Mithra

For Roja’s surprise, everyone was ready and inside the tempo traveller before 9.00 AM. Today, they had planned to visit Gulmarg. Roja sat in her usual window seat and she was glad that no one sat next to her. She quietly gazed outside the window and watched Srinagar, which was slowly coming to life. Zayed got a phone call while he was driving and he spoke briefly before disconnecting it. ‘We are not going to Gulmarg. Today we are going to Pahalgam,’ he announced. ‘Why? What happened?’ enquired Karna. ‘The road to Gulmarg is blocked. So let us go to Pahalgam,’ he replied. He chose not to elaborate further and they did not persuade him either. The reason could be anything ranging from bad weather to security threat. Roja had seen pictures of Pahalgam and she had heard from Zayed too that the place was lovely. So the change of plans did not upset her rather it raised her excitement. On the way to Pahalgam, there were army soldiers stationed all along the way. In fact in some place...

  ‘Yes amma, I ate lunch. Actually we ate a sumptuous Kashmiri Wazwan. And the Tabak Maaz was simply out of the world. It is a dish made from lamb ribs and I simply fell in love with it. The food was aromatically flavoured and subtle on spices but the taste was really good.’ ‘So you are enjoying Kashmir,’ said her mother with a smile. ‘Yes, indeed,’ said Roja after a moment of hesitation. ‘Anyway take care and be safe.’ ‘You too amma. Do tell Dad that I had called and I will speak to him later,’ she said and disconnected the call. Quickly she washed her face and hands in hot water and changed into her track pants and T-shirt. Her thermal wear was now like another layer of skin over her body and she did not dare change it. By the time the boat ride ended, the sun was covered by the clouds and the temperature had begun to drop. Zayed was absolutely right, they would not have enjoyed the boat ride in that cold weather. Later they went to a restaurant and got their first tast...

  Roja had been pacing in the front yard for the past i5 minutes. They were already late by an hour to leave for sightseeing. The driver Zayed had punctually arrived two hours ago. But the group was taking its own sweet time to get ready. This was also one of the reasons why Roja preferred to travel alone. She took a few pictures of the house interiors on her camera to pass time. Finally, after another 10 minutes, everybody trooped into the tempo traveler. Zayed suggested that they could look around Srinagar for the day because it was too late to go anywhere else. The next day they could visit Gulmarg but only if they left the house by sharp 9 AM. Karna sat next to Roja and Agnivesh sat diagonally behind her. Deep inside he longed for that one moment when she would, even accidentally, look back at him. It was bright sunny day and the Dal lake looked beautiful. The time was around 1:30 PM and Vasu suggested that they could have lunch and then go for boat ride. But Zayed insisted the...

  Hesitantly, Roja opened the door and entered the room with the fireplace. The floor was covered with carpets and over them were electric blankets and pillows. There were a few more woollen blankets to wrap around. The whole room was warm and cosy. ‘Welcome back, Roja,’ said Preetham smiling at her. 'Hi Preetham,' said Roja waving at him. In the next few minutes, she exchanged pleasantries with his wife Sushma, Vasa's wife Jennifer and Nakul. Except Nakul, the rest of them already knew Roja from the past. Nakul was a recent addition to Agnivesh's gang but even he was aware that Roja and Agnivesh had broken up four years ago. Jennifer made Roja sit next to her and they both shared a blanket to wrap. ‘Thank you, Jenni. This feels so good,’ she said pulling the blanket closer. ‘No problem, Roja. By the way, have you come alone?’ she asked with disbelief colouring her tone. ‘Yes. I wanted to go on a solo trip.’ ‘Solo trip to Srinagar! Wow! My parents would ha...

There was a minute of complete silence except the fire crackling. Roja slowly let out the breath that she had been holding. Without even looking around, she could feel that all eyes were on her. ‘I need a hot shower,’ she blurted and quickly stepped out of the room. She focused on her breathing to keep the conflicting thoughts out of her mind. Wahib and his wife followed her. ‘Your room is on the first floor, right next to the bookshelves,’ said Wahib pointing towards it. ‘Thank you.’ Roja slid her arms into the handles of her backpack and managed to carry her trolley bag up to the room. The room was minimally furnished with a double cot, dressing table, two chairs and a small room heater. The bathroom was equipped with a geyser and a bathtub but the bathtub did not look like it had been used often. The first thing that Roja noticed as she entered the room was the cold. She turned on the small room heater and kept her feet and hands in front of it. She deliberately avoided thin...

Roja was relieved when the result of her COVID test was negative. Although she had no symptoms and always took the necessary precautions while travelling, she was still nervous about the test. Now, she was officially free to roam Srinagar and it was indeed exciting. A car had been arranged for the duration of her stay by the owners of the homestay. The driver had already called her and informed that he would be waiting for her in the parking lot. Prepaid SIM from other states do not work in Srinagar. Only post-paid SIM cards and prepaid sim cards locally bought in Srinagar function in this beautiful city. Luckily, Roja had a post-paid SIM card, thanks to her father. He had strictly advised her to always have a post-paid connection. As she walked out of the Sheikh-ul-Alam Airport, she called the driver. Within a couple of minutes, a fair, clean-shaven handsome man appeared before her. ‘Namaste madamji, I am the driver that Wahib saab sent’, he said with a smile. ‘Namaste bhaiya. W...

  "Travel is never a matter of money, but of courage." - Paulo Coelho It was this quote which ultimately pushed Roja to book her flight tickets. After spending nearly, a year at home, she was desperate for a change. Working from home had kept her sane and driven her crazy in equal measures. COVID-19 had still not left the country but people began moving around. Still most of them made the travel only if they had no choice, otherwise they preferred not to take chances. This trip was necessary for her but for people around, it was utter foolishness. Well, they were not completely wrong in thinking so. She had decided to travel to Srinagar in the last week of December. Now what can possibly be so bad about visiting Srinagar in December? It might snow a little and it will be cold. So what? She could pack warm clothes to protect herself. The term “cold" could be relative. In absolute terms, the temperature could drop to -7°C. If a person was not well-protected, it could c...