Srinagar

“ As the first heavy drops of rain fell, they swept under the trees that almost covered one of the outer avenues of Srinagar, in the growing darkness. Lightning flashes dazzled them, while a peal of thunder brought a quick response from the apprehensive Miss Rand. ”

“ After Karuvirpur fell, the Rajas of Chandpur paid tribute to Almora; but, while Lakshmi Chandra held the latter government, Mahipat Sa, Raja of Garhawal, at the persuasion of a religious man, who promised success, declared p. 299himself independent. This person built Srinagar, and made it the capital of his dominions, on which account his descendants are usually known to Europeans as Rajas of Srinagar. This chief was succeeded by his son Syam Sa, who died without male issue, and was succeeded by Futeh Sa, his uncle’s son. ”

“ The capital of the country, Srinagar (City of the Sun) , or, to call it by the name which is given to it here after the country, Kachmyr, is situated on the shore of the Djeloum, along which it stretches out toward the south to a distance of five kilometres and is not more than two kilometres in breadth.
Its two-story houses, inhabited by a population of 100,000 inhabitants, are built of wood and border both river banks. Everybody lives on the river, the shores of which are united by ten bridges. ”

“ I left the Panjab railroad system at Rawul Pindi, bought my camp equipage, and travelled through the grand ravines which lead to Kashmir or the Jhelum Valley by hill-cart, on horseback, and by house-boat, reaching Srinagar at the end of April, when the velvet lawns were at their greenest, and the foliage was at its freshest, and the deodar-skirted mountains which enclose this fairest gem of the Himalayas still wore their winter mantle of unsullied snow. ”

“ One of them, indeed, declares that "the air is exceedingly dry, notwithstanding the immense amount of water in the valley and the frequent showers of rain."
Srinagar—as the city known for four centuries as Kashmir was anciently and is again named under Hindú rule—is a little disappointing in the material employed for most of its structures. Stone is not wanting, but the deodar timber is more abundant, being floated down cheaply from the mountains, where it forms immense forests, the carefully preserved hunting-ground of the Mogul emperors. ”

“ Pahlgam stands some 2000 feet above Srinagar, and although it is not supposed to be bracing, yet to us, jaded votaries of fashion in stuffy Srinagar, the fresh, clear, pine-scented air was purely delightful, and a couple of days saw us “like kidlings blythe and merry”—that is to say, as much so as a couple of sedate middle-aged people could reasonably be expected to appear. The camping-ground is in a wood of blue pines, which, extending from the steeper uplands, covers much of the leveller valley, and abuts with woody promontories on the flowery strath which borders the river. ”

“ Srínagar (34.5 N., 74.5 E.) , the summer capital of the Mahárája of Kashmír, is beautifully situated on both banks of the river Jhelam at a level of 5250 feet above the sea. To the north are the Hariparvat or Hill of Vishnu with a rampart built by Akbar and the beautiful Dal lake. Every visitor must be rowed up its still waters to the Násím Bágh, a grove of plane (chenâr) trees, laid out originally in the reign of the same Emperor. Between the lake and the town is the Munshí Bágh, in and near which are the houses of Europeans including the Residency. ”

“ There was something fantastic, it seemed to Edith, in the thought of any one's taking a vacation from India in America, even in quaint Quebec. And Monsey did not appear to her to be a business man. Of course he might merely be cultivating her to gain the good will of powerful Arthur Rand——
"In Srinagar," his low voice went on, "you will grant me the happiness of the dance that kismet has denied me here?"
"Yes, of course."
"Ah, you will not forget? Kashmir is the garden of India: Srinagar is the jewel of Kashmir." ”

“ And what is true of Srinagar is more than true of all the smaller towns. They are ruinous in the extreme.
"In the country hundreds of acres of land are mere swamp, or almost unused pasture ground that might smile {79} with corn. Everywhere the fruits are degenerating, because the people don't care to cultivate that of which they obtain so little; and an old Kashmiri told me that he could recollect the day when there were eighteen different kinds of grapes, but now most of them have died out, and there are only four or five kinds to be had in the whole valley.... ”

“ The principal rug-producing centres of Northern India at present are Srinagar, Amritsar, Lahore, Multan, Allahabad, Agra, Mirzapur, Sindh, Jubbulpur, and Jaipur.
Srinagar.—From the extreme northern part of India come the rugs of Kashmir, which are often named after the capital of the province, Srinagar, the “City of the Sun.” To a large extent, they resemble the far more famous shawls that were woven in the central valley, where winds the Jhelum, that some believe first suggested the pear design. ”

“ Passing through into the open country, we found ourselves on a good road—good, that is to say, for riding or marching, as no roads in Kashmir are adapted for wheeled traffic excepting the main artery from Baramula to Srinagar, and the greater portion of the route from Srinagar to Gulmarg. This road we followed up a gradually narrowing valley, and over a brawling little river, until at Kralpura the Gilgit road begins the steep ascent to the Tragbal by a series of wide zigzags up the face of a mountain. ”

“ The administrative headquarters are at the village of Pauri, but Srinagar is the largest place. This is an important mart, as is also Kotdwara, the terminus of a branch of the Oudh and Rohilkhand railway from Najibabad. ”

“ Wednesday, September 27.—We left Srinagar yesterday, very sorry indeed to part from the many good friends we have made and left there. Truly Kashmir is a hospitable country, and we have met with more kind friendliness in the last six months than we could have believed possible, coming as we did, strangers and pilgrims into a strange land. Our consolation is that every one comes “Home” sooner or later, so that we can look forward to meeting most of our friends again ere very long, and recalling with them memories of this happy summer with those who have done so much to make it so. ”

“ And why did the caravan hasten so—flitting among the defiles of the silent mountains?
All at once she felt very lonely, very much disturbed. It was a misty evening, but the sun did not flame on the rolling clouds as at Srinagar. She had the fleeting illusion of having stood on the mountain slope before. ”

“ The place of the Kashmir shawl has to some extent been taken by the Kashmir carpet, but the most thriving industry now is that of silk-weaving. Srinagar is also celebrated for its silver-work, papier mâché and wood-carving. The minerals and metals of the Jammu district are promising, and a company has been formed to work them. Coal of fair quality has been found, but the difficulties of transport interfere with its working. ”

“ It would be as well to start from England not later than the middle of March, as the Red Sea and the Sind Desert begin to warm up uncomfortably in spring. Srinagar would then be reached fairly early in April, and the visitor should arrange, if possible, to remain in the country until the middle of October. We had to leave just as the gorgeous autumn colouring was beginning to blaze in the woods, and the first duck were wheeling over the Wular Lake.
The climate of Kashmir is fairly similar to that of many parts of Southern Europe. There is a good deal of snow in the valley in winter. ”

“ And running up into them, high-very high, are the valleys and hills where we shall camp. Tomorrow we shall row through Srinagar, by the old Maharaja’s palace.”
V
And so began a life of sheer enchantment. We knew no one. The visitors in Kashmir change nearly every season, and no one cared-no one asked anything of us, and as for our shipmates, a willing affectionate service was their gift, and no more. Looking back, I know in what a wonder-world I was privileged to live. Vanna could talk with them all. ”

“ These heights look down on one side into the beautiful valley of the Sind River, and on another into the valley of the Lidar, which join the Jhelum. Among the hills north of Srinagar rises one conspicuous mountain mass, 16,903 ft. in height, from which on its north side descend tributaries of the Kishenganga, and on the south the Wangat River, which flows into the Sind. By these rivers and their numerous affluents the whole valley of Kashmir is watered abundantly. ”

“ HINDU TEMPLE, SRINAGAR.
The first thing I learnt here was that, if I wanted breakfast at 8.30, it must be ordered for 6 o'clock, which lesson saved me a vast amount of trouble and impatience in doing all other business in Srinagar. My second lesson learnt was to believe nobody, however sincere they might appear to be, for these vendors are for ever plotting and scheming against one another for the sake of gaining the merest trifle, and many of them, who are seemingly bosom friends, are in reality the most unscrupulous enemies, and vice versâ. ”

“ By-and-by a fort-crowned hill rose above the tree-tops. This we took to be Hari Parbat, the ancient citadel of Srinagar, and presently, through the poplars and the willows queer wooden huts or châlets began to appear, and the increasing number of men and beasts upon the road showed the proximity of the city.
Ekkas, white-hooded, with jingling bells hung round the scraggy necks of their lean ponies; brown men clad in sort of night-shirts composed of mud-coloured rags ”

“ The married women invariably wore whity-brown veils over the head. The wooden houses that lined the banks were all in the general low scheme of colour, but a peculiar charm was added by the roofs covered in thick, green turf.
Srinagar has been called the “Venice of the East,” and, inasmuch as waterways form the main thoroughfares in both, there is a certain resemblance. Shikaras (the Kashmiri canoes) are first-cousins to gondolas—rather poor relations perhaps; both are dingy and clumsy in appearance, and both are managed with an extraordinary dexterity by their navigators. ”

“ The tops of the far-off, snow-covered mountains were caressed by the last rays of the setting sun, when we glided between the wooden houses of Srinagar, which closely line both banks of the river. Life seems to cease here at sunset ”

“ The former is still fain to depend largely on Bernier, the Frenchman who visited Kashmir two centuries ago in the train of the Mogul emperor Aurengzebe. Bernier kept his eyes open, and left not only a good account of the manners and life of the Great Mogul and his court, but a fair itinerary. His description of Srinagar and its vicinity still holds good, and modern books point us to the pass of the Pir Panjal so disastrous to the imperial ladies. The foremost of fifteen elephants, each carrying four women, took fright in a narrow part of the so-called road and backed the rest over a precipice. ”

“ I knew they must be shawl weavers from their pinched faces, and so did the soldiers stationed at the top of the Pir Panjal to prevent people escaping into India, and the guard would have stopped them, but that they had no coolies to give me instead of them to carry my loads. [2] ... Of course, this oppression gives the whole country a look of poverty. No one can help being struck as he enters Srinagar by the dilapidated look of the place.... There is no respectable quarter, not a single good street; scarcely even a single respectable bazaar, considering the size of the place. ”

“ At the town of Gilgit we have a reproduction in little of the valley of Srinagar. Its level is somewhat lower, and, though farther north by two degrees, it ripens such southern fruits as the pomegranate, etc. Its attractions will not, however, have full sway so long as the peace of the region remains precarious. The last attack from Yaghistán was signally repulsed in 1866. The practice of going armed is still general, and travellers need an escort. ”

“ The Big River Seven great wooden bridges crossed the wide river that wound through the Valley. And the old, old city of Srinagar was spread along its banks. For hundreds of years people had walked across these bridges, or driven their wagons over them. For hundreds of years river boats of all sorts had been passing under them.
Rickety wooden houses clung to the river bank. The water lapped against their basements. Grass and red poppies grew out of their mouldy earth-covered roofs. Narrow little streets found their crooked way between the houses, down to the river's edge. ”

“ A coating of tar laid with a trowel over the exposed parts of the body will be found the best protection, especially as the new Armour Company’s patent hermetically sealed bear-proof visor will be found too hot for comfort in summer.”
“The environs of Srinagar are charming. Notice the picturesque ‘furnished apartments’ for paying guests all along the water-side, and the mixed bathing establishments, crowded daily by the Smart Set, whose jewelled pyjamas flash in rivalry of the heliographic oil-tins which deck the neighbouring temples.” ”

“ And, utterly routed on every point, Jane gives in gracefully, and makes an excellent breakfast as prearranged by Sabz Ali!
The news is spread that there will be an exhibition of pictures held in Srinagar in September. Every second person is a—more or less—heaven-born artist out here, so there promises to be no lack of exhibits. I dreamed a dream last night, and in my dream I was walking along the bund and came upon an elderly gentleman laying Naples yellow on a canvas with a trowel. ”