Abdul Khaliq starts his day early by rowing his decorated Shikara (boat) through rough waters of Dal Lake to reach Ghatt (Jetty) No 9, his Shikara’s designated stand in Srinagar’s Boulevard. After parking his Shikara, he waits for his colleagues to show up.
One after another his colleagues Shikaras emerge in the distance lighting Khaliq’s sprits. They spend their day at the Jetty stand recalling pre-August 5, days when they would hardly get time to meet.
“Now we sit together entire day and chat as there is no work,” said Khaliq. “What else can we do?”
Khaliq and others are joined by Razaq Ahmad, an elderly Shikara man who now works as a book-keeper for Shikara owners associated with Jetty No 9. There are 24 Shikaras registered at this Jetty stand. “For the first forty days we stayed at home,” said Razak. “Then we came out to kill time and meet each other.”
Razaq maintains a register where he notes down the names of all Shikara owners against the amount each one of them has earned on a daily basis. Since the last fifty days, the register is blank as there has been no work.
“We have a different system of work here. When a tourist comes to hire a Shikara, he hires it through me,” said Razaq looking hopefully at the blank register.
Denne historien er fra September 29 - October 05, 2019-utgaven av Kashmir Life.
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Denne historien er fra September 29 - October 05, 2019-utgaven av Kashmir Life.
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Before The Kabul Retreat
Described as the ‘Graveyard of Empires’, Afghanistan was always termed to be at peace when it was at war. But the land-locked desert country that was always in turmoil and one of the worst targets of the Great Game suffered immensely throughout, especially in the last 40 years, Masood Hussain writes
FINGERS CROSSED
Almost everybody in academia and politics that Khalid Bashir Gura spoke to, the response over Kabul happens was simple – wait and watch
Parliamentary Committee In Srinagar
The visiting 28-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs have had detailed interactions with top civil administration and discussed developmental scenario and people’s welfare measures in Jammu and Kashmir. It is on a 4-day visit. Congress leader and MP Anand Sharma is heading the committee.
MUSIC IN MUD HOUSE
Deep into north Kashmir, Faheem Mir meet a small community that sings and lives on folk music but is facing a tense situation in the last few years
THE KABUL SPILLOVER?
Security experts are divided over the possible impact of the Kabul situation on Kashmir. But the dramatic Taliban triumph has altered the region’s geopolitics, for the time being, writes Riyaz Wani
Durga Bhawan At Katra
To enhancing facilities for the convenience of the Vaishno Devi pilgrims, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha laid the foundation for the Durga Bhawan, a high utility pilgrim-centric facility worth Rs 24.4 crore. The facility will accommodate 4000 pilgrims.
Women Empowerment
In the first, 480 talented girls from Jammu and Kashmir were included in the degree and diploma courses of the Pragati Scholarship. Jammu and Kashmir has also got nine scholarships under the Saksham Scheme for Persons with Disabilities.
‘SOME HISTORIANS BELIEVE THAT AFGHANISTAN CONFLICT IS THE OUTCOME OF INDIA AND PAKISTAN KASHMIR STAND-OFF'
Foreign policy expert and editor of HardNews magazine, Sanjay Kapoor believes that Taliban 2.0 has more legitimacy unlike in the past as it had signed a deal with the US and negotiated with other countries of the region, but the final verdict can be passed only after it manages ticklish issues involving half of its population, the women
Boredom Is Creative?
Getting bored is not as boring as it gets, writes Azra Hussain
LG In Bangus
Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha inaugurated the Bungus Awaam Mela amidst grand arrangements for village games, exhilarating local performances, and other activities to celebrate the 75th year of Independence.
