I have so far spoken of Srinagar in the singular but of course, there are cities within the city.
There is the Sarkari Srinagar near the historic Lal Chowk where the Civil Secretariat, Old Secretariat, High Court and many other offices of the government are located. The staggering self-importance of our political and bureaucratic elite is of a piece with their respective callings. Nearer this city is the Press Enclave where offices of major local and national dailies are located. In the last couple of years, we have seen the vertical and horizontal expansion of this city. I am however disappointed at the vanity of some of the editors and writers who work in this part of the city.
They have fallen prey to the belief that the importance of their papers and ideas is in the exact proportion to their physical proximity to all those who wield power either at Delhi or Srinagar. Then there is the old city known in popular parlance as the Shahr-i-Khas with its narrow streets and ancient monuments and very lively smells. The historic Jamia Masjid is in this part of the city where many important historical movements and events were shaped. Here life is intimate and social and anonymity is still absent. Here anybody can guide anybody on anything and one can find the gap between city and village very thin.
Then there is the Srinagar South which has expanded in terms of the establishment of new colonies like Rawalpora, Hyderpora, Peerbagh Nowgam. These colonies have developed with monstrously sized homes of a neo-rich class mostly migrants from rural Kashmir. The sociology of this part of the city will be an interesting topic of research for any student of sociology. The middle class of the old Islamabad area generally have opted for this city in view of its proximity to the former.
The city I however love best is the one located at Hazratbal where Kashmir University is located. I love this city because of memories good and bad but also because time has stood still. The buildings within the University of Kashmir are much as they were during my student days but intellectuals in the university have unfortunately developed a highly exaggerated sense of self and scholarship. I guess that much of what is going to happen in other cities of Srinagar will be determined by what happens in this city where the university is located.
