5 Interesting facts about Jammu & Kashmir
5 Interesting facts about Jammu & Kashmir
Interesting facts about Jammu & Kashmir
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Immersed in the beauty of nature, with sprawling, misty hills all around you, pine and deodar trees playing hide and seek with the wind carrying unknown fragrances, lakes that have the color of the bluest eyes, with oarsmen singing hymns in unknown languages, you finally realise there is a paradise on the earth.
You open your eyes, and the surroundings would plunge you into a beautiful reverie, a reverie when snow-capped mountains would shapeshift into beautiful damsels, dancing to the tune of time. And you realise there is a paradise on earth and its name is Kashmir.
11 Interesting facts about Kashmir
Jammu & Kashmir Fact Number 1: Maharaja Hari Singh
Hari Singh, Jammu Kashmir
The last Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir was Maharaja Hari Singh. A member of the Dogra dynasty, Hari Singh’s rein was full of drama. Kashmir was turbulent during those times. Sheikh Abdullah rose as the leader of the masses, and Kashmir almost dipped into anarchy.
A melting pot of cultures, it was the trijunction of three distinct civilizations, the faiths of Hinduism (Profoundly influenced by the tenets of the legendary Shankaracharya), Islam (with strong adherence to Sufi Islam), and Sikhism.
Harisingh, the flamboyant one found it hard to rein in on the protests though he wanted to remain independent. Many wanted to remain with the newly formed nation of Pakistan and some wanted to be independent.
A minority wanted to be with India. Harisingh proclaimed he is an independent ruler. Soon the terrain was overrun by hordes of Pathani mercenaries, finally rescued by the Indian army. So Hari Singh, the last Maharaja left a bloodied history.
Jammu & Kashmir Fact Number 2: Kashmiriyat
Kashmiriyat, Jammu & Kashmir
The common name for the syncretic culture of Jammu and Kashmir is popularly known as the ‘Kashmiriyat’, which is a mixture of ideas taken from Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism. As the state is contiguous to the Afghan lands, it might have formed some links with the legendary silk route. Srinagar, the capital city was founded by Emperor Ashoka, the patron saint of early Buddhism.
The main tapestry of Kashmiriyat is the oneness of all the Kashmiris, that they are one irrespective of creeds. Founded on this social brotherhood, it united generations of Kashmiris under the flag of a united Kashmir.
It derives ideas from Kashmiri Shaivism, Sikhism, Islam (even the Sufi variant), and Buddhism (which still flourishes in the Ladakh region). This syncretic belief actually transcends all the religions to say that all the roads will eventually lead to the same path.
Jammu & Kashmir Fact Number 3: Longest Railway Tunnel in India
Pir Panjal Tunnel, Jammu and Kashmir
Do you know anything? The longest railway tunnel in India is situated in Jammu and Kashmir. It is named as Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel or Banihal railway tunnel. It is 11.215 km long, 8.4 m wide and 7.39 m tall.
This Banihal railway tunnel is India’s longest railway tunnel as well as Asia’s fourth longest railway tunnel. Can you imagine the trains buzzing, whistling, and piercing through the snow-capped mountain domes of Jammu and Kashmir?
You can easily gaze at Shikaras floating on the lakes which are like the eyes of the valley, the bluest eye, with oarsmen singing Kashmir folk songs vivaciously, with swarms of tourists flocking through the gates of this paradise on earth, you can really say you have entered on the paradise on earth. As someone had said, if there is a paradise on earth, it is this.
Jammu & Kashmir Fact Number 4: Four seasons in Jammu and Kashmir
Four Seasons in Jammu and Kashmir
There are mostly four seasons in Jammu and Kashmir- Spring, summer, autumn, and winter. This is the place where the poetry of nature embarks on a voyage to infinity. This is an architectural marvel created by nature.
You can see the earth dressed in all finery, with snowcapped mountains who are the witnesses of the dances of the time. There is some uniqueness in being a Kashmiri as well. The unique Kashmiri dress is known as Pheran, the copper kettles are called Samovar, Kangiri is the name of the earthen fire pots wrapped in woven wicker, etc showcase some of this uniqueness.
The Kashmiri language actually belongs to the Dardic group of languages, which makes it again unique. The Shikaras are some of the other uncommon things found in Kashmir. The traditional handicrafts are exquisite and beautiful as well.
Jammu & Kashmir Fact Number 5: Kalhana The First Historian of India
Kalhana, Rajatarangini, Jammu and Kashmir
Have you heard about the gems of Kashmir like Kalhana? Kalhana wrote a poetry book known as Rajatarangini. He is known as the first history writer in India. He gave a vivid, exquisitely beautiful account of the Kashmir of the 10th century.
Things like these set Jammu and Kashmir apart from the various other regions of India. Shankaracharya had visited the region in the early 8th century and there are numerous stories associated with him.
There are also numerous famous saints in the valley, such as Lalla (popularly known as Lalleshwari), Nund Rishi ( Sheikh Noor Uddin Noorani- a legendary Sufi saint).
In the modern days, poets like Agha Shahid Ali (Acclaimed for his poetry collections such as the country without a post office) had also got much fame and he wrote about the eternal refugee status of being a Kashmiri.
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