[swarnava.ch]

Prelude: Dear TBhp Family, I write this post with a solemn heart but from the comfort of my hotel room, where I and family feel safe. Want to give you a first hand account of just another family on a Kashmir trip who were there at the same time during which Pahalgam attack happened. This is a sensitive issue and I am sad and sorry if I make any mistakes below.

I am not sure if this post breaks any forum rules but feel free to exclude this if that is the case.

Background:
Son was going to be starting Grade 9th so this was our last chance to have a longer vacation. Considering this, we planned to go for a 10 days Kashmir trip and the only key point of the agenda was to see snow and majestic mountains.

So the travel was finalized like below:
1. 20th April - Arrival in Kashmir from Bangalore - local day trip
2. 21st to 23rd - Local Srinagar sightseeing
3. 24th Travel to Sonamarg to stay overnight
4. 25th Local Sonamarg sightseeing
5. 26th travel from Sonamarg to Gulmarg
6. 27th Local Gulmarg gondola ride and sightseeing
7. 28th Travel to Pahalgam and stay at hotel
8. 29th Local Pahalgam sightseeing
9. 20th back to Srinagar
10. 1st May return to Bangalore

So all bookings done already in February including Flights, Hotels and Gondola ride.

All excited, come April 20th, barely able to finish my office work etc and we were all excited to leave for Kashmir flight on 20th.

D-Day minus 1:
News started coming in of Heavy rains which have caused flights to divert to Jammu and not land at Srinagar airport. Roads were jammed for multiple hours and there was no guarantee if flights next day will even take off. We were keeping a close watch and just hoping and praying that trip starts as planned.


Day 1: 20th April
Arrived at around 2:00 pm at the airport, took a prepaid taxi from the stand at Airport and straight went to hotel for check-in. On our way from Airport to the hotel, we saw Army personnel on the side of the roads at every 300 mtrs standing on guard with full riot gear. There were police sheds and barricades as well. This was frankly a bit intimidating - we usually dont see this level of alert in daily life. But I learned later that this is how daily life is in Srinagar.

We reached hotel, had a fresh cup of Kehwah / Kahwah (traditional Kashmiri tea) and went for a stroll outside the hotel on the road along the Jhelum river. We were soaking in the sceneries, the valley views and the mountains all around. It was just awesome and an amazing start to what was supposed to be a great holidays for us.

Later in the evening, got a call from a dear friend who was leaving India for US and I casually told him that we are in Srinagar. His father was a very high ranking armed forces retired officer who was posted in Kashmir for a long time. Uncle immediately connected me to his local contact in Srinagar Mr Maqsood who owns his own Houseboat and Taxi. I spoke to him and he told me - and I quote - 'aap humare guest hain, aap hamare ghar ayein, consider it your house' - this was the Kashmiri hospitality. He sent his taxi for us and it was decided that his driver Mr. Adnan will take us around for our trips all days. We were supposed to also stay in his Houseboat on the last day after coming back to Pehalgam.

So again it looked like everything was set. We had a quick dinner and slept early as we were tired from a long journey.

Day 2: 21st April
We had great breakfast at the hotel, and started the day with Mr. Adnan.
There cannot be a T BHP Blog without a car. Our rental car was a Gen 2 Innova which had done about 2.5L kms and still holding strong. Enough pull from the engine when needed and comfortable as expected with no rattles and running smooth.
We were specially sad as we had to part with our Innova Crysta - more on that later.

Adnan took us to the Shikara ride at Dal lake. It was just awesome, the experience cannot be described. Bustling lake, excited tourists, decorated shops etc. The Ride on the late, sipping Kahwa, eating Maggi and shopping from the floating market. All typical touristy stuff but this was on our bucket list.









We then went to Shankaracharya temple on the hill top. Great views from the mountain top, tight security, around 250 steps to climb to the top. It made me realize I am not 25 any more :-)

We then stopped for a wholesome lunch at a restaurant which was again amazing, considering we are veg guys, I had not expected to get such tasty food.

Finally after lunch, we went to the Tulip Garden and the views cannot be described here. Its like a garden situated in a valley surrounded by hilltops all around. Beautiful tulip flowers nicely layed out in rows of different colors.









We spent around 2 hours there and came back to hotel as I had some office work to complete. It was a quick dinner again and a stroll around on the Jhelum river front along the road.

Day 3: 22nd April
Day started a bit late after a hearty breakfast and Adnan took us to an offbeat location - DoodhPatri which was a meadow nestled 45 kms from Srinagar city. It took us 1.5 hrs to reach there but it was worth the time and effort. We had great time riding ponies to the viewing points, river front etc. On our way back, Adnan asked whether we are hungry and stopped at a roadside non descript place for a 'Makke di roti, Sarson da saag'. A middle-aged Kashmiri aunty was preparing hot rotis with ghee and this was the best combo we have had so far in our life - better than any restaurant. She even gave a Walnut cookies to us and said this is for the kid (No Charges - when I tried to pay). Such gestures are common at big restaurants but not at Small shops.





We went to the city again on our return and stopped at Mughal Gardens but we were now getting tired and though we wanted to complete Lal Chowk for some shopping and Hazratbal Dargah in the city, we thought lets do it next day while we leave for Sonamarg.

We came back to our hotel around 6:30 in the evening and turn on the TV. It was as if all hell broke loose. reports of the attack in Pehalgam started pouring in. Started getting frantic calls from family back home on our safety. We were a bit stunned honestly as we had just come back from a beautiful city tour. it took sometime for us to sink in the news. I wanted to avoid listening to the news in front of my son due to the barbaric footage being played and the narration.

We were continuously on phone with relatives calling in to know our safety, trying to understand the situation outside. In between went to the hotel front desk who assured that everything is fine in Srinagar and nothing to worry. Initial news of two or three casualties did not give the full picture of the severity of the problem.

I spoke to Adnan and Mr Maqsood to know the ground situation and they both assured that stay indoors, they will monitor the situation for us and keep us posted. Everything was fine outside.

Our key concerns was that we were to check out the next day to Sonamarg and our hotel was sold out already the next day. So there was no way to extend the stay in Srinagar to access the situation.

We decided to get some sleep as it was getting late, went for a quick dinner and slept at 11:00pm again to wake up at 3:30 in the morning and track news. I was trying hard to maintain a calm demeanor all evening to not worry my family. By now the gravity of the situation was clear.
By 6:00 am, remaining family members woke up and we discussed whether to return or to continue our journey. I must confess at this point that there were multiple problems at hand:
1. Our last leg of travel was to Pehalgam so off course it has to be cancelled. If we cancel then where to stay now ?
2. Is it safe to stay in Srinagar now ? What happens next ?
3. There was a huge cost involved of cancelling all travel plans in the end

Finally we decided that the most critical part now would be to choose safety of family and anyways even if we continue the trip, we will not be able to enjoy any more and always be worried and confined to our hotels.
So it was decided that lets head back home on the next available option.

Now comes the second problem - There are no flights available for heading out any more, everything is sold out. Not to any location - Amritsar, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata nothing. We even evaluated leaving by road to Jammu and taking a flight from there but then thought its best to stay put and not travel by road. Backup plan was - if we don't get any flight, we go to Mr Maqsood's place and stay indoors till we get a flight out.

We caught a lucky break at 9:30 am when my brother in law was searching online and found a flight which was just opened for booking (Srinagar Mumbai) and we got 3 seats for us at around 3:00pm. We didn't have any plans for Mumbai but at this moment, I would have taken any way out.


So now we started a race to finish packing and getting ready. Meanwhile Adnan had reached hotel and called to say that he will wait for us and will do whatever we like - either drop us to Airport or to Sonamarg. Having him with us was a relief. Mr Maqsood who was in touch with us through out morning on the situation developing, invited us to have a Kahwa at his houseboat once before we leave.

So we started back from hotel at 10:30 am, reached Negin Lake which was a peaceful setting much unlike its cousin and famous Dal lake. We were welcomed with much hospitality and love and we enjoyed this short break After saying final good byes, we went to the Airport directly and reached just in time around 12:45 pm. There was chaos all around, increased security checking, multiple lines for Check Ins etc. It took us 1.5 hours to get in and finish security. There were people waiting there from all walks of life - old and young. In all this chaos, we had not had any Lunch so we wanted to grab a bite. The flight left for Mumbai with a slight delay of 20 mins and finally at around 7:00pm yesterday we landed in Amchi Mumbai.
A view from our hotel window



Reflections:
I am writing this blog from the safety of my room now, our flight to Bangalore is booked for 25th and we shall be home soon. But I am reflecting now on some of the things that happened in the last 24 - 48 hours:
1. My heart goes out to the families impacted by the dastardly attack. I pray to god to give them strength.
2. What happened at Pehalgam could have happened anywhere else. The place where we went Doodhpatri was exactly like the meadow in Pehalgam.
3. I would appreciate the people of Kashmir - Mr Asif our hotel manager, Mr Maqsood, Adnan our driver - their love and hospitality knows no bounds. Everyone said sorry to us due to our experience at the end on how the situation turned out. This was not even their fault. They did everything to make us comfortable.
4. A lot of people were there for vacation in Srinagar and this was not even the peak season. There were old couples, groups, Young couples, people on Holidays, Honeymoons, Anniversaries etc. Things were finally turning out nicely for the life in Kashmir. Tourist were finally coming back in troves. Mr Maqsood lamented that this is after a long time that tourists have been harmed in Kashmir.
5. There were a old couple who had come to Srinagar just a day back but were returning with us and were sad on how it turned out. One of the impacted family was on our flight where the husbands body was in cargo hold. CISF team was there to receive them. I cannot describe this more on how we felt there. We feel incredibly lucky and grateful that 3 of us went and three of us came back. Many did not have this luxury.
6. All the hard work of last few years is undone. Things were just about turning back for the average street vendor, shikara riders and this incident has put a pause to all of this. While I will get back my Indigo flight prices and hotel booking amount, the people who would have taken loans to setup shops anticipating tourists will struggle.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage today

Mod Note to other BHPians: Strictly no discussions on politics, politicians or Pakistan please. Keep the discussion civil & constructive. We are all deeply hurt & angered by the Pahalgam terror attacks, but the forum rules also need to be strictly adhered to.

[TankandButter]

Trips will come and go, but what genuinely matters is the safety of the family, especially when you're right that that "decisive" moment.
Glad to hear you are back home safe!

And remember, if it's meant to be, I'm sure you will get to experience Kashmir again in all its glory and beauty soon.

[driven646]

I am from Himachal, but my paternal home is Jammu - where I have a lot of Uncles, Aunts and Cousins.

I never felt the need to visit Kashmir as I get enough of the mountains etc in my HP. Jammu gets extremely hot during the summers and my cousins over the years would often get in touch with me to help plan vacations for them and their friends in Himachal.

Last year, when Tourism had boomed in Kashmir, I asked them why they didn't go to Srinagar etc considering how close they were in Jammu.

Their standard answer was always 'No, we will never be 100% safe in the Valley - we know how things work there'

Seems prescient now after this terrible tragedy.

[NomadSK]

Glad that you and your family came out unscathed from the mess. Prayers for the souls who lost their lives in this heinous act by unwanted elements who never wants the peace to sustain in the valley. This is simply heart wrenching, one moment they were just so happy, having the time of their lives and the second moment they were just gone with the thin air. Killing few and scaring a million was always a concerted plan since the start of this issue which was neatly executed by (?) I hope we as Indians doesn't allow that to happen anymore.

My whole family was uprooted from their homes on a wintery night of January 90 at the back of a army truck (Shaktiman), middle of the night to safe havens of Jammu. Why, because my father got kidnapped in the evening and my uncle (Brigadier rank officer) thought it was in the best of the interest for all of us to leave the valley immediately, disorder was dominant and visible in this city, blackout had just happened and on the same evening we were told to rewind the clocks to match the time of our neighbors . We around 36 people, all extended family members, were cramped in the back of the army truck and left for Jammu, without my father and without knowing what our future holds and were dumped in dirty army makeshift tents/camps. We as kids didn't even knew what was happening, I had only the time to pick my prized possession Sony Walkman (I had studied hard for that ) and my sister picked her Barbie doll, which our father had got for us from his recent business trip. We were refugees in our own country and in few months, came to know what "summer" actually means, earlier in Kashmir it meant, cozy sun and picnics in the meadows or having lunch with feet dipped in a cold stream of flowing water while my father would wash his car near the stream.

Human memory is short and so is, unfortunately, the memory of our leaders, especially of the current dispensation. Oh yes, my father was released after few weeks, another story, but which cannot be discussed without political slugfest, so better to refrain.

Now comes the second problem - There are no flights available for heading out any more, everything is sold out. Not to any location - Amritsar, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata nothing. We even evaluated leaving by road to Jammu and taking a flight from there but then thought its best to stay put and not travel by road. Backup plan was - if we don't get any flight, we go to Mr Maqsood's place and stay indoors till we get a flight out.

Good you didn't tried to travel by road, the whole section near Ramban was washed off due to flash flooding, you would have been stuck on the road for days, I guess it's still not completely open.

But this is not the first time unwanted things has happened specially in Pahalgam, it has got a long history of kidnappings & killings. Anyway one can read "The meadows" by Adrian Levy & Cathy Scott, where western tourist were taken away and never to be returned.

[FiatDiesel]

Unfortunately I was the recipient of one of the videos of group of people escaping the spot of massacre at Pahalgam. The group had young boy, teenage girl and mother. Boy & girls father , woman”s husband had been shot dead and lady was taking the kids to safety. When they see men in uniform with guns, the young boy was frightened as he had seen his father being shot dead with similar weapon moments ago and his howls of imminent death were deafening the consciousness of anyone seen it or heard it. The situation of woman was even worse, leaving the dead body of her husband behind to ensure kids safety.
While we all can just be sad or vent our anger over the news but killing of people from daily walk of life in front of families in the name of religion will have cascading effect on thoughts of citizens of our country. It worries me as father of teen boy soon to be adult about the world he is about to enter.

[RGK]

There are no words to describe . Time will give you (all) the enough strength to get through this awful situation.

One of my colleague's known friends was celebrating their first wedding anniversary in Pehalgam. He was shot three times, but thanks to God's grace, he is still alive and in the ICU at AIIMS Delhi.

[am1m]

Been to and through Kashmir twice, trips 9 years apart and on a bike. The usual Delhi-Srinagar-Leh-Manali circuit. Other members of my family have done the usual tourist thing in and around Srinagar from the late 90s.

Funny thing was, we felt safer there than normal. There was an Indian Army presence everywhere and the soldiers were obviously happy to see a bike registered from the South Indian states. Even when we had to enter Srinagar in darkness because of curfew, we were guided politely and with warmth by Indian Army soldiers and also by Srinagar locals. Once when we faced a roadblock, we were informed that security forces were engaged in a shootout with militants and had cordoned off the area. Again, never felt unsafe because both soldiers and locals guided us through alternate village roads, avoiding the unsafe areas.

The assumption was always that we would never be allowed inside any unsafe zone and those areas we were allowed into would have been declared safe. (The same with visiting Manipur a decade ago. The situation was obviously not normal, and there was a big Indian Army presence, but we never felt unsafe as tourists.)

Which makes this incident even more tragic.

I for one would certainly visit Kashmir again and hope to do so.

[antz.bin]

Been to Kashmir twice, last time < 2 years back. Once in 2012 on the bike solo when I did the full Ladakh circuit, and again in 2023 by car with family and friends (2 Cars) when I returned via Kashmir instead of Manali.

I remember I had a non-android phone and a dumbphone with FM radio (no postpaid and no network) the first time around. There was a bomb blast a couple of hours before I entered Srinagar but I was blissfully unaware. Undeterred even after I came to know about it because the security arrangements were so tight everywhere. It was the day of the snake boat race in Kerala when I was listening to the news on the radio while chilling with Kahwa on board my houseboat on the Jhelum ghat.

From what I saw in May 2023, the security was even tighter this time around. It was hard to go 200meters in any direction in Srinagar without spotting soldiers with automatic weapons. But these visuals didn't scare me. They helped instill confidence that we are in safe hands. Traffic on Jammu-Srinagar highway was much worse this time around. Vistas had turned gray instead of green and the AQI was also much worse due to all the construction and blasting. But it was still just as beautiful.

I even had my first and only accident on my car till date (in which I am 100% to blame) happen at Lal Chowk, Srinagar. It ended with the driver of the local Alto I bumped into (at <5kmph in reverse) coming to my window and asking if I was alright! Told me not to be scared. Told me nothing happened. And waved me ahead. I was half expecting to be beaten to a pulp and the local just smiled and let me go! Never have I ever seen this happen elsewhere! (actually there was not even a scratch to either car but then do we even need reasons to be vengeful in this country?)

I was annoyed with the traffic but overall happy with the trip. So much so that I was actually planning my next trip too, now that the Vande Bharat to Srinagar was supposed to start last week if not for the landslide in Ramban that caused the delay. It was all good till last week. Why did they have to do this?

The facade of normalcy has been well and truly been broken. If people in the valley can only feel safe if there are boots on the ground and rifles in the hands, then I am afraid, things are not normal. And it is in the hands of the locals, being the gentlemen they have been, to make sure we get to a true normal, not the artificial AFSPA induced normal.

Indian armed forces cannot make the valley normal, only the locals can. And without concrete steps, steps that involve ratting out their radical neighbour/relative/uncle/brother who *went missing*, this can never get back to normal. If the radical local has been ratted to the authorities, they become useless for the people *misguiding the youth*. Without this endless supply of *misguided youth*, the revolution falls flat on the ground.

[Samba]

Good to know you and your family are safe. Thanks for sharing your experience. I can understand what you & your family had to go through.

The videos that surfaced on the news channel & social media are heartbreaking. So many innocent people planned for their vacation, and lost their lives. Those who are alive, this trauma will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

For whatever reason, it's always the innocent people who pay the toll. I feel sad for the local Kashmiris too, who are attached to the tourism sector. They work hard for their families, and with tourism taking a hit, they will also suffer.

I pray that the culprits must not be spared.

[AMG_ang]

Hi All,

I travelled with my spouse and 2 boys of age 5 and 2.
Here was my itinerary
1. 21st April - Arrival in Srinagar from Bangalore
2. 22nd Travel to Sonamarg return to Srinagar
3. 23rd Travel to Pahalgam and stay at hotel
4. 24th Return to Srinagar and Local sightseeing in Srinagar
5. 25th Travel Gulmarg and gondola ride and overnight stay
6. 26th Return to Srinagar and take flight back to Bangalore

We went to all the places except to Pahalgam on 23rd.
Our cab driver as well our tour operator ensured that we felt safe all the time, so was the hospitality from the lovely people of Kashmir.

It is very unfortune of such an incident, may their souls rest in peace.

[AudiFan]

Same story here, we are from Bangalore, my wife and I were scheduled to visit Kashmir on 27th April. Plan was to Visit Amritsar, participate at the event held at Attari border, visit Golden Temple on 26th and fly into Srinagar the next day, spend next 5 days visiting Pehalgam, Gulmarg, and Sonamarg.

I had booked 4 flights, Bangalore-Amritsar, Amritsar-Srinagar, Srinagar-Jammu and Jammu-Bangalore. Hotels at Amritsar and Jammu were also booked, luckily, they were cancellable types.

We were all excited as Kashmir trip was on our wish list for decades now, and it was even more special since Mata Vaishno devi temple visit was on the itinerary.

Wife called me on 22 April around lunch time to draw my attention regarding an attack on tourists at Pehalgam. I immediately realized that our Kashmir trip is in jeopardy, but the then news was that 1 person was killed so there was still hope that it was a stray act of terror, but by night fall it was clear that a major attack has indeed been perpetrated by mad men, and we need to seriously consider cancelling our Kashmir trip.

My travel agent, Mrs Sujatha of Paiyana travels, she is a Kannadiga based in Srinagar for 2 decades now told me to take a call in a day or 2 based on how the situation unfolds.

I called her the next day and told her to cancel my Kashmir leg of the proposed trip, I had paid her about 1/3 of our package cost, and she said it shall be returned in full as cancellations had become a norm by then. She also shared news bits showing tourists still are exploring Kashmir leaving Pahalgam out. But we had made our decision and stuck with it.

Flight Cancellations -
I sent an email to Air India to cancel our Bangalore- Amritsar ticket as I was worried being in Amritsar in case war breaks out at the border. By then union government had issued a notice to airline companies to refund or reschedule flights to and from Jammu and Kashmir till 30 April. Since I had asked for a refund on Bangalore to Amritsar booking, Air India asked me to provide proof of my onward travel from Amritsar to Srinagar. I shared with them my Indigo Airlines booking for the same and the next day they sent me an email accepting my full refund request. Thanks Air India, and TATA.

Similarly, Indigo refunded my ticket cost for Amritsar - Srinagar flight.

Only Air India Express refused stating that since my travel from Srinagar to Jammu falls on 1st May they have to deduct some 40% of the cost as per routine, but they also told me that I can request for full refund as a special case after cancelling the ticket. Since my booking was for 1st May, I decided to hold my booking for few days. I tried again today, 28 April and I was offered a full refund minus convenience fee of Rs 700/-

I have now scheduled Bangalore-Jammu return trip to visit Vaishno devi temple on 2 May 2025. I am trusting and praying that Mother Vaishno devi shall ensure a safe trip.....fingers crossed.

[Utopian]

You took the right call by calling the trip off in the middle of things. It is good that you were able to get the flights as well in time and have reached Mumbai safely. The airlines esp. pulled extra flight from Mumbai and Delhi to account for this increase, but I am sure it would also have been inadequate given the summer rush.

Incidents like this will pull the economy back by a few years at least.

[dailydriver]

One of those occasions that represents the damned if you will, damned if you won't conundrum.

Any self-respecting individual will but end up expressing his anger at the perpetrators, and disappointment at the system that let them wreak havoc on innocent lives. For, the bullets have not just matyred the tourists but also shot through the conscience of the entire nation. The wounds are fresh and therefore the pain pretty obvious. But public memory being short, things move on and tragedies get forgotten.

Justice, in cases such as these, is very often elusive. Let's pray for the departed souls and hope that culprits will be brought to book at the earliest.

swarnava.ch, thanks for penning down your experience. Your guardian angel stood by you when in need.

NomadSk, all I can say is God is with you; redemption will come some day; hopefully soon.

* * *

Here's a first hand account of the tragedy, as narrated by a scarred survivor to Star of Mysore.

(Please click open for better readability)

[PreludeSH]

I have cancelled Kashmir treks twice, one last year and then this year. Somehow, I was never comfortable visiting. Will trek North East more.

New accounts from tourists who visited are coming out and seems really sad and its a trauma I hope they can overcome. People tied to tourism will be affected a lot.