It always fascinates me when people talk about the beauty of my place, the lush green forests, the amazing rivers and moreover the terrain which is draped in snow these days. It is true, Kashmir is such a wonderful place that it gets your heart throbbing if you don't take into account the political issues here. The air is ten times better than rest of the subcontinent, the noise is also pretty low.
Given the fact any tourist or anyone not residing here will tell you about the good times they had here and all the good about the winter but what they lack is, the true experience of battling through an entire winter in a place like kashmir
When you ask a common Kashmiri, his story is going to be totally different. Winter doesn't just come with feathery snow and enjoyment , it comes with blocked roads, jammed water pipes and a whole lot of other issues. If you belong to the poor classes of society, the problems become all more serious.Given the lack of development, access to basic necessities also becomes very tough and sometimes there remains no access at all. Economic operations ( micro operations) come to be stagnated which just exacerbates the problems of people who earn their bread and butter via daily wages.
Winter , which seems to be a glimpse of heaven from the outside is not that of a fairytale when you look at it from within. Cruelty, Harshness and depredation lie at the heart of the winter. However my people have learnt to survive the harsh times and every year we face the monster and come out victorious and hopefully we shall continue to do so.

© aadil wani