Sometime in October last year, we held the second Kathua round. To give you a little context, this was two weeks after the abrogation of Article 370, and J & K was in a state of partial lockdown. Businesses were in trouble, the internet had been shut down and we were being warned constantly about the timing of the event. We managed to keep the school on board though, and figured that Kathua is the first district across the border from Punjab and things would not be so bad.
The night we were supposed to go to Kathua, I was chilling with Adit Pujari who is one of the members of the original Behes team (2014-17) and one of my best friends. I told him to get his camera and come along and within 40 minutes, he'd packed his bags and we were on our way. Nabhaneel joined us at the bus stand.
Considering the political situation in the state, we managed quite a decent round (close to 110 people) and were about to close. I turned and said to Adit, 'I'm so close to Srinagar and can't go'. The city is one of my very favorite places. I'd been thinking of returning there for months and in the midst of a packed season, just wasn't able to. The first ever time I went to Srinagar was trying to find a Behes host school in the city. Every school laughed me off and asked me why I had come there and this was a place that schools can't even complete their syllabus because political unrest forces them to close for different time periods almost every year.
On my second visit, I managed to get an orientation followed by a meeting at a school in the city center. In my orientations, I sometimes do a bit recounting the biblical story of David and Goliath and how David beat Goliath with JUST ONE STONE. I received a standing ovation mid-speech and took a couple of minutes to get over the euphoria and realize what part of my speech had evinced the reaction. I was mighty uncomfortable.
Two years after that, I was much more aware of the complicated situation in Kashmir and the number of stakeholders involved. I also understood the anguish of the Kashmiri people and the Pandits much better. We were back in J & K, I had been dreaming of the Dal Lake, and I was winding up the closing ceremony at the Kathua round. A gentleman who was a guest of the principal was standing a little to the side of the podium and waiting patiently. After a swarm of kids with queries, selfie and autograph requests (like why) and handshakes, it was all done and dusted. The gentleman appeared in front of me and introduced himself as 'one of the new faces' of Kashmir. He gave me a card that established him as a promoter for a resort in Patni top but he had a lot of experience working in media in the state. He was very happy that we had come to Kathua and I told him what I tell everyone. That we'll even go to the moon if there can be a round there.
This enthusiastic gentleman told me that the place where Behes was needed most was the valley - and that I should go there and meet Aamir bhai (name changed) who's an activist working to engage the youth in various programs to begin to bring peace to the valley. I was hooked immediately. I was told to go to Srinagar and see him, and I was hooked immediately. A simple search on our partner travel portal told me that i could fly from Jammu to Srinagar for the ridiculous sum of Rs. 750. It seemed nobody wanted to go to Srinagar at the moment. BIG surprise. I booked by ticket while drinking the customary cup of tea with the Principal using the WiFi in her office. No internet otherwise, remember?
The team rented a phatphat to take us the 60-odd kilometres to Jammu and got down for a meal of Nadru Yakhni (lotus steems in Yakhni gravy), Rista and Gostaba. Just a pro tip - these three dishes are what you need to try when you're in Jammu. Another great vegetarian option is Kalari Kulcha. But I digress. Post meal, I bid adieu to the team who were catching a bus to Delhi from there and went to catch some sleep at my favorite aunt's place who, luckily, lives in that great town.