Kashmir:
Poetry of Nature
Set
like a jewelled crown on the map of India,
Kashmir is a many-faceted diamond, changing
its character with the seasons always
extravagantly beautiful. Three Himalayan
ranges - Karakoram, Zanskar and Pir
Panjal - snow-capped, majestic, frame
the landscape from northwest to northeast.
They are the birthplace of great rivers
which flow down into the valleys below,
forested with wild orchards and lily laden
lakes.
It is not enough to
say that Kashmir is beautiful. Kashmir has
captured within its territories the
quintessence of all the elements that poetry
demands of nature. Awesome grandeur,
serenity, a wild profusion of color. The
Mughals, who celebrated beauty, planted
their symmetrical gardens and added a
further dimension to the valleys of Kashmir.
They also left behind a heritage of
exquisite artisanship among the people,
making the handicrafts of the land prized
gifts the world over.
Srinagar |
Kashmir's Resorts |
Amarnath Cave |
 Kashmir's
Resorts
Rightly called the
'meadow of flowers',
Gulmarg 51 km south
west of Srinagar and
2,653 meters above
sea level, is famed
for its 18 hole golf
course: the highest
in the world. A
beautiful
saucer-shaped valley
girdled with
poplars, trails lead
out of here in
several directions
and are popular with
those enjoying
pony-rides. >>>
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 Gardens
and Parks in Kashmir
Srinagar
is justly famed for
its Mughal Gardens,
vast acres of
hillsides, terraced
with waterbodies and
rimmed with
flowering shrubs and
trees, laid in
formal quadrangles
by the Mughal
emperors whose love
for the valley is
legendary. >>>
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 Places
of Tourist Interest
in Kashmir
Dal
Lake: Srinagar's
chief distinction is
the great body of
water, the Dal Lake,
which forms its
focal point. The Dal
has, within its
area, two enormous
sheet-like expanses
of water - Lokutdal
and Boddal, the rest
of its surface being
broken up
alternatively by
man-made strips of
land inhabited by
whole colonies of
people and
vegetation. >>>
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 Kashmir:
Poetry of Nature
It
is not enough to say
that Kashmir is
beautiful. Kashmir has
captured within its
territories the
quintessence of all
the elements that
poetry demands of
nature. Awesome
grandeur, serenity, a
wild profusion of
color. >>>
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 Handicrafts
Famed
worldwide, the
handicrafts of Jammu
and Kashmmir are
executed with love
and care, and are
reflective of the
interpretation of an
aesthetic idiom. >>>
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 Places
of Worship
The
sacred valley,
called Rishi wari
till now, abounds in
sacred places,
Tirthas and Asthans.
Long ago at the dawn
of civilisation when
the sons of Rishi
Kashyapa from plains
came to settle here
they brought with
them their
traditions,
religion, mythology
etc. >>>
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 Jammu
Scarping
the low-lying
foothills of the
Himalayas, the
overall impression
of Jammu is one of
large stone
mansions, handsome
buildings, and the
remains of an old
fort that stands
sentinel over the
Tawi gorge. While
modern plate-fronted
shops line the roads
today, there is
also, in the older
houses, a feeling of
timelessness, a
tranquility acquired
from the passing of
an age. >>>
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 Ladakh:
The Land of Rock
Ladakh
- the land of many
passes, of freezing
high barren
landscapes lying
across the lofty
Asian tableland - is
among the highest of
the world's
inhabited plateaus.
Remote yet never
isolated, this trans
Himalayan land is a
repository of a
myriad cultural and
religious influences
from mainland India,
Tibet and Central
Asia. >>>
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 Adventure
Sports in Kashmir
Climbing
sheer ice-walls and
vertical granite
slabs, trekking the
beautiful forest
trails to glaciers
and mountain lakes,
angling in swift
flowing trout
streams, golfing on
some of the highest
courses in the
world, rafting down
rapids and narrow
gorges, hang-gliding
and hot air
ballooning, skiing
down some of the
finest slopes and
ski-mountaineering
across range upon
range of mountains
are among some of
the exciting sports
Kashmir has to
offer. >>>
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 Glimpses:
A Cultural Heritage
An ancient repository of the arts, the culture of Jammu & Kashmir is closely
linked with the lifestyles of its people. In the aesthetic environment of their
homesteads, all items of daily use and all furnishings are created with the help
of cottage industry crafts, mostly within the house itself. The beautiful
carpets, the carved walnut furniture, the delicately embroidered shawls, papier
mache objets d' art, silver and gold jewellery and the beautiful samawar are all
expressive of the art the people of the region bring to their daily lives. >>>
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 Maps
Maps
of various regions in
Jammu and Kashmir. >>>
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 Major
Ethnic Groups
The
various ethnic groups
of the Jammu and
Kashmir State though
intermingled have
their areas of high
concentration. For
example, Kashmiris are
mainly concentrated in
the Valley bottom;
Dards occupy the
valley of Gurez;
Hanjis are confined to
water bodies of
Kashmir; Gujjars and
Bakarwals are living
and oscillating in the
Kandi areas; Dogras
occupy the outskirts
of the Punjab plain,
while Chibhalis and
Paharis live between
Chenab and Jhelum
rivers. >>>
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 Srinagar
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. It
lies 900 kms north of
Delhi. >>>
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 Srinagar
and its Environs
Nature
has heaved Kashmir
from the bed of the
ocean and has made
it Her home. She has
bloomed here in all
Her aspects. The
variegated beauties
of flora and fauna,
the grandeur of
snow-capped and
forest clad
mountains, the
rushing silvery
torrents and sober
meandering rivulets,
have created souls
of genius, saints,
philosophers, poets,
grammarians, adept
artisans and
craftsmen who have
depicted Nature on
their manufactured
goods. >>>
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Geography
of Jammu &
Kashmir State
Geologists
believe that
about ten crore
years have
passed when
Kashmir Valley
which was once a
lake called
Satisar, the
lake of goddess
Sati, came into
its present
form. >>>
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 A
Picture Gallery
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Acknowledgments
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