THE VALLEY OF WOES

A booming tourism season had already been felled by Pahalgam. Now Kashmir presents a microcosm of the utter disruption caused to ordinary life at wartime

- By Kaleem Geelani

THE 'GARDEN OF EDEN' was in full bloom just the other day, a million wonder-struck eyes taking in its late spring beauty. But first Pahalgam broke over the landscape like an unannounced typhoon, taking the life out of Kashmir's verdant valleys, shimmering waters and bustling streets. Now intimations of war, after Operation Sindoor, have taken the Union territory back to being a frontline crackling with fire.

BACK TO THE EDGE

Things were dire even in the tense days leading up to India's strikes. "Almost 90 per cent of bookings were cancelled," says Suhail Dar, who runs the travel agency Kashmir Travel Advisor.