On the slopes of the Srinagar fort is a cluster of homes that represent the little Hunza in Kashmir. Its emergence is wowen in the region’s tumultuous history, reports Ibtisam Fayaz Khan Mohalla Raja Azur Khan is located on an elevated plain near Kathi Darwaza.
Sir Marc Aurel Stein (1862-1943), the Hungarian-born British archaeologist. A prominent Great Game character, Stein is most known for his frequent forays into Central Asia. To Kashmir, however, he is known as the bachelor sahib who would live in a tent pitched at Mohand Marg (Kangan) while shuttling between Lahore and Central Asia and translating Rajatarangni from Sanskrit into English. Apart from local resource persons, only his dog, Dash, would live with him. Between 1888 and 1943, he is in Kashmir almost every year. In his memory, a small museum is coming up at the spot he would live in the meadows. In this excerpt from his work is a detailed introduction to the origin and actions of the Damaras, Kashmir’s perpetual feudal lords