Srinagar, the 15th, January, 2022
Everyday, I was jostled, disconcerted, dazzles and above all, overwhelmed with moments of intense joy.
I felt my body and my soul in the here and now, tasted all the experiences with no real vigilance.
I discovered the power of the cultural encounter.
Of what some people call shock
I receive it like an adrenaline rush,
a leap into another reality, with their own truths.
Far from me the idea of judging, I made a clean sweep of my beliefs, my thoughts.
With a light hear, I let myself be carried away by this culture that never ceased to amaze me.
Welcome to Kashmir.
Pahalgam, the 26th of jan.
At the foot of the mountain, I went to Pahalgam.
A white coat that contrasts with the colors worn by the inhabitants, but also with the houses and the monuments.
Over negative temperatures, I had to hang on to not getting demotivated and face the cold.
I spent a night in a hotel without heater, warmed only with a big blanket, shivering trying not to shake.
I was exhausted, cold, but I came back with a big "wow" from this crazy trip.
The history of this territory is not well known, yet it is the banner of what can be called occupation, of all these power games between different nations, which have control over an entire population, prohibited from rebellion, under penalty to be deprived of their most basic rights, on a continent where corruption reigns.
India has been denying what it has been doing in Kashmir for years, people here are arrested without cause or notice and can be locked up without proof of wrongdoing.
Everything is done to silence them, to let nothing happen, the simple fact of criticizing or asking questions is a ticket to prison.
Everything is done to silence them, to let nothing happen, the simple fact of criticizing or asking questions is a ticket to prison.
Gulmarg, 1st of feb.
2 weeks. I've been here for 2 weeks now.
In this region called Kashmir, a region with a rich but above all rather sad history.
A territory that would like to get emancipated from its persecutors.
What will be left of me from this trip ?
What do we keep when we find oneself this way, in a place so far from one's culture ?
In this city that without common measure, people stare at me, observe me, and sometimes also smile at me.
A city where in the parks, couples are forbidden,
Questions come to mind.
How people enjoy life over here ?
It seems to me that it's not the same relationship to time, overall here people work all the time. Maybe a little less on Friday because it's a blessed day, a day for prayers, a day to get rid of sins or shortcomings.
Everything is related to religion, everything is seen through the prism of Islam, except perhaps business, which has its own codes, which all the world share at all times.
How people enjoy life over here ?
It seems to me that it's not the same relationship to time, overall here people work all the time. Maybe a little less on Friday because it's a blessed day, a day for prayers, a day to get rid of sins or shortcomings.
Everything is related to religion, everything is seen through the prism of Islam, except perhaps business, which has its own codes, which all the world share at all times.
I don't want to give the impression of having grasped everything that is playing here,
after all, after only 2 weeks, what could I have understood.
Especially when discussions escape me, since I don't speak the local language, Kashmiri.
after all, after only 2 weeks, what could I have understood.
Especially when discussions escape me, since I don't speak the local language, Kashmiri.
I can only observe, to be a spectator like a tourist in front of buildings. I am passive and I feel like I am going through what is happening to me. I am not limited only by words, I got the feminine gender and for that, I have less rights, freedom.
People are busy and I am here, roaming the streets, on damaged roads, in private parks where, as in the West, people run and work out to be fit.
At home, in a restaurant or in a café, I discover dishes that are delicious. Whether sweet or savory, the flavors are an explosion of novelty, I keep savoring it and asking for more.
I thought..
Kashmir rhymes with smiling,
like all those who have been shared with me
Kashmir rhymes with offering
like all the hospitality shown to me
And finally
Kashmir rhymes with deepening,
this culture and this little-known area, which made me shudder and transported,
in which I feasted, with the nun chai and the roti for breakfast,
Kashmir rhymes with deepening,
this culture and this little-known area, which made me shudder and transported,
in which I feasted, with the nun chai and the roti for breakfast,
At the heart of the mountains I marveled, so white in winter and so abundant in summer
Kashmir, you marked my spirit forever.
Overall, It is as much good as bad and I see this experience as the overcoming of some of my limits and too, the place for the emergence of new clarifications, on me and on the whole world.
Thank you Kashmir for revealing yourself despite your very complicated story.
Thanks for watching.
