Shruti Vyas from Srinagar
The election fever is looming large in Srinagar. Politics is being discussed everywhere. The residents of the city are more busy talking and speculating about which candidate is the best than sharing their grievances. The market of rumours is hot. Every minute a new thing, a new speculation is coming out. The air is also hot. This time in September, the valley is surprisingly and unusually hot. People are anticipating the results. There is curiosity and excitement. People are enthusiastic about participating in the elections. The election atmosphere is as it is these days – there is less noise and it is difficult to guess in whose favour the mood is.
Every corner of the valley is colourful and beautiful. The atmosphere is attractive and captivating. For example, on the afternoon of 22 September, the National Conference held a Shikara rally on Dal Lake. Usually, a large number of tourists gather in and around Dal Lake. But today, there was election activity and related pomp and show. In Srinagar, there are no flags and posters on autorickshaws, but they are on the Shikaras floating in Dal Lake.
At 11 am, people participating in the rally and reporting on it had gathered at Ghat No. 7 of Dal Lake. The red flag of the National Conference was fluttering on the red, white and blue Shikaras and party members, workers, supporters and media persons were riding on them. It was clear that today the Shikaras’ journey was going to be different.
Omar Abdullah, accompanied by Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehndi, the flamboyant face of the National Conference in Delhi, his childhood friend Shammi Oberoi, his two sons Zameer and Zaheer, the party’s candidate from Zadimal Tanveer Sadiq and others, is on a Shikara named ‘Heaven in Lake’. The sky blue Shikara is indeed equipped with all the amenities as per its name. There are two wooden chairs and a table decorated with plastic flowers. There is a picnic basket containing Davidoff coffee and other knick-knacks. It seems that wherever Omar Abdullah goes, coffee accompanies him. It is said that his first task during this entire election campaign is to prepare a cup of strong coffee for himself. Blue Tokai is his first choice. He starts his election campaign by enjoying its smell and taste. It may be his superstition, he considers it lucky or it may be a pretense.
Anyway, Omar Abdullah started his Shikara rally with a cup of hot coffee. After that, he enjoyed the Shikara ride. He came to the front of the Shikara, waved the NC flag, gave the media personnel a chance to take pictures, he laughed, he talked and had light discussions. He enjoyed the ride and so did the media. Behind his Shikara were other Shikaras with NC flags fluttering and music playing. From Ghat 7 to Char Chinar, the Shikaras went through the muddy and deep waters of Dal Lake.
The sun was shining high in the sky and the route was dotted with houseboats, coffee shakes and small ice cream shops. As my shikara, manned by media persons and men, approached the ‘Haven in Lake’, I asked Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi what the NC’s top priority would be in the first 100 days if it came to power after winning the elections. The answer was “The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly will pass a resolution against the Centre’s decision to revoke Article 370”. Meanwhile, media persons were encouraging Omar Abdullah to jump into the Dal Lake and swim like his father Dr Farooq Abdullah did in 2001.
But the situation has changed, neither the Dal is as clean as before nor Kashmir is as clean as before, its timeless beauty has deteriorated due to increasing business activities. But the politicians are the same as before. Third generation leader Omar Abdullah is walking with the fourth generation of the family, but his thinking is stuck in the past. He is raising the issue of the hollowed out Article 370 while the people are troubled by inflation and unemployment. I heard this complaint from men and women everywhere in Kashmir. But Omar and his party are entangled in the things of the past. When my Shikara separated from the rest of the convoy and turned south and started moving back towards Ghat 7, then I saw another line of Shikaras in which Engineer Rashid was being promoted. There was discussion of another narrative with loud music.
The question is, after nearly three decades of violence and dirty politics, what does the future look like amid the removal of Article 370 and the appearance of peace?
When I was getting down from the Shikara and Dal Lake was shining in the yellow light of the sun, a thought came to my mind that is it possible to predict the future now? Not now. It does not seem that this period of election enthusiasm and excitement will welcome a new future, then it does not seem that the old times will return either. (Copy: Amrish Hardenia)