Nightlife in Kashmir

I went for a walk today evening. The markets in Srinagar are all closed. Delhi seems further away than ever before. Right next door to Delhi, Haryana was the first to replace a multiple tax regime with the VAT regime two years. Kashmir was supposed to have got their first taste of VAT today – April 1. Instead what they got is another day of traders protesting VAT. And the icing on the cake – the strike is now indefinite. While I can spend a little time thinking about how long traders will be able to hold out … I can’t help but feel a little disappointed that I might not get to see a Kashmiri market at all. I managed to buy a razor at a store – and then I found a bakery where I saw irresistable macaroons. Anyway, I have managed to spend a lot of money on junk food – including a plum cake :)

I got out of the hotel a little after 7.00 … the streets here were already deserted. I put it down to the fact that all the markets were closed. I discovered later that everybody here is indoors by the time it gets dark. And Srinagar is a best case scenario … according to a good friend here as you head into the interiors the time that people head indoors is even earlier – six in some parts. And it gets worse there. The security forces don’t take kindly to people wandering around …

In Srinagar, there is absolutely nothing to do after around nine. It’s almost as if life and the sun go hand in hand. Compare that will Delhi.

Originally published on ] t h i n k [ (tootb.blogspot.com); recovered from the Wayback Machine.