Kashmiri Blues

Still elated from last night, I climbed a little farther up the hill away from my hotel. I had my guitar on my shoulder and found a nice stoop to play on. Immediately I had a audience of Kashmiri fellows in their 20’s clapping their hands and stomping their feet. The owner of a tailor and jewelry store hustled me upstairs and started pouring me a free endless cup of chai. His brother, Samir, just opened the shop, hoping for success. The owner had his 2 year old daughter and 5 year hold son whom he had with a French women. They had beautiful big eyes and a truly unique complexion. I played a few tunes and chatted about life here in McLeod Ganj as opposed to Kashmir. They seem to like it here but miss the quiet sometimes. The streets are very narrow on this windy hill-side town so the motorbikes and cars lay on the horn like its their job. I guess its better than getting hit, but god-damn is it annoying.
After the little private concert I went down and and looked in their shops. They had some really nice Kashmiri products and I felt that they would probably give me a good deal. I would wait a little later to get gifts.It seems like all these Kashmiris I meet are somehow related, which means that they all like me and I fell I can somewhat trust them. After coming back from the teachings one day I went up to Samirs shop and chatted for a while. I enjoy learning about their very different life and home in Kashmir as much as they like to work on their English.
Eventually, I told them that I am a cook and would love to cook a Kashmiri dinner with them. He said he is only 17 years old and his mother would be much better suited to teaching me, but his mom is in Kashmir. I told him I didn’t care. WE arranged to meet for dinner the following evening and Uncle Alan came along. Samir and Showkat where gracious hosts and we had a fun time chatting and cooking in their tiny bedroom. Two 17 year olds and a 22 year old shared this room that was no bigger than my bedroom back home. It was poorly insulated and doubled as their living room, kitchen, and dining room. The water doesn’t rise, so they had to run down three flights of stair to fill up their jugs.
The Kashmiris are Muslims and we talked about the conflict between India and Pakistan. It is basically fighting over Kashmir. I figure than many Kashmiris being Muslim would want to be part of Pakistan, a Muslim state. I asked Samir and few others and they said that Pakistanis are radical muslims and terrorists and they did not want to be part of that. After many cups of chai and being invited into their home I felt comfortable enough telling them I am Jewish. They simply said we are all the same and have the same God. Samir and Showkat where very interested in life in ‘England’ (no matter how many time I said US all white people are English). They where very intrigued about our dating rituals and where especially astonished when I told them that many couples live together before marrying. They told us about arranged marriages and the elabvorate weddings put on by the whole family. I was surprised to find out that after the parents introduce the two kids they have an engagement that lasts for 6 months to 2-or 3 years. It works similar to us except their engagement lasts a lot longer so the couple has time to get to know each other.
The food we cooked was extremely simple. We chopped up onions and potatoes very small. Saute in pressure cooker. Add tumeric, cayenne, cumin, salt, masala, and water and pressure cook till done. Add on top of rice. It came out tasty and spicy. We also had a chop salad of tomato, cucumber, and radish. Following the boys example I ate with my hands. It was a messy experience as a shoveled soupy rice into my mouth, but I felt more comfortable eating like them. The food was not elaborate but it held its immense value in the experience of seeing what life is like for Kashmiri Immigrants who are just trying to make some rupees and flee their conflict torn homeland. Many of the Kashmiri’s can be dishonest and try pawn of fake or lesser quality goods onto unsuspecting tourists but at least I found some good ones.