[manolin]

Originally Posted by kunalsb

Some additional photos spiced with local flavour


The Corner office
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oh oh oh! Safari ad lovers - swoon over that!

Beautiful!

A part of poor cellphone connectivity in J & K in comparision with the rest of the country seems to be due to govt.'s worry about security and hence consequential system which doesn't allow anything other than post paid to work in a lot of places (or is pre-paid available for locals?)(I am just shooting of mouth, would love to understand otherwise why private cellphone companies don't want to tap this market.)

[kunalsb]

Originally Posted by manolin

oh oh oh! Safari ad lovers - swoon over that!

Beautiful!

A part of poor cellphone connectivity in J & K in comparision with the rest of the country seems to be due to govt.'s worry about security and hence consequential system which doesn't allow anything other than post paid to work in a lot of places (or is pre-paid available for locals?)(I am just shooting of mouth, would love to understand otherwise why private cellphone companies don't want to tap this market.)

1. You are right about the Govt policy on post paid connections. However locals can get prepaid connections. Even you can get a prepaid connection after showing the requisite documents. National roaming from rest of India is available for post paid connections only.
2. I agree with you regarding the security issue. But when I used to search for network on my mobile, I used to get networks of atleast 3-4 Pakistani operators. I feel its wiser to block their network rather than reduce our coverage.

[vina]

Originally Posted by kunalsb

1. Yes, it was a very good experience. The cables on the trees are signal cables, for joining our internal telephones (the old magneto ones, rotate the crank to speak).
2. Summers are quite hot (up to 34C)& water is scarce (springs being the only source of water).
3. Regarding electricity, we need to have low cost renewable energy projects (micro hydel generators, solar panels etc.) as there is no dearth of natural resources here.

How is the safety in off track areas? most agencies take the tried and tested route and one agency we inquired with at that time wanted to take us to Amarnath on our honeymoon (what can I say? bad agency) !

[Fauji]

Thanks Kunal for brilliant pics. These places and experiences can be had by faujis only. Unfortunately, faujis are bad chroniclers of their experiences though we do go through them. I am happy to see these pics and narrations. Keep going boy!!

[kunalsb]

Originally Posted by vina

How is the safety in off track areas? most agencies take the tried and tested route and one agency we inquired with at that time wanted to take us to Amarnath on our honeymoon (what can I say? bad agency) !

1. I'll suggest that you stick to the beaten track as going on the off track can draw the attention of the security forces.
2. There are many good travel agencies that offer wonderful Kashmir packages. I suggest that you go with them as they offer safety as well.

[IQBAL VEERJI]

Originally Posted by kunalsb

During the course of my postings, I got an opportunity to serve in Jammu & Kashmir. I was located at a tiny village located on the fringes of Reasi & Rajouri. Clean air to breathe, witnessing nature in its full bounty every day, one cannot ask for more.

The only problem is that this place is inaccessible throughout the year. There is no rd connectivity & the nearest road will require you to lug for 6-7 hours through mountains. Very few people live here and are still living in a primitive era. There is no electricity, no medical facilities, and no schools but surprisingly, of late, these peoples have started using mobile phones (an example how mobile phones have ingressed into our lives). Their main occupation is agriculture (Maize cultivation) and barter system is still very prevalent. A family (consists of 7-8children on an average) can sustain itself on as low as Rs.1000/- a month. I got a shock of my life when I met an old lady who did not know what a bicycle is!

Slowly the wheels of development are churning and there are plans to provide road connectivity to these villages. There is not much to write about this place so I put my pen to rest & have included best shots I could muster.

How little do we realize that the roads that we casually tread on can lighten up the lives of many such people?

Snow abound- My home for 30 months
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Cricket crazy In the picture below, we used to play cricket on the flat patch of ground next to the lone tree. Minus four runs & a penalty of Rs.50/- was awarded for every six hit, as the ball used to be lost forever!

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Lone tree
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Shades of the sun
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Food for thought Glancing through the photos, one can appreciate the beauty of this place. There are numerous such places in Jammu & Kashmir which, according to me, can even give Switzerland a run for money. Unfortunately the current political situation has made these places inaccessible to the common man. Let’s just hope that there comes a day soon when peace will return and the pristine beauty of these places is available for all to enjoy.

Wild flowers
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Boss, around the year 1966 our whole family had gone to kashmir by road in our mark2 Amby from Mahim our old home.
My dad drove single handedly throughout , I was in 6th standard that time ,12 yrs old boy.
We went by Nashik, indore, gwalior,shivpuri,agra,delhi route.
My dad had a close friend in mumbai whose father was a retired person staying all alone in a small house on jammu pehelgam road , I am not sure,
The name of the village is MUTTAN. if any one is aware of this village plss tell more about this village as of now.
He had his own small mechnism operated by flow of a small water stream near his home for grinding wheat, etc .

[vina]

Originally Posted by kunalsb

1. I'll suggest that you stick to the beaten track as going on the off track can draw the attention of the security forces.
2. There are many good travel agencies that offer wonderful Kashmir packages. I suggest that you go with them as they offer safety as well.

Thanks Kunal

by the way, I thought in a dangerous are, attention of security forces was a good thing. But I guess it is not just them who will be paying attention.

[sachinj12]

'A picture speaks a thousand words' couldn't be any truer than this. Mind boggling pictures. Mesmerizing would be an understatement.

What's the camera gear?

[kunalsb]

Originally Posted by IQBAL VEERJI

Boss, around the year 1966 our whole family had gone to kashmir by road in our mark2 Amby from Mahim our old home.
My dad drove single handedly throughout , I was in 6th standard that time ,12 yrs old boy.
We went by Nashik, indore, gwalior,shivpuri,agra,delhi route.
My dad had a close friend in mumbai whose father was a retired person staying all alone in a small house on jammu pehelgam road , I am not sure,
The name of the village is MUTTAN. if any one is aware of this village plss tell more about this village as of now.
He had his own small mechnism operated by flow of a small water stream near his home for grinding wheat, etc .

That's really some trip! Can you be more specific as to the location of the village? Are you sure about the name? Also let me know if you crossed Ramban?
Many houses have water operated mills for grinding maize.

Originally Posted by sachinj12

'A picture speaks a thousand words' couldn't be any truer than this. Mind boggling pictures. Mesmerizing would be an understatement.

What's the camera gear?

Thanks. We had an old & faithful Kodak Easyshare. Sorry, I do not recall the model no.

[IQBAL VEERJI]

Originally Posted by kunalsb

That's really some trip! Can you be more specific as to the location of the village? Are you sure about the name? Also let me know if you crossed Ramban?
Many houses have water operated mills for grinding maize.

Location ? All I can remember is told by me, now that was good 45 yrs ago. Even Jawahar Tunnel was newly built that time.

In fact I wanted to share I more experience , that the lone uncle whose house it was had sealed up all windows and back doors with mud for the winter snow fall. and he himself used to come down to Jammu or to his son in mumbai for the winter time and go back again in summer.

Yes dear I know a place Ramban, now I will tell you something unique about Ramban , When you are travelling on Jammu -Srinagar highway this place also comes.
Unique thing is when you are entering this village the atmospheric temperature imediately rises very steeply and you are perspiring, and immediately when you leave this village while driving within 8 to 10 mins the steep fall in temerature is there and you need sweaters again as it is chilly again.

There is another village I remember it is KUD. & another village by name BATOTE. Regards.....

[addyhemmige]

Wow!!! Awesome pictures sir. Kashmir is truly 'Heaven-on-earth'. Please share some more insight on life in the mountains. It all sounds so lovely despite the obvious hardships you face

[amitwlele]

Salute to you and the fellow officers. Staying in the remote place for 30 months. My guess is, it would require more mental toughness than physical ability to sustain in this environment.

Keep the snaps coming. Especially liked the onset of monsoons snaps and loved the corner office

[Dragonov]

Fantastic photos, rekindled my childhood memories. Kashmir as they say is truly a paradise on earth. Like you said it has untapped potential when it comes to tourism etc. I still remember the times when most movies were shot in Kashmir valley and no one even knew about other hill stations in India. But then that was the golden time!

Regarding the signal strength of the Pakistan networks over ours is I think due to strategically located towers and maybe also due to better broadcasting technology. Anyhow those are just my thoughts.

Thanks for sharing.

[VindyWheels]

Kunalji, we are lucky to have you in tbhp. Thank you for the rare, wonderful snaps of the remote village. I and (many here would've) have visited the usual places in the kashmir tourist map, but only someone like you can share picutres like these. Hope you will keep posting more snaps, especially of the people, their animals and the fields.

Rgds
VW

[Fordmanchau]

Hi Kunal,
Thanks for sharing pics of such a beautiful treasure with us. The pics are mindblowing to say the atleast. Have always read about the trecherous conditions that you guys have to survive in for defending our boundaries, but I know you guys take it as it comes and enjoy the adversity thrown on you. Salute to all you men in the forces.

And this place is freaking awesome. I see a X mark in the first pic of the first post, is it for chopper landing ?
Share some more photos with us. The flower pic is a delight to watch.