It was 25 years ago. It was my first trip to Kashmir as a kid. Those were the days before all the trouble was yet to begin in Kashmir.
Me and my cousins had behaved well enough for us kids to be allowed to travel in a separate car. Our grand uncle Bhai was appointed our chaperone. We didn't mind having Bhai with us. He was such a kid at heart himself, even at post retirement age.
Standing near the taxi stand, while the elders booked 3 taxis for the group, we scanned all the taxi drivers and hoped we would get that young handsome driver in that smart white shirt. Luck was on our side truly and in a short while we were driving on the Srinagar highway in the young man's cab. His name was Raja.
While our other cars raced ahead, Raja would stop our car at every scenic spot that he thought we shouldn't miss. We stopped to buy some music. Then we stopped to feed the monkeys. Next we stopped to play in the first waterfall that we came across. "Whats the name of this fall?" I asked. "Err.... Anokhi (the Unknown)". I liked the name and it stuck in my mind. Then we came across another Anokhi fall which was even more scenic and we just HAD to stop again.
Our next stop... came abruptly while we were trying to catch up with our other cars. Parked at the side of the road, we came across the other two cars with Dad standing with a stern expression on his face, waiting for us. "What took you so long? No more halts!"
That was that. There would be no more Anokhi falls for us in the remaining journey... and yet the journey would remain etched upon my mind forever. It was nature as I had never seen before.
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