Srinagar Days

On countless occasions I have wanted to be inspired
Twirled a pencil
Doodled on paper
Stared at the laptop
and just when I wanted to send a "wassup?" sms I could not stop myself
Inspired in the parking lot... on a mobile
There I was reliving my stay in Srinagar!

An ivy covered bungalow
icicles of its roof.
Mulberries, cherries, apples, apricots, almonds, pears
and many other fruits,
French windows with a panoramic view.
A bed of strawberries,
A slope covered with wild lilies.
Pebbled backyard,
Lush green front lawns with brick boundaries.
A turquoise swing
and wanting puppies.
Magnificent Chinar tree,
generously lent its golden leaves to the entry.
Glass room with bukhari,
Overlooking the Pehelgam, Gulmarg pahadi.
View of Shankracharya from the driveway,
A kilometer from the gate which kept the militancy away.
A ninety degree drop over which I saddled over soldiers bikes
much to their agony.
Sworn to never cross the sacrosanct boundary
Sneaked a glance at boat houses on Jhelum
and its vicinity.
Frisked in school as a part of security, daily
The favorite friend’s secret corner- a pipe
along which grew bichu butti.
Two daily needs markets,
the owners of which one knew personally.
Our only associate from the Valley,
a Kashmiri shawl vendor Nur-u-din.
A small town cantt theatre
with a smaller gentry.
Huffed and puffed paddling,
triple knit handmade woolens,
A troop of soldiers to make our lives easy.
A neighborhood where we knew everybody,
A gardener's family held to ransom
to cause destruction to army premises
A life where entertainment was sans devices

Some stray thoughts on a random day
Of childhood memories, in Srinagar
the year I turned eight.