I promised my parents not to travel to Kashmir when I was in India. I would have to have broken that promise to see the wedding of my good friend Asif’s sister. Thankfully Scott Lyons made the mistake to travel all that way to be terrified. I met Scott this summer in Mcleod Ganj, and have kept a close friendship with him via email. He keeps me in touch with my second home, and allows me to realise that my time there in 2002 was very generic. Read his email about his time at the wedding….
“The wedding was really cool. Srinigar was not. 2 days under house arrest on a houseboat. Army and police everywhere with guns threatening the 144 law (shoot at will if you see someone on the street who looks to be “a threat”.) after the separatist leaders called for a peaceful demonstration (with rocks as backup) All this in a functional democracy. The food the music the people of Kashmir were all really interesting and new. Asif kind of blew me off but he was also VERY busy. Got some good (but badly taken) photos. I have an eye, just no skill or camera. Have a digital sound recorder and captured some interesting Sufi music and other stuff like the bahhing of a sheep just as it was about to have it’s throat slit, organs drained and cleaned, body sliced and diced for my meals for the net 5 days. Anyhoo, got a flight the hell out of there this PM. Could have gone to Jammu but wanted out of Kashmir, period.”
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