polo ground . Presently the business is being managed by  Jagdish Mehta ( son of Ram Chand Mehta ) who is deeply attached to Kashmir  . Jagdish Ji speaks fluent Kashmiri .

I vividly remember that we used too walk down from Lal Chowk to Srinagar Club near Zero Bridge every Saturday to enter this neat and clean shop to check up our body weight . This family had put up a weighing machine too near the entry door from the Bund side .We would also relish a cup of tea with chicken patty at Ahdoo’s Restaurant on the Bund . This Hotel has maintained the quality of the tea they offer .Having tasted tea in various restaurants in the length and breadth of the country , I have yet to find equivalent of tea served at Ahdoo’s Hotel, Srinagar . Another prominent export house near this shop on the Bund side displays a huge Board titled Suffering Moses . This name has also remained etched in my memory. Long back , the kind and generous proprietor ( A Kashmiri Muslim ) of this export house gave a hefty sum of money to a poor Kashmiri Pandit boy for his open heart surgery in New Delhi. The Bund is under beautification drive . Land reclaimed from Vitasta ( Jhelum river ) bank has been converted to parks all along the Bund .

 

I end up this write up by a small poem of the Bulgarian poet NIKOLA VAPTSAROV on parting which he addresses to his wife. This poet has already been introduced to you .

Sometimes I’ll come when you’re asleep,

An unexpected visitor.

Don’t leave me outside in the street,

Don’t bar the door!

I’ll enter quietly, softly ,

sit And gaze upon you in the dark.

Then, when my eyes have gazed their fill,

I’ll kiss you and depart.

• (Avtar Mota)

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LONELINESS AND KASHMIR VIEWS

TANHAI

Fir Koi Aayaa Dile Zaar
“ Nahin Koi Nahin.”
Raah Rau Hoga , Kahin Aur Chala Jayega.
Dhal Chuki Raat ,
Bikharney Lagaa taron Ka Gubaar .
Ladkhadaney Lagey Aivaanon Me Khwabeeda Chiraag.
Sau Gayee Raastaa Taq Taq Ke har Ek Raahguzar .
Ajnabi Khaaq Ne Dhundhlaa Diye Qadmon Ke Suraag.
Gul Karo Shamein , Badaa Do Mayo Meena O Aayaag .
Apney Be Khwaab Kiwaadon ko Muqafal kar Dho .
Ab Yahan Koi Nahin, Koi Nahi Aayegaa.

( FAIZ AHMED FAIZ )



LONELINESS

Someone is at the door again,
My weeping heart, no, no one Perhaps a passerby,
who will go somewhere else.

The night has passed
waiting, the star-dust is settling.

Sleepy candle-flames are flickering in distant palaces.

Every pathway has passed into sleep,
Tired of waiting Alien dust has smudged all traces of footsteps .

Blow out the candles,

let the wine and cup flow.

Close and lock your sleepless doors

No one, no one will come here now .

( Thanks to Hamid Rahim Sheikh for this superb translation )

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PADDY HARVESTING IN KASHMIR

Paddy harvesting has begun in kashmir valley. It begins in Ganderbal district first . This harvesting is a scene to watch . Like in plantation of rice saplings , entire family again joins in this harvesting as well. Samovar loads of Nun Chai ( salt tea ) with bread( Tel Voru or Tsech Vor ) made by kashmiri Bakers is brought to the fields for workers to relish . Idd festival is fast approaching . People in Ganderbal district are acting fast on the job of freeing themselves from harvesting . Happy Idd to them .Idd Mubarak to all.

Hutei Yetei Arsh Farsh Shahkaar

Chein Yeimay Nein Gayei Aakaar

Cheiy Nerguun Cheiy Palanhaar

Baar Khodaaya Paap Nivaar.

Kour vichhav Preth Andh Andhkaar

Kour Tsalav vati Vati Tsal Laar

Toth faqat Chonuy Darbaar

Baar Khodaaya Paap Nivaar

( Syed Rasool Pampori )

You built the sky and the earth in this universe ,

These are thy visible miracles ,

O thee formless O provider

O god! Relieve us of the load of our sins.

Wherever we look , we face darkness alone ?

Where shall we run away when everyone is on the run?

Now Your abode is only dear to us lord,

O god! Relieve us of the load of our sins.

( Translation from original kashmiri by a k mota )

PS

I have already conveyed that many eminent poets in Kashmiri have used the immortal line of the tallest Sufi saints of kashmir sheikh Nur Ud din ( Nund Reshi )in their poems . The line is a true representation of Sufi Cult of kashmir . First two words have persian origin ( Baar Khodaaya ) and the remaining two ( Paap Nivaar ) are from Sanskrit.Syed Rasool Pampori is a noted kashmiri Poet who is also a sahitya academy Awardee

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MANASBAL LAKE OF KASHMIR

Roughly 9 kms from Tulamula village or 10 kms from Doderhaama bridge in GanderBal, lies a lake of deep green colour known as MANASBAL in Kashmir . The lake suddenly opens up from a mountain cliff on the road when you drive towards Bandipora on this route . A bout five functional springs add fresh water to the lake and the lake is in better shape in comparison to Dal and Wular though Weeds have grown to dangerous proportion in this lake too. Some thing need to be done to deweed this lake which is just 4 km long and 1.2 kms wide.. At the moment , it is the deepest lake in Kashmir. From this lake only , a road branches to SAFAPORA . Stone quarries are also located near the lake and the surrounding mountains are practically devoid of dense forests or for that matter forests at all. Sainik school run by Government of India is located nearby. An ancient Shiva temple built in 8th centuary has also been dug out and cleaned by MWDA and is presently housed in well maintained spring enclosure. One third of this temple is in spring water .. I have already put a photograph of this spring in one of my posts. One thing I would like to comment and request to MWDA officials with whom I also interacted is to stop washing of clothes near all outer springs feeding water to the lake . From morning till evening , villagers come in groups for washing clothes using detergents and caustic based soaps which water ultimately flows into the lake . This poses a serious threat to aquatic life of the lake . Let us at least preserve this small lake after allowing two major lakes to dry up slowly.

I again say that Excellent work has been done by Manasbal Wular Development Authority in and around the lake. A beautiful garden , accommodation , cafeteria , Shikara rides , Fountain display , well laid out lawns and colourful flowers of all varieties keep you busy and absorbed in watching them. to conclude this post ,I would like to add something for all Kashmiris wherever they are but more specifically for the younger generation . The words of wisdom from Lalleshwari or Lal Ded are known as VAAKHS .Similarly the words of wisdom from Sheikh ul Aalum or Nund Reshi are known as SHRUKHS. In one of his Shrukhs , Sheikh ul Aalum appeals to God to Relieve Kashmiris of their Sins . The Last Line of this Shrukh had been very popular with Kashmiris . This line is a true representation of the sufi Cult of Kashmir. First two words come from Persian language ( BAAR KHODAAYA ) while other two are from sanskrit ( PAAP NIVAAR ).Kashmiris would speak it aloud before the shrines of saints weeping with sighs, Physically raising their hands in sky or bowing their heads to ground . Alas !This line has also been forgotten now.
BAAR KHODAAYA PAAP NIVAAR(Oh God !Relieve us of this Load of Sins )

How beautifully and in simple words renowned Kashmiri poet Dina Nath Naadim has finished one of his poems with this line. In this poem, Naadim Sahib is critical of Kashmiris for having forgotten their Mother tongue . Some lines from this poem in Kashmiri are as under :-




Teli Aus Maachh Modhur Guftaar
Kaashir Zevih Aus soan Anhaar
Az Assi Nazran Dholah Chhe Dhyaar
Baayis Boay Na Yaaruss Yaar
Reshi Kathhi Kuss Kari Katih Yaqraar
Kashiri Zeivi Yeli Kor Inqaar
Baar Khodaaya Paap Nivaar
( Dina Nath Naadim )


Those were the days when our communication was Honey sweet,
Our language expressed our dreams and Aspirations .
Now money has put its haze in our vision,
Brothers don’t care for each other nor do friends,
Who shall understand the words of our Reshis ,
When we start disowning our own Kashmiri Language ?
O God ! Relieve us of this load of Sins.

( A k Mota )

PS
(Many other kashmiri Poets Like Moti Lal Saaqi , Farooq Nazki and Syed Rasool Pampori , Mohan Niraash , Gh Nabi Aatish, Abdul Ahad Farhaad , Mashal Sultanpuri and many more have also used this line in their poems )

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WULAR , ANOTHER DYING LAKE OF KASHMIR

“ On the Bank of Vitasta where she emerges from the waters of the MahaPadma , he Founded a town comparable to the Paradise to bear his own name.”
(Fifth Taranga Canto 118 Rajtaringini of Kalhana )

This is how Kalhana describes the birth of Sopore, the town founded by Suyya on the banks of vitasta where it emerges out from Wular ( MahaPadma ) Lake . This lake finds mention repeatedly in Taranga Fifth of Rajtaringini.When we were young we were always told by our teachers that Wular is the biggest Fresh water Lake of Asia . We were also told about the stories that some temple lies buried in the centre of the lake and after 4 PM it was not advisable to venture into the lake in a boat in view of storms and turbulence . My mother would always be praising the Quality of Water Chestnuts , Fish , Nadru ( Lotus roots ) and Voguv ( Straw Mats ) and of course the Pachhin ( Hunted Flying Birds ) of this lake as the best in entire Kashmir . During my college days I had visited WATLAB area once and thereafter I also visited this lake possibly in 1981 or 1982 . I could feel the shrinkage of water area as well as the rapid growth of weeds and habitation taking place on its banks . On my recent visit to this area on 12th of September 2009, I got the shock of my life . This lake is also dying fast. Two thirds of the lake area is already dead..

South and east side of the lake from where Vitasta and Madhumati rivers enter it respectively will possibly be a Land mass very shortly. From hill tops around the lake , I could see just weeds , trees , Poplars and sedimentation in the Lake . Boating is impossible and the Aquatic life is fast vanishing . But for water Chestnuts nothing significant is extracted from the lake now. Mud , silt and sediments are poured into the lake by Vitasta from south side which has almost brought death to a major part of the lake on this side .From east side the Madhumati pours similar sediments in to the lake . The Erin Nallah also dumps all sediments in to the lake from this side . Houses , Weeds and tree plantation in the lake bed have also brought death to the aquatic life . Approximately 1100 years ago Suyya ensured that the bed of the lake is lower than the bed of Vitasta from the place where it emerges out from this lake .That made the water to rush out else the lake would have engulfed entire area upto Manasbal.and the havoc of floods in Vitasta would have made life miserable for the entire population of valley. Now that a large number of water spring have been choked , Deep sediment deposits have reduced the water area , the inflow of water into the lake from Vitasta and Madumati and Erin Nallah too has come down , the aquatic life has vanished , malignant Weeds have grown in about three fourth area , Tree Plantation has taken place in the lake bed , Rapid Habitation is taking place in and around the lake and on the top of it none is bothered to touch the subject , the lake is heading for a rapid extinction .The total visible area of the lake at present is is about 20kms in length and 8 kms width . The average depth on northern side is just 12 feet now.
Having said so , the lake also remains one of the most scenic spots in valley . View it from hills surrounding it or from the Hill top Ziyarat of Baba shukruddin or from the picnic spot of Watlab on its banks near sopore and experience the greatest visual delights. Small number of birds still continue Fluttering over the lake. A beautiful view park has been developed by MWDA( Manasbal and Wular Development Authority ) on a hill top just 15 Kms from Manasbal. An army camp is located near this park . The toilets of this Park are well maintained . The central fountain in this garden is beautiful and functional . The garden has well maintained green lawns with ROSES , DAHLIAS and some young CHINARS . Kudos to MWDA. MWDA is doing an excellent job by creating some more beautiful fountain bearing parks and gardens on mountain slopes around the lake but the lake as such remains totally neglected . Roofless Boats( Demb Naav ) paddle in the lake and bring loads of Water chestnuts to be sold in the Bazaars of Bandipora and sopore . Chestnuts are also sold in srinagar city . kashmiris relish the Kernel after just boiling them or frying them . The kernels( GOJEE or GHOUR or MESSA in kashmiri ) are also dried and then powdered . The powder is also consumed as a food. Kashmii Pandits make use of this kernel Flour during Fasts or other religious ceremonies Enjoy the views with some lines form a poem of renowned Bulgarian poet Nikola Vaptasrov. I have been a reader of this Bulgarian poet and some of his poems are touching . Like Faiz , he too was a marxist and committed to fight against social injustice and inequality . One may disagree with his political thought but one is floored by his vision for the humanity .

For the hardship and affliction ,

We do not seek rewards,

Nor do we want our pictures

In the calendar of years.
Just tell our story simply,

,To those we shall not see,

Tell those who will replace us –

We fought courageously..

( a K Mota )
.

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