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| The Mughal Road |
Around the time
we were in Srinagar two artists from Gwalior also happened to be there. Both of them were reputed artists. One of
them, who used to be a friend of my brother, decided to visit Shopian,
probably, to take in the Pir Panjaals from closer quarters. We all decided to
go in a group.
Shopian is a
small town, now a district headquarters, situated south-west of Srinagar only
50-odd kilometres away. It is supposed to be an ancient town and was better
known for its location on the old imperial road known as the Mughal Road
connecting Kashmir Valley with Lahore. Emperor Akbar used it to conquer Kashmir
in late 16th Century and his son Jehangir died on this road near
Rajouri while returning from Kashmir. The road is being rebuilt by
India as an
alternative route to the Valley via Poonch in Jammu & Kashmir crossing over
the Pir Panjaals at an elevation of higher than the Banihal Pass that is at
more than 11000 ft. It will drastically cut the distance between Srinagar and
Poonch, two towns in the same state but currently separated by as many as
500-odd kilometres.
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| The Pir Panjaal range |
We were in
Shopian in about an hour and a half passing through the saffron town of Pampore
and the ancient crumbling settlement of Awantipora. The town is in one of the
numerous ‘apple countries’ of Kashmir Valley. Nothing much to see except a
good-looking Jama Masjid, we headed out of town towards the West in an elevated
area where the local government had built a rest house. Shopian is around 2000
ft higher than Srinagar in elevation and gets a closer and unrestricted view of
Pir Panjaals. The view al around was incredibly beautiful, Being a clear day,
the visibility was very good and one could see the orchards in “apple country”
with occasional poplars attempting to reach for the sky. In fact, it was the
superb views that made our day.
The Pir Panjaal
range was shining bright in the sunshine with the blue of the skies for the
background making it look majestic. Our artist friend, Rudra Hanji, got to work
immediately. A product of
Kala Bhavan, Institution of Fine Arts, an institution
built in Shantiniketan, West Bangal by Nobel Laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore, it
was interesting to watch him sketching away with his felt pen. I found it
amazing to see him work on ordinary paper and within moments he had sketched
the likeness of the landscape in front of him with light, deft strokes of the
pen. Apparently it was rough work for him to be later finished with colour on
canvas. He worked feverishly taking in
whatever he saw in almost all the directions. The natural beauty of Kashmir is,
after all, fabled.
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| Artist Nicholas Roerich's version of the Pir Panjaals |
A beautiful town
with picturesque surroundings, Shopian, unfortunately, later fell victim of
intense terrorist attacks from across the Cease Fire Line. Infiltration from
across the Pir Panjaals has been continuing and off and on, apart from members
of the security forces, even locals have fallen victims of terrorist bullets.
The place seems to have become unsafe. But, back in 1957 there was no
militancy, no infiltration from across the borders and life was safe, peace
reigning supreme.
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All photos are from the Internet
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