As the year turned into 24, my two reliable weather-mans Navdeep and Shubham had already started talking about the lack of snow in the hills. I started probing more to understand if I was going to get my money's worth or no. Hours of research on accuweather and JKSki apps and inputs of the weatherman's suggested that my trip was not going to witness any fresh snow. I cajoled myself hoping that the last month's snow would be enough. Then the news articles and media coverage showing pictures of a dry and distraught Gulmarg started emerging. That is when I broke the news to the husband and asked him to take the call on cancellation . Being the baniya that he is, he was not going to let any money go waste on cancellations, so we decided to go ahead.
We landed in sunny conditions crossing the snowcapped mountains and hoped for the clouds to open their heart out to us. We layered up well as we started moving up the mountains to reach Tangmarg. The hill side from where one needed snow chained vehicles was now seeing regular sedans also climbing it. We reached Gulmarg with the sun shining bright , blue skies looking down at us. The wind was chilled and it was super cold but no sign of snow.
The Dhabas in the market were empty. The prevalent snow on the slopes was turning to ice and was slippery. There was neither the lush green that one sees in the Summers nor the powdery white that is seen in Winters. There was a light brown shade all around. The locals were hungry for tourists and snow because one led to another and vice versa. There was some snow as we went up the Gulmarg Gandola. Both the phases had some amount of snow but nothing that satiated the hunger of a tourist seeking falling snow. A maximum of 1 feet of snow at some places where one pretended to ski or sledge for the instagram reels.
But the views from the top of Pir Panjal! WOW! The Chinar and pine trees that dot the landscape. A topography I have never seen. The valley is beautiful beyond words. I assume that with snow across Gulmarg the hill town has another charm. But even without snow, the valley outclassed all sights I had ever seen. The might of the hills, the serenity of the valley and the calmness of the cottages, I fell in love with Gulmarg. It might not have been the preferred colors of green or white. I fell in love with the brown Gulmarg also.
The city needs tourists as 90% of its revenue comes from tourism. One can only enjoy the charm and warmth of the city and its people once you go there. The grandeur and the majesticity of Gulmarg can only be enjoyed with your own eyes! No photos can do any justice!
A queen without its crown is still a queen!
Gulmarg without its white is still the Snow Queen of Kashmir!
