Aru Valley
Parbaton ke darmiyan hain/ Jannaton ke darmiyanhain / Aajke din hum yahaan hain/ Saathi yeh hamaari taqdeer hai.
I have had the good fortune of visiting Kashmir twice. The first time was in 1986, when as a teen I visited Delhi, Agra and Srinagar. Thirty years later, I was curious to see if the valley was as splendiferous as then and was eager to visit again. Besides, there was this longing to visit with my wife and children, who had never been there.
Ahh, the Kashmir valley â the copybook depiction of a valley â mountains, rivers, streams, brooks, lakes, snow, waterfalls, green meadows, gardens and the trees and the invigorating, cool, crisp mountain air. As our flight was on its way to Srinagar, there was a heavy downpour and turbulence, causing the pilot to announce that we might have to return to Delhi. Our hearts sank. So close and yet so far, we thought.