Gulmarg Diary, August 14-18, on John ki Jaan

Gulmarg has a “Fisherman’s Recreation Park,” which is basically a man-made pond (about 50 feet by 30 feet) stocked with brown and rainbow trout. Because they’re fed by the park caretaker, the trout are plump and large, not one under 10 inches in length.

The objective was to catch fish for lunch. (What could be better than grilled trout?) We were expecting about 24 people for lunch, and six of us went fishing. Each person could catch up to four fish under the “permit” issued by the guy in the booth at the park entrance. (One permit cost a staggering Rs. 2 [5 cents] per person.)

The word problem is quite simple: six people, four fish each—that’s 24 fish, one for each person at the lunch! If only the fish could do math!

According to legend or at least according to what we were told, we would have no problem catching enough fish, and we could accomplish this feat in no time. The fish are rumored to literally jump on your hook; they were so plentiful you could scoop them from the pond with a net.

Gone Fishing

But we had only two fishing poles—a regular rod-and-reel and a fly rod. (The park had only one rod for rent, which we happily took.) Undaunted by the task ahead, we proceeded to cast line after line after line into the water.

Three hours later, we succeeded in landing only seven fish. (We could’ve had ten, but three jumped off the hook; they must have sensed their fate as fryers.) We attributed this poor result to having started to late in the morning. We had planned to start by 9:30 but didn’t actually begin until at least 10, by which time it was possibly too warm for the fish to feast.

Another part of the problem could’ve been an overly polluted pond. Aside from various branches and other detritus, we pulled the sole of a sandal (see the picture on the right) and several polythene bags from the water. (Catching the plastic bags was most puzzling because Gulmarg is a polythene free zone; i.e., the shops can’t distribute plastic bags for goods people to carry their purchased goods.)

Catching "Sole"

Following lunch, we hung out in the hut with everyone, playing numerous rounds of Uno. I don’t think many of us could’ve have done much more because we were drinking some incredibly potent bloody Maries before lunch. (The entire bottle of vodka had gone into the pitcher, along with lots of green chilies and some Tabasco sauce for an added kick.)


Catch of the Day: Grilled Trout	Mixing Bloody Maries	Tasting Bloody Maries

The night passed quickly with more drinks and another dinner at the hut. By this time, I was suffering from mild sunburn on my nose and neck, despite wearing a hat and using sunscreen. Perhaps the weather gods were aware of this because they sent a bitterly cold night to chill my overheated face.

In Srinagar that night, the temperature dropped to 7º C (46º F). So if it was that cold 2,000 feet below us, the temperature in the mountains must’ve been close to 2º C (about 35º F). Even with the space heater cranked up and the 40 pounds of blankets and quilts, we still froze. (Yes, I moved to India for the warmth and found myself suffering the cold. Where’s the justice in that?)

(On the positive side, the Delhi winter will be very much like the weather in Gulmarg—warm, sunny days in the low 70s and chilly, crisp nights in the mid-40s. Still not my ideal, but far better the hellacious winters in the northeastern US.)

Sunset over Gulmarg: The Beginning of a Chilly Night

Our final day in Gulmarg was our uncle’s birthday, so we spent most of the day partying. Before lunch, we took a short walk up the hill behind our hotel to the local Catholic church, St. Mary’s, which was 120 years old.

On the inside, the church was plainly decorated, except for three gorgeous stained-glass windows behind the altar showing the Virgin Mary, the Archangel Michael, and the Archangel Gabriel. Oddly, the faces of Mary and Gabriel had been knocked out and replaced with yellow panes on which someone had crudely drawn faces.

(What I suspect is during an anti-Missionary period, some Muslims had knocked out the faces on the windows because Islam prohibits the depiction of human figures. The original panes, except for Gabriel, must have been damaged beyond repair, so the parishioners of the church restored the broken faces as best they could.)

Repaired Virgin Mary