Kashmir-Adventure Travel Destination

According to the Nilamata Purana the Kashmir Valley's origin is from the waters. Ka means "water" and Shimir means "to desiccate". Thus, Kashmir stands for "a land desiccated from water", or vale. The Nilamata Purana gives the name Kaashmira to the Valley considering it to be an embodiment of Uma and it is the Kaashmir that the world knows today. But the Kaashmiris call it Kashir, which has also been derived phonetically from Kaashmir according to Aurel Stein who wrote introduction to Rajatarangini.

In the Rajatarangini, a history of Kashmir has been written by Kalhana in the 12th century. It is stated in Rajatarangini that the valley of Kaashmir was formerly a lake Satisar and was drained by the great rishi or sage, Kashyapa, son of Marichi, son of Brahma, by cutting the gap in the hills at Baramulla (Varaha-mula). Cashmere is a variant spelling of Kaashmir. Kashmir today is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. In the 19th century it was just a valley lying between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today Kashmir includes the Indian-administered state of Jammu and Kashmir consisting of the Kashmir valley, Jammu and Ladakh, the Pakistani-administered provinces of the Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir, and the Chinese-administered region of Aksai Chin.

But for India, Kashmir is a disputed territory. During the first half of the millennium Kashmir was an important center of Hinduism. Later it became a center of Buddhism. In the nineteenth century Shaivism rose in the region. In 1349, Shah Mirza became the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir and inaugurated the line Salatin-i-Kashmir. For the next five centuries Kashmir was rules by Muslim monarchs, including the Mughals, who ruled until 1751, and the Afghan Durranis, who ruled until 1820. In 1820 the Sikhs under rule of Ranjit Singh, attacked Kashmir.

In 1846, under the treaty of Amritsar the region was purchased by the Dogra Ruler Gulab Singh from the British. Since then Kashmir was ruled by Dogra rulers under the rule of the British Crown. But his lasted until 1947, when the former princely state became a disputed territory. As told before the whole of Kashmir is now administered by three countries: India, Pakistan, and the People's Republic of China.

The above was a brief history of Kashmir. Now we precede to some information about Kashmir region of Jammu and Kashmir state of India. Kashmir region can be divided into 11 regions that are Kashmir Valley region, Anantnag District, Kulgam District, Pulwama District, Shopian District, Budgam District, Srinagar District, Ganderbal District, Bandipora District, Baramulla District and Kupwara District. According to 2001 census the population of Kashmir was more than 4 million out of which 95% were muslims and only 4% were hindus.

Kashmiri cuisine includes dum aloo, tzaman (a solid cottage cheese), rogan josh (lamb cooked in heavy spices), zaam dod (curd), yakhayn (lamb cooked in curd with mild spices), hakh (a spinach-like leaf), rista-gushtava (minced meat balls in tomato and curd curry) and the signature rice which is particular to Asian cultures. The traditional wazwan feast involves cooking meat or vegetables, usually mutton, in several different ways. Alcohol and Beef normally not widely consumed here. There are two styles of making tea in the region one is nun chai, or salt tea, which is pink in color and popular with locals and the other is kahwah, a tea for festive occasions, made with saffron and spices.

Kashmir has an agriculture based economy with the staple crop of the valley being rice. In addition, Indian corn, wheat, barley and oats were also grown. Given its temperate climate, it is suited for crops like asparagus, artichoke, seakale, broad beans, scarletrunners, beetroot, cauliflower and cabbage. Fruit trees are common in the valley, and the cultivated orchards yield pears, apples, peaches, and cherries. The chief trees are deodar, firs and pines, chenar or plane, maple, birch and walnut, apple, cherry.

Kashmir was earlier known world-wide when Cashmere wool was exported to other regions and nations. These exports have decreased a lot due to decreased abundance of the cashmere goat and increased competition from China. But now Kashmir is well known for Pashmina shawls, silk carpets, rugs, kurtas, and pottery. Saffron too is grown in Kashmir and fruits and vegetables are also exported to the Middle East. Srinagar is known for its silver-work, papier mache, wood-carving, and the weaving of silk.

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