At 7pm, says Abdul Hamid Beig, one of old city’s best known chemists, I start from Lal Bazaar taking the internal route. “I wait for almost half an hour till the security men move out and then at around 8pm, I open my shop,” he said. He remains busy till 11pm and then he dines at around midnight. “It is a new schedule but we have to work.”
Protracted strike and frequent curfews and restrictions have forced a lifestyle change in Kashmir, especially in the capital city. As people kill their daytime sleeping or watching television, it is the night when some basic business activities take place. Most of the interior markets open briefly for a few evening hours.
“It is not as simple as you think,” says Arshad Ahmad, son of a vegetable vendor. “You think we open shops just to make money but why do not you think that if we do not open wherefrom the people will get the vegetables?”
Same is true with butchers and grocers. They get ready by 8pm when the day is over and open shops soon after the evening prayers. Bakers who make traditional bread, usually consumed in breakfast, however, faced no crippling problem. They warm up ovens during wee hours and well before the sunrise they are over.
Till recently, the milk suppliers – both packaged milk and farm fresh, skipped getting into the curfew bound areas. Now most of them have secured curfew passes helping them to manage early morning supplies during curfew and strike days.
A section of the masses rue that both the conflicting forces – separatists and unionists – have opted for lockdown to manage things. “Separatists have gone for indefinite strike and whenever there is chance of a protest the governments comes with harsh curfews,” says Ghulam Nabi, an uptown vegetable seller. “They are all kids (inexperienced) so they can not think beyond strike and curfews.” Nabi said adding that while the government has detained the senior separatist leaders forcing the “young boys” to don the mantle of leadership, the government is run by another “boy” who does not listen to elders.
Apart from being young and using strikes and curfews as a weapon against each other, both sides have another thing in common – they have somehow spared the night.
It is this time that helps people to sustain and survive. “No major business takes place in Kashmir these days,” admitted a senior and seasoned trader. “But it is a fact that we are maintaining the supply chain during nights.” From medicines to cement and cigarettes to paints, everything is supplied during the nights.
Fat weddings have became the principle victim. It is now some small rituals that take place during late hours with few people accompanying the groom to bride’s place. With the huge guest lists trashed, Valley’s traditional chefs and folk singers are feeling the heat.
Luxury tourism is over but the rush to the Amarnath cave has kept part of the occupancy in city’s hotels and houseboats. Over 250 thousand pilgrims have visited the cave so far.
The night option is, however, not available to educational institutions, closed for weeks now. Some schools are exploring internet to be in touch with their students. But the limitations of internet penetration in Kashmir and quality of the services available is not making it a worthwile option. Some schools have passed on the phone numbers of their teachers to the students with suggestions to seek help in need. A public notice issued by a school in a newspaper asked students to seek help from the teachers if they live in the same localities. Students are unlikely to have summer break if and when situation normalizes.
University of Kashmir has already cancelled all of its examinations. Public Service Commission and the State Subordinate Recruitment Board, the twin agencies recruiting people for the state government have also given it a break. Earlier, the separatists permitted students to appear in national and state level eligibility tests. National Institute of Technology (NIT) is perhaps the only institution that did not feel any impact of the situation within the campus. Insiders said they conducted eighth semester examinations and completed the admission process during the strike successfully.
Off late, a section of the society has started thinking of shifting their children to other places for studies. Reports from Delhi suggest that there have been a lot of queries about possibility of admissions in Jamia Milia and Hamdard.
Newspaper sector is taking a huge hit. Though the state withdrew its restrictions on media, the newspapers are shrinking in volume. Greater Kashmir has reduced to eight pages from 16 and Rising Kashmir to eight from 12. “Advertisement revenue has nosedived and we are facing circulation problem because of the lockdown,” a senior executive in a daily newspaper said.
Authorities hope the pressures building within will make the strike fizzle out.
Reports in local newspapers suggest that boatmen in Bandipore – Sumbal belt have revived the river transport between Sopore, Baramulla and Srinagar. They have been ferrying students, patients and those having an air ticket to leave Kashmir using ‘chartered’ boats. Even in Srinagar boats are in high demand as families using lanes and by-lanes in the old city manage to reach the banks of Dal and Nigeen. They charter shikaras (gondolas) to reach the Mughal gardens. Children who are literally caged for all these days are the principal factors in forcing their parents to opt these “dangerous routes”.
