KASHMIR EUPHORIA - Part Three (Sonmarg)

A month back, same date, same time, I was in the heaven and they call it Sonmarg in Kashmir. I’m amazed at how time passes when it’s not working in your favor. A month feels like a year without what I fell in love with – Kashmir. But time moves on, and so does life.

We left Sonmarg around 9.30am and on my way, I was listening to few songs that are really close to my heart. The journey till Sonmarg is so full of beauty; I couldn’t move my head a single time! The River Sindh defines a different shade of blue altogether and the flow of water sounds like a million waterfalls are hurling down from the heaven itself!

Just a few kilometers before Sonmarg, there is a small park by the roadside on the right. A perfect spot, to stop by, indulge and waste some time doing nothing is what this park offers. Located right on the shore of Sindh River, it gives you a perfect feel of what I call, closest to nature. The entrance of the park is a wooden bridge located on the River Sindh, look down once, I suggest, and you will feel the power of purity, I guarantee!

To be brutally honest, I never wanted to cross the bridge and let go of the feeling I had while on the bridge! The unexplainable feeling of standing on the bridge – overlooking the gigantic flow of water, the sound of which numbs your ears and the water that can freeze you inside out – was mind blowing. You can see the Himalayan range chasing the sky high heights all around you and I was lucky enough to see them snow-clad that morning! The Himalayas looked magnificent in white and looked picturesque every time I followed their height to reach to the peaks that kissed the clear blue sky.

I went inside the park and it reminded me of the pastures in Gulmarg. I felt like I was blindfolded with a green cloth, yet again, only this time, I was surrounded by snow clad mountains and pine trees that got me bewitched. I had never seen so many colors of nature at one place at the same time – the blue sky, kissed by White Mountains, the Green pine slopes, the Aqua Blue waters of Sindh, the multicolored stones in the river, the Brown wood tree barks and the endless stretches of green pastures inside the park! Holy God, for a moment, I was spellbound and open-mouthed!

We spent an hour or so in the park. A small café inside offers tea, coffee, and the Indian staple food – Maggi noodles! I recommend sheer indulgence inside the park, and I’m sure you know by now, what I mean by the indulgence, the slowness of it, so close to nature.

We reached Sonmarg in a short time. The moment I got down from the car, I breathed the first air of Sonmarg – the land of Gold! And trust me; it did feel as if the air is Gold! I know how weird that sounds, what matters is how it feels and not how it sounds – that’s the catch. I really cannot explain in words, how I felt by just looking around. I could never imagine a place on Earth that would put a spell on me, by just looking around it – Sonmarg confirms it.

It seemed like a pair of eyes wasn’t enough to look around the beauty, a pair of ears wasn’t enough to listen to the sound of wind and river water. Words felt short and few sensations I lost…Four directions and three dimensions weren’t enough for this place to exist, simply exist.

So, I am leaving you with only pictures of the land of Gold. Try looking at them from my eyes and leave in your response. I know, words will be a little difficult to find! A month later, I am still enchanted, popeyed and wonder-struck.

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