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Kashmir -
Srinagar
Set like a jewelled crown
on the map of India, Kashmir is a many faceteddiamond, changing character
with the seasons - always extravagantly beautiful.Three Himalayan ranges,
Karakoram, Zanaskar and Pir Panjal - snow capped,majestic, frame the landscape
from northwest to northeast. They are the birthplace of great rivers which
flow through the kashmir valley.
RajTaringini the chronology
of the Kashmir Kings written by Kalhana eulogises the beauty of Kashmir
as follows:"Kasmira Parvati Paroksh; Tat Swami ch Maheswara". Meaning Kashmir
is as beautiful as Goddess Parvati manifest; and its owner is Lord Shiva
Himself" And the Mughal Emperor exclaimed "Gar Bar-ru-e-Zamin Ast ; Hamin
Ast ,Hamin Ast Hamin Asto. Meaning if there is paradise on this earth :
This is it, this is it, this is it.
All Photographs by Mr. Rajiv
Gupta --Creators Architects--
Srinagar is at once a
collection of images: a son-et- lumiere that tells the story of the love
of the Mughal emperors for this paradise vale; deep green rice fields and
river bridges of gardens in bloom and lakes rimmed by houseboats; at once
summer capital of the state,business centre and holiday resort. |
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Srinagar is as much imagination
as it is fact,for every season offers new vistas to this city of great
antiquity. Spring breathes life again into a frozen world and the air is
heady with the fragrance of a million flowers that blossom on trees, shrubs
and creepers.Summer heightens the effect and autumn is poignant in its
colours of warm introspection. Winter brings with it snow,sometimes the
Dal Lake freezes and beneath a leaden sky, roasted chestnuts turn the atmosphere
aromatic with the promise of warmth and comfort. |
The river Jhelum and the
Dal and Nagin lakes dominate Srinagar and its life and activities.Here
lush
wild gardens of lotus and waterlily flower amidst bustling lanes.By the
lakeside spread the gardens of the Mughals in patterned beauty.And the
people move with a tranquillity borne of a history laden pulse of activity.
IF legends are to be believed,
the Kashmir valley was once a lake as large as a sea and here lived
an abominable demon who was killed after most
of the lake had been
drained with the collective help of Brahma's grandson, Kashap and
the goddess Parvati.She wasfinally stilled the demon by dropping
upon him a mountain and thereby crushing him to death.This legendary
mountain is no other than Hari Parbat, Srinagar's 'Takht-i- Sulaiman'
hill that forms the famous
backdrop to the city. |