Saif Arash Photography

Monday, August 3, 2015

Views from Cities and towns in Jammu and Kashmir (India)

View from Srinagar, Kashmir

View from Pahalgam, Kashmir

View from Srinagar, Kashmir

View from Tangmarg, Kashmir

View from Kashmir

Srinagar is the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It lies in the Kashmir Valley, on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. The city is famous for its gardens, lakes and houseboats. It is also known for traditional Kashmiri handicrafts and dried fruits.

Srinagar is one of several places that have been called the "Venice of the East" or the "Kashmiri Venice" Lakes around the city include Dal Lake – noted for its houseboats – and Nigeen Lake. Apart from Dal lake and Nigeen lake city is also famous for wular lake and manasbal lake to the north of srinagar. Wular lake is one of the largest fresh water lakes in Asia.

Srinagar has some gardens; Pari Mahal , Nishat Bagh , Shalimar Bagh and Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Botanical Garden. The Indian government has included these gardens under "Mughal Gardens of Jammu and Kashmir" in the tentative list for sites to be included in world Heritage sites.

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Jhelum River and Zero Bridge (wooden structure) - Srinagar, Kashmir

Jehlam River or Jhelum River - flows from Verinag, 80-km south of Srinagar ( Kashmir ) , to the Wular Lake in the north. Passing through Srinagar it's a wide, swift flowing, muddy looking river. The river draws water from the lakes around the city and many canals and rivers meander through the city area.

Jhelum River - that flows in India and Pakistan. It is the largest and most western of the five rivers of Punjab, and passes through Jhelum District . It is a tributary of the Chenab River ( forms in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh, India, and flows through the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir into the plains of the Punjab, Pakistan ) and has a total length of about 725 kilometres.

The Jhelum is famed for its nine old bridges although some of them are being replaced by more modern structures. The 'Zero Bridge' is an old wooden arch bridge located in the Srinagar city. It crosses the Jhelum river in a roughly North-South direction connecting Sonwar in the north to Rajbagh in the South. Originally constructed in the late 1950s under Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, the bridge was closed for vehicular traffic in the late 1980s owing to the weakening of its wooden structure. Popular reference holds that the bridge was originally named 'Zorr' bridge after the deaf contractor who built it. ('Zorr' in the Kashmiri language means 'deaf'). However, officially it is said to have been named Zero Bridge.

Friday, July 31, 2015

Basmati and Mustard fields - Jammu and Kashmir (India)

Jammu & Kashmir State is predominantly an agrarian economy with about 80% of its population engaged in agriculture and allied sectors. The state of Jammu and Kashmir is mainly comprises of three geographical regions, namely Jammu region, Kashmir region and Ladakh region lying north of the Indian Union comprise the extreme western part of the Himalayas. In Jammu region, the cultivation of rice extends from Jammu plains with an elevation of 200 m to the mid and high hills extending upto 2300 m altitude. In Kashmir valley the cultivation of rice extends from the area having altitude 1600m above the mean sea level to high hills 2300 m above msl. In Ladakh there is no cultivation of rice. Rice is grown only once in a year because of extreme climatic conditions.

Cultivation of rice requires hot and moist climate. It is a Kharief crop and is sown in March-April and harvested in Autumn. Sufficient water must cover the fields. It is grown mostly in the valley of Kashmir at 2100 metres above sea level.

Mustard, linseed, sesamum, toria, cottonseed are the chief varieties of oil-seeds. They require hot and moist climate. They are grown all over Kshmir province but the chief oil seed producing areas are Anantnag and Srinagar.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Jawahar Tunnel ( Banihal Tunnel ) - Jammu and Kashmir

Jawahar Tunnel or Banihal Tunnel has been operational since 22 December 1956. The length of tunnel is 2.85 km , its elevation is 2,194 m and it has one lane road in either direction. It is situated between Banihal and Qazigund on NH 1A . The tunnel facilitates round-the-year road connectivity from Srinagar to Jammu. After renovations, the tunnel now has a two-way ventilation system, pollution & temperature sensors, lighting system and with emergency phones for any assistance from Border Roads Organization.

Bakarwal ( Bakharwal ) - Jammu and Kashmir

Bakarwal ( Bakharwal ) is a nomadic tribe based in the Pir Panjal and Himalayan mountains of South Asia. They are mainly goatherds and shepherds. Bakarwals are spread throughout the northern part of the Himalayan Range. Bakarwals lead a lonely and tough life in the high-altitude meadows of the Himalayas and the Pir-Panjal. Every year, they take their sheep high into the mountains, above the tree-line to graze in the lush meadows. It may take them as many as sixty days to reach these meadows. During the summer, they move from one meadow to the other. They are accompanied by their dogs.