A Snow for Peace

The winter of 2003 sprang its first major snowfall in the picturesque vale of Kashmir today on Feb 17. The shows, a welcome respite from a protract dry spell clung fast onto the dells, so wide. This was in all probability the most awaited of the downpours and albeit it came late, people loved every bit of it. Lovely flakes of snow in their varied shaped danced all the way from the heavens & made their drop all over the beautiful landscape of Kashmir. It snowed almost incessantly & beautifully across the silent mountains, rafted roofs, forlorn pastures and the parched souls of Kashmir. One almost stood enchanted for a while in this incredible confetti of white. I cannot but marvel at the confusing maze of willow branches & wires in the bylanes hugged by barbecues of snow.

The orchards & sods present a most exquisite sight as almost every thing is painted a thick white. Although shivering cold , the spunks are high, one can warm by .

In these extra-ordinary times when everything eludes the Kashmiris, at least the good 'ol snows don't fail them. However in a place where nothing can get right at a given time, a major electricity cut has begun since the clouds opened up & I jot my musings in pitch darkness by my the slender flame of my candle, listening to BBC London on a lone transistor, talking war mongering , courtesy America.
All this while it snows silently outside and in the United states.
Perhaps God 's own way of calling us to have peace upon his Lands ... White signfies peace , as they say!



The whitest of them all
and the softest of the falls
snow, snow beautiful snow.
many flakes & bits of it
Drench the twigs & buds
falls on hands & heads
Rooftops, tree tops & topless rills;
on highways & lowlands
upon the pen & a little nest;
over these mighty mountains
and the tiny eggs in the nestling;
Snows stick to black umbrellas
and the aquiline noses of my people;
Pilling on the moulds & trusses
splashing many faces & tresses
Snow, God has a treasure-trove
Give us more of this love

Sameer Bhat