It has been difficult to write about Kashmir. I barely manged to get out before the floods. What I saw on the roads left me shaken. And yet Gulmarg on a rainy day was beautiful. The water has receded and the state will now face different set of problems. One of it would be mass cancellation of vacation bookings. I have faced a somewhat similar situation in Uttarakhand, but I was going visiting after the floods. I am of the view that as soon as a place is ready to support tourism, it would be a good deed to visit it rather than canceling the trip! Now that the worst of the floods in Srinagar are behind us, I am going to write about Gulmarg without guilt. Before I do that, let me put another record straight, as a rule I am not a big fan of rains.
I understand the necessity of the rains in the eco-system otherwise I would have tried to banish them. All they lead to is water logging and traffic jams and make my life miserable. For me rains on a normal day mean only traffic jams. I like them somewhat over the weekends though, when I don’t have to commute. I like rains after the scorching summers of Delhi/NCR. But that is it, any other time I don’t like them, on a balance I don’t like them. And in Gulmarg all we got was rains!
After being cooped inside for a day at The Khyber, we decided to venture out in the rains. Being cooped inside The Khyber was not such a bad idea because of the spa and the heated swimming pool but none the less, it was still being cooped inside which is never too good a thing. When we got got, I agree the greens were extra green in the rains but then the sky was also extra grey which ruins all the pictures.
It was fun trying to hold an umbrella and click pictures. After all, neither the cell phone, nor my precious, my SLR, like water! And even though every flower was drenched with water, I am not too good with macro photography! So instead of looking beautiful, it felt if as they were mocking me!
However, there was one advantage of being out in rains, other than our group there was no one out there, we had almost the whole city to us. Otherwise, I can imagine the same scene full of people with half of them taking a selfie, sitting on that bench!
Given a choice will I take Gulmarg with rains or without rains? I would any day choose it without rains! Without the rains I could see the mountains which were just not visible otherwise. Without them I could easily take a walk. And without the excessive rains there would have been no flood.
Wonderful photographs Mridula! Thank God, JK is coming back to normal…
Thank you Sindhu.
Gumlarg is in all its glory during fall and winter 🙂 Red and orange crunchy leaves turns it to a magical land. #MemoriesofFall
http://thetalesofatraveler.com/2013/07/14/gulmarg/
Gulmarg* sry for the typo
Not a problem at all!
Nice place and pictures.
Thank you so much.
Lovely rainy shots.
Thank you Lady Fi.
Great shots and a well written piece and loved the part about banishing the rain if not for eco-system. Though i personally love rains, i hated it today. Rained for 3 hours in Bangalore today evening and it led to complete chaos with fallen trees, people breaking all possible rules, destroying the dividers to get to the less crowded wrong side.. .. so ya.. rain with a poor infrastructure is not after all so much fun. I also also liked it that you did not cancel your trip and went ahead with it, the place does need all the help to get back to its feet #respect
Thank you so much. I did go to Uttarakhand after the floods but this time I was there before them and got out barely in time. I wish people will reconsider there decision to cancel!
amazing view beautifully caught
Thank you Balak.
Incerdible Photos, Just loved it all. Wonderful Mridula…:)
Thank you so much Priyashi.
I find rains romantic. 🙂
You got some lovely pics.
Thank you Indrani, so you too are a rain lover! 😀
One of it would be mass cancellation of vacation bookings. Exactly . and It will not only for this season but onward also, as we seen in Uttarakhand that people are not heading towards Uttarakhand even after one year . They are feared . and this will really be a loss for this Industry of Tourism. Gulmarg is a great place and u too producing a great work in the form of ur post.
Thank you Yogi for sharing your thoughts.
Beautiful Pictures! and nicely timed….yes off season travelling is something I prefer
Datta I too like off season but not rains.
I love rains somehow….and I loved my road trip in himachal pradesh in the rains…though I do understand its quite risky to do it in monsoons!!!
love the images you took!!
And congrats on your new domain……its a totally cool feeling 🙂
Yay..This is the first time I”m commenting on your new home…err ..new site.. 😀
Wonderful photos… and you know I love rain and clouds and petrichor…. 🙂
The combination of green leaves,grey clouds and beautiful fully blossomed flowers serve as a treat to the eyes and the mind!!!
I am a rain lover too… but agree commuting in the rains is a nightmare, especially if you have to walk! Lovely photos… the grey skies look beautiful in your pictures! 🙂
Lovely shots and nice scenery.
whats the advantage/need or the disadvantage for changing your blog website?
Awesome pictures . No sign of Snow there
Thanks for sharing nice information. Gulmarg is nice place to for traveling. it is heaven of the earth