Blog # 40 Dated: 05 June 2022 (See Blog # 74 for details contained in this Blog)

 Dear, ..........,

Namaskar. We had three main areas were we would be asked to do duties. One was at the control room where we could be doing shift duties to enable broadcast of programmes to public. The second one was at the Receiving Centre. And the third one was at the transmitter site. For the first three years of my service career in AIR, I had mainly worked at the studios. I would assist in live and recorded programme transmission. We were to ensure the working of the equipment and systems to enable announcers, news readers and other programmers to conduct the programmes. The programmes would be sent by dedicated telephone cables to our transmitter site at Pampore - about seven kilometers from the studio centre which was located in the city. We had however a transmitter at the studio centre too. This was an American made one kilowatt medium wave transmitter. When Radio Kashmir started, the programmes would be broadcast and made available to public through this transmitter. The range of this transmitter was about 30 kilometers around the transmitter antenna. Later one new medium wave transmitter (2x10 KW power) and one 7.5 KW shortwave transmitter was installed at Pampore. When these two new transmitters started working, the 1 KW transmitter at the studio centre became redundant. The transmitter was then used to broadcast Vividh Bharati Programmes. 

Having attained some working knowledge of the studio centre and at the Receiving centre, I was put on duty at the Transmitter site at Pampore to acquaint myself of this branch also. This place was completely technical in nature and only Engineering wing staff would be posted here to work. The main medium wave transmitter was a NEC Japan made two medium transmitters of 10 KW power each. Both of them were normally switched on together and their power combined to make it a 20 MW transmitter. This arrangement had two main advantages. One the higher power meant that the range of reception of this combination would ensure that the programme could be received everywhere in the Kashmir valley including areas in the illegal possession of Pakistan. (However the Tral area of Kashmir would not get covered because a mountain range would not allow the medium wave signal to reach it. Medium wave signal travels along the surface of earth and the signal would be poor across an obstacle. Second advantage was that in case of a technical failure with one unit, the other one could continue to work and ensure continuity of transmission. The shortwave transmission would not be along the contours of land. It would be bounced on to the ionosphere and would be received after reflection. This way the transmission would reach very far away places inside and outside the country. The frequency of the transmission would be changed to three different ones during the day to provide maximum reception because different frequencies propagate differently and we would select the best ones to provide maximum reception. The frequencies would be allocated by a central authority which had the data with them. We had a standby diesel generator at the site to provide power back up in case of normal city power supply failure.

The technical aspects of the transmitter needed deeper knowledge. I lacked this. So I would be trying to study as much as possible. But without a foundation and lack of proper guidance, my understanding was bad. To compound it, the colleagues also did not help. Most of them did not know it themselves and would not share what they knew. Had there been a better teacher/guide, I could have done better. Therefore the progress was slow but as long as there would be no fault, I would operate normally. 

Whenever there would be a fault, the system would trip off. There would be rattling of system relays. There would be lot of alarming sound. In such situations we had to ensure that the safety measures would be followed and no system safeguards would be bypassed. We would call our supervisors and they would come and guide us to normalize the system after rectifying the faults. One rule was that we would be there till the fault would get rectified. There would be occasions when the fault would get rectified two to three hours after the scheduled end of transmission. Thus instead of leaving for home at 11 PM, we would leave at 2 AM or later. Those days there would not be any phones at residences. People at home would understand but not panic when we would not  reach home on time during night. One night I reached home at 2 AM. I tapped the door normally. No response as everyone was in deep sleep. I thumped the door with more power causing lot of noise. Still nobody in our joint family house did hear the violent knocking on the door. I sat down for about ten minutes and continued the thumping again. Still no luck. I had to find a way to gain entry. I climbed up the varandah from ground to first floor - the way an expert thief would do. I was successful. Then I thumped the my room door. My wife was startled. She woke up and my ordeal was over.

More tomorrow. Bye.

Blog # 39 Dated: 03 June 2022 (See Blog # 74 for details contained in this Blog)

Dear, ..........,

Namaskar. I shall describe my stay, work and my observations during my stay in Leh. We arrived at Leh at dusk time by being passengers in a private truck laden with goods. After a good night's sleep, we got up in the morning. We were greeted by the caretaker. The Ladakhi Programme producer joined us at breakfast time. I tested my equipment. After this, I went to the local dispensary for dressing on my wound. The bandage was removed. The wound was completely dry. Some light cream was applied and a band aid type Johnson tape fixed in place of the bandage. On return I set up equipment for one recording session that was scheduled for the afternoon. A couple of singing troupes came. They set up a place in the Dak Bungalow lawns for the recording. One hour of recording was done with breaks. We broke off in the evening. We went out into the market to have a feel of the place. I noticed a lady selling apples. The apples were a smaller size than what I was used to in Srinagar. I bought about a dozen. They were locally produced and tasted very sweet. They were damn cheap. I also saw fresh apricots being sold. 

Next day we we were joined by a two member team of CLS officers who had arrived from Srinagar via Kargil the previous evening. They had travelled by office jeep. They carried batteries for distribution to Halka Radio locations in and around Leh. They had already distributed the batteries in the Kargil region. I was informed by a local that the Halka Radios would not utilize the batteries. Instead the caretakers would sell them illegally at a premium to the locals. I did not hear even one Halka Radio in the entire Leh area during my stay there.

That day, one more group was scheduled to come for recording. The Ladakhi Programme Producer whom we called Sonam Yakub did not arrive. A Ladakhi person in Buddhist robes came and enquired about Sonam Jaccob. We told him that we knew Sonam Yakub. He corrected us saying that the Producer's name was Sonam Jaccob and he was a christian. He further said that he was maternal uncle of Mr. Sonam. We were intrigued. We had thought that Mr. Sonam was a Muslim. And we did not understand how his maternal uncle could be a Buddhist. We asked this person to explain. He replied that he was himself a Buddhist and his sister was also a Buddhist before marriage. Then she married a Christian and therefore became a Christian. Her son was a Christian too and had been named Sonam Jaccob since birth. (Mr. Sonam probably seeing preferential treat for muslims in the Srinagar valley, told everyone that he was Sonam Yakub.) He further clarified that there was no bar to inter religion marriages in Leh/Ladakh. Incidentally around the year 1900, almost all Ladakh region was predominantly peopled by persons of Buddhist faith. Then slowly Muslims came and married Buddhist ladies converting them to Islam. Later this became a flood. Christian missionaries also converted the locals into their faith. There would be minimal marriages of locals of Buddhist faith men to women of other faiths. So around the year 1960's when I visited Leh, the Buddhist population ratio had gone down to about 55%. 

In 1965, during Kashmiri Pandit agitation in Kashmir, the administration had identified some teachers to be punished. These teachers were persons with deep faith in the Hindu religion and would be vocal in defending it. These teachers were posted to Leh on punishment. When they reached Leh and surrounding areas, the conversion and resultant reduction in Buddhist population alarmed them. They started educating the locals stressing the necessity of maintaining their majority in the region in their own interest. And that helped to almost stop the conversions. As on today, the Buddhists are in a majority in the region. One of these teachers invited two of us to dinner in his home one day. He was living alone. I remember he prepared kichidi with meat and abundance of ghee. When he opened the lid of the pressure cooker, I could see half an inch of ghee layer on the kichidi. It tasted wonderful.

Next day, we visited a local monastery. The CLS group also accompanied us and all of us accommodated ourselves in their jeep. We recorded the playing of temple instruments. We found a large number of young students - more than fifty, all in Buddhist robes living in the monastery. They were learning the mantras, scriptures and also paintings. We found excellent old and new paintings on the ceilings and walls of the monastery depicting the life cycle of Buddha. (Advice to the reader - Do plan a visit to Leh and visit a monastery. Spend at least a week there in the region. Nowadays it is easier to travel there and there are good and reasonably priced hotels around there. Also transport is easily available. I went to Leh again in 1986 and 1998. I found improvements .)  

More recordings on the following day. Singing groups approached us and we recorded them. The locals came and made suggestions on what and whom to record. Most named a beggar woman who they said was the best folk singer in Ladakh. (I am sorry I do not remember her name.) Mr. Sonam Jaccob through some contacts was able to locate her. She was brought to the Dak Bungalow. Her young daughter (aged around 5 years) accompanied her. We were told that she was an unwed mother and was homeless. Some money was collected and given to her. The child appeared hungry and famished. I gave her an apple. While her mother was singing for the recording, the child was munching at the apple. She had a percussion type of local instrument with her which she used to play while singing. We recorded five or six songs. She appeared to have a very melodious voice. 

We did about fifteen hours of recording. Most of these recordings would then be broadcast from AIR Srinagar, Ladakhi Programme very frequently. The CLS team offered to carry us in their jeep for the return journey. Before leaving we purchased fresh apricot and ate it while there. I also purchased dried apricot to take it home. I carried a bagful of about two dozen stone tablets with the prayer " OM MANI PADME HUM"   chiseled on the stones  with me in the jeep.  We reached Kargil. One of my childhood school friends, a teacher was at that time posted in Kargil. I stayed with him for the night. He made fun of me for carrying the stone tablets. He did not allow me to carry all of them. I had to reluctantly discard most of them. I carried only about a dozen to Srinagar. We reached Srinagar safe and sound. The trip to Ladakh was successfully completed. 

BYE.

Blog # 38 Dated: 02 June 2022 (See Blog # 74 for details contained in this Blog)

 Dear, ..........,

Namaskar. I am here again to describe our journey from Kargil to Leh. First a correction. In yesterday's blog I had mentioned Baltal top between Sonamarg and Kargil. Yes Baltal comes on the way but we have to go up further to reach the top. What I called the highest point here as Baltal Top, is actually called Zojila. Now about the journey from Kargil to Leh. The distance is around 220 Kms. So we had to start early. The truck had a long and wide seat behind the driver's seat. We three got accommodated in that seat. It was comfortable seating. I had carried a carton (called peti) of apples, with me from Srinagar. We all including the driver started consuming the apples as soon as we left Kargil. For first ten kilometers or so of the journey was uphill. On the way up, we found the Indianoil local office. I had a reference for an officer there. (My elder brother was the boss of the officer incharge there.) We stopped there and the officer was very courteous. He offered all help but we needed none. While moving in this area we noticed small habitations by the side of the road. Soon we  reached the top of the hill. We found a large flat level plateau and a very good linear road. On both sides of the road, we noticed endless barren/stony vastness.  Every now and then we would observe some habitation along the road. There we noticed long walls of stone about one to two feet wide and three to four feet in height. All the stones were inscribed with " OM MANI PADME HUM", Loosely translated it means -   Hail to the Jewel in the Lotus. These stone walls with inscription cut into stone tablets has religious significance for the Buddhists living in and around Leh.  We found that the abundance of these walls increased as we were moving towards Leh.  Also at all the highest points on the road, there would be a small round stone structure with a cotton fabric flag with the same mantra written on the fabric fluttering at the top of the structure. Then there were long lines of buntings made from fabric starting from the top of the stone structure and stretching out in all directions. Each end would be terminated and fixed to the ground.  Each of the bunting had the mantra written on it. I was told that when the buntings would flutter in the wind, the message/mantra written on the fabric would reach God and ensure the welfare of the person/persons who had put the buntings. 

We pushed on further. At some places we would have to go down the hill. At one such place, as we were going down the hill, we could see about a dozen turns of the road. From the top the zig zag road sight was simply superb and very picturesque. We moved further. We were still on the road running at higher altitude. On the right hand side, deep down the slopes we noticed a village called Laama Yeeru. We could see a monastery with clay brick house all around. The sight from the top was wonderful. I wanted to go down the hill and see the place and meet the people face to face. But it could not be. The simplicity of the inhabitants was narrated to me by a person in Leh, who had been to this village a few years earlier. He told me that he stayed at a place very near a small building which was designated as a single teacher school. Every  morning a person in Buddhist robes would come to the school at about 9 AM. He would sweep the rooms with a broom. Then at 10 AM, he would ring the school bell. No student would come to the school. He would wait for the students. Since none would come, he would do meditation all day. In the evening at 4 PM, he would again ring the bell and then go home after locking the place. He would do it every day except on Sundays. When asked to explain what he was doing, he replied that he was being paid by the Government and in spite of his persuasion, no parent would send their child to the school. He said that he was doing his duty.

Evening time at dusk, we reached Leh Bus Stand. We could find coolies here - a contrast with what we had faced in Kargil on arrival. By the time we reached Leh, all the apples had been consumed. The driver wanted some when the journey was completed. He said that he needed it for his family here. Since he was a Kashmiri Muslim, I asked him whether his family was in Kashmir or in Leh. He said that he has one family in Kashmir and the other one in Leh. 

We checked into the Dak Bungalow which was located a short distance from the Bus Stand. The Ladakhi programme producer with us, had relatives living in Leh. He therefore did not stay with us. He promised to be with us next day. We had our meals in the Dak Bungalow and slept soundly - thanks to the tiring journey. 

I will leave you there and then tomorrow, I will detail more about how we spent the days in Leh. Bye.

Blog # 37 Dated: 01 June 2022 (See Blog # 74 for details contained in this Blog)

 Dear, ..........,

Namaskar. Continuing from where I left off yesterday, my performance and willingness to have a positive attitude would result in my involvement in multiple jobs in the office. If I would be completing my job and any colleague would request for my help, I would always be there with him. On one such occasion, a team was in the process of installing a new system in place of an old one in the studio technical area. This required the pushing off the old one from its place to provide space of the new one. In the process of pushing it, my right hand thumb got crushed under the hardware. The bone was not damaged but the flush portion was in total bloody mess. I had to get first aid and that needed daily cleaning  and dressing of the thumb. The progress of recovery was very slow. I continued to be a left hander for all functions where right hand needed to be used. While I was in this state, my boss had other plans. I was nominated for a ten days visit to Ladakh to accompany two programme officers. We were to record programme - music, talks for Ladakhi programme that we broadcast every day at AIR Srinagar. (At that time Ladakh did not have any radio studio of its own) I approached the boss and requested to be dropped for the trip. He did not agree and in turn rebuked me for inventing excuses to shy away from responsibilities. There was another reason for me avoid the responsibility. Ladakh those days used to be a forlorn place. Getting technical help in case any of the equipment misbehaving during the trip was impossible. So I had a fear. Now with the boss not changing his decision, I starting preparing for the trip. I had no alernative.

We three (One Programme officer, one Ladakhi Programme producer and myself) were to travel by bus. It was the month of August as there would only be a small window of two to three months a year in which the travel to Ladakh by bus was possible. The first stop was at Kargil a distance of about 200 Kms. We took a bus early in the morning. We passed through important towns. The first one was Kangan. Next was Sonamarg. At Sonamarg, we stopped for snacks. While waiting at the dabha, (roadside eatery) we heard the Government Halka Radio blaring Pakistan Radio programme to the people in the marketplace through the loud speaker connected to the radio. Halka Radio used to be a government issued radio set pretuned to AIR Srinagar frequency. The radio set would be in the custody of a responsible person. He would switch on the radio during the transmission. The set would work on batteries supplied by a sister department of AIR Srinagar called CLS  "Community Listening Scheme" The responsibility of the maintenance of these sets would be with CLS.  I called for the caretaker. He happened to be a Kashmiri Pandit from Srinagar on posting there. I asked him why Pakistan Radio broadcast was tuned, he said that the population in the town had pressurized him to retune the set. He said that he had to do it to save himself from the wrath of people. Being a Kashmiri Pandit myself, I could understand his position. He had to do what he had done to save himself. I would like to add here that during our entire trip we did not see or hear even one Halka radio working in the entire region from Sonamarg to Leh and its surrounding areas. 

Sonamarg is a very picturesque place. It used to be frequented mostly by day tourists from the country through Srinagar. From Sonamarg, it was a climb up all the time to reach Baltal. Baltal is a place where it snows a lot and the road remains closed to traffic almost for eight months year. When we passed the highest point on the road, we saw snow on both sides of the road. (Every season when the army would start exploring the opening of the road for traffic, it would find the snow piled up to about 30 feet. So instead of clearing the snow from the road, it would bore a tunnel in the snow. With increase in temperatures, the snow would melt and the ceiling of the tunnel would melt off first) After crossing the Baltal top, our next town was Drass. This place is considered to be the second coldest inhabited town in the world.  We passed the town and reached Kargil around 3 PM. One surprise here on reaching the town. There was no coolie available to bring the luggage down from the roof of the bus and then carry it to the resting place. We stayed at the rest house. (I do not remember whether we had booked the place in advance.) There was no arrangement for meals at the rest house. We found some dabha outside where we took our dinner. One more interesting feature of this town was that the ladies would be confined to their homes and none would be seen in the marketplace. The people seemed to be observing a strict form of Islam in this area. The Programme officers planned a recording session the next day. We could hardly see any singing in this area. Therefore no singing programme was recorded here. Yes we recorded a couple of recitations made in praise of the Prophet. I took a little time off during the day to visit a local dispensary for getting my wound dressed. When the bandage was removed, I was surprised to see a remarkable recovery. The wound was drying up. I think the low humidity of the place hastened the recovery at a faster speed.  

By evening it was decided to take a ride next day  by truck to Leh, the capital of Ladakh. There would be lot of  truck movement between Srinagar and Leh with goods from Srinagar to Leh. Getting a seat at low prices in the truck was easy with lot of trucks and low passenger traffic. At Kargil, there was a road to Zanskar too. Zanskar is said to be a wonderful place for trekking. I have read about the trip details subsequently but I never ever thought to make this trip myself.

Bye for now. I will describe our next journey from Kargil to Leh tomorrow. 

Blog # 36 Dated: 31 May 2022 (See Blog # 74 for details contained in this Blog)

 Dear, ..........,

Namaskar. Welcome again. My good performance continued in All India Radio. The confidence in my performance satisfied my boss. I was now pushed into more jobs. The staff was also showing full confidence in my efforts to improve my knowledge of the system working. I was nominated for twelve weeks training in Staff Training Institute (Technical) at New Delhi. The institute was located near mall road Delhi. My younger brother was already in Delhi. Before my arrival in Delhi, my younger brother was staying with our cousin. I thought that it would be a burden on our cousin and his young wife who was working as a teacher in a school, if we stayed with them. My brother and myself jointly agreed that we should rent a place to live on our own.

We took a room on rent (subletting) from a Central Government Employee at Sarojini Nagar New Delhi. (Block D, Flat no; 23 First Floor) There were two rooms, kitchen, bathroom and toilet in that flat. The room rented to us had a small balcony. We were expected to cook our meals in the small balcony (open, without a roof) attached to the room. We were to share the bathroom and the toilet with the family. The rent was probably Rs. 55/- per month. The family was from Himachal Pradesh and they had two small children. We purchased two low cost beds called charpai and moved in. We did not have any intention of cooking our meals there. Nearby to the rented room, in the Sarojini Nagar Market there was a restaurant called Watni’s Restaurant. This restaurant would provide meals at a fixed rate. We had plans to use the services. The day after we shifted, it was Sunday. We were sleeping in the room, and early in the morning there was a tap on the door. The lady of the house was there with two cups of tea. We took it but told her that we would not need the tea from them. In the evening a young boy (the lady's son) came to our room and asked me to help him with his studies. I helped him that day. Next day morning the lady again came with the two cups of tea. We refused but she said that we should take it because we had no arrangement of our own. She persisted and we took the tea. By evening, we bought a kerosine oil stove “Primus” make for Rs. 24/- We started making our own morning tea. We would purchase half a loaf of bread and half a litter of milk packet from the market every evening and have breakfast at home every day.

We would have lunch in our respective offices. In the evening we would go to Watni restaurant for dinner. We would pay Rs. 37.50 a month. The contract was for serving as much roti and rice but with one half plate vegetable and half a plate meat. Both of us being young and having a good capacity to eat,  everyday  there we would fill our stomach to capacity. Most of the other customers were like us too and our intake was considered normal. My brother was very much addicted to Table Tennis. As soon as he would return from office, he would go straight to the community centre and play there. I would go there at dinner time to remind him that it was dinner time. We would go together for dinner. My brother would always remark that I was probably starving myself during the day to take full advantage of Watni’s open offer of as much roti and rice. (The Watani shop is there in Sarojini market even today - 50 years later, but the owners are not in restaurant business now. They have been selling garments from their shop now.) 

I would go to the training centre daily by bus. It would take me more than an hour to reach there. There were some good teachers and some bad ones too. The director was one Mr. Ram Dev. The training was very widespread and I learnt a lot there. I prepared very good notes. These notes were later taken by AIR Srinagar staff to read and improve their knowledge. As part of the training, I bought parts for a 3 band valve radio receiver in Delhi and took these all with me to Srinagar. I assembled the radio and it worked fine. It was with me for a number of years. One day a few years later when I was studying a book on Electronics by Mr. Turmen (Called that time as Bible of electronics) In one of the chapters I read that although there are nine pins in a valve, all are not connected inside the valves in the output circuit. The author suggested that we should connect the unused pins to the ground to ensure a clear and noiseless reception quality. So one Sunday, I started doing the modification as suggested. Just when I finished and before I could check the quality, the power supply to our locality got off suddenly. Later when the power supply was resumed, I switched on the radio. There was absolutely no sound. I failed to locate the fault. Next day I went to the house of one of the ace technician in our office. He spent an hour but could not restore the sound. Disheartened, after a few days, I took it to another gentleman also my colleague for help. In no time, he noticed my modification as suggested in the "Bible of Electronics". He cut the connection and the sound was restored. I asked him to explain why the disconnection helped. His reply was - "These angrezi people do not know India. These Valves made by Bharat Electronics Limited are different than similar valves made elsewhere. At other places these free pins inside the valve are disconnected but in India it is not so. Therefore the angrezi rules do not apply to Indian valves" This gentleman was and even now continues to be very close friend of mine. Afew years later I guided and helped him in preparing and successfully completing the Graduate Engineering Course. More on that later 

After twelve weeks duration completion of training, I returned to AIR Srinagar. My confidence level had increased further. Bye now.

Blog # 35 Dated: 30 May 2022 (See Blog # 74 for details contained in this Blog)

 Dear,.........,

Namaskar. Yesterday I completed my Amarnath Yatra trip details. Today morning,  I had to attend the dentist appointment and had come over to my daughters place yesterday evening since the doctors clinic is easier to reach from her residence. Here my daughter informed me after I returned from the appointment that she has located three photos taken during my Amarnath Yatra trip. I took those photos and am reproducing them here in this blog. The first one is a group photograph. We see two persons sitting down. I am one of them. The other one is Dr. Mrs. Pandita. The lady standing nearest to me is also a Pandita family person. She left for USA later that year. The person standing on the extreme right hand side is Mr. M.L.Pandita who was at that time a Programme Executive in AIR Srinagar and was here on duty like me. (He later rose to the post of Deputy Director General All India Radio. Unfortunately he died about years ago from ill health while he was still in service. He was a very nice person. He remained close to me till his last day. He regarded me very highly. He was once the Director of All India Radio Mathura. His Station Engineer was one Mr. Gupta. This Mr. Gupta later became Chief Engineer and Engineer in Chief in Doordarshan when I was also in Doordarshan headquarter. As soon as Mr. Gupta met me first time in 1990's, he said that it was his ambition to have me working with him because Mr. Pandita had always been speaking very highly of me. I will write about Mr. Gupta in my later blogs.) His wife is on his left in this photograph. Mr. Prabhakar a duty officer in AIR Srinagar is standing near Dr. Mrs. Pandita. Rest of the four persons in the photograph were the pony owners who walked with us to handle the ponies. The husband of Dr. Mrs. Pandita has taken this photograph. The four persons from the Pandita family were related to Mr. M.L.Pandita Programme Executive and they travelled with us in their private capacity.  

The next photograph below has three of us. Myself extreme left. Mrs. Pandita (USA) in the centre and Dr. Mrs. Pandita extreme right. In the middle of the trekking with a walking stick in hand. 

The next photograph shows a long view of the Yatra moving towards the cave. It was somewhere here in this area where I encountered Shanta Jee. I have described the conversation with her in my blog of 27 May. 

 

With that I will take leave of you. I will be there again tomorrow. Bye.

Blog # 34 Dated: 29 May 2022 (See Blog # 74 for details contained in this Blog)

 Dear,.........,

Namaskar. I am here again after a break in writing a blog yesterday. In my last blog, I described the Amarnath Cave darshan.  All types of people consisted the yatra. They came from all places in the country and abroad too. And there were sizeable number of muslims on administrative duties too. Roughly two months before the scheduled yatra day, the administration staff checks the complete route. There are lot of streams flowing on the way. And there would be wooden bridges to cross the streams. Some bridges are found missing and new ones are put into position. Some which have been damaged due to winter conditions are repaired. The road is levelled and any loose boulders cleared from the paths. Alternate bypassing routes where glaciers had covered the normal routes, were made. Then the tin sheds at each padaav were also repaired as routine. 

Simultaneously all the owners of the ponies get mobilized. Those days, this trip would mean good earning for the locals. The pony escorts, persons who would carry loads on their backs for the yatris and dandi pall bearers would all get ready for the trip. After reaching a padaav, they all would stay together and eat together. Then in the evening sing their traditional songs. I found that some of them had a great tonal quality. I enquired from some about these songs and I was told that these songs are called "saif-ul-malooq" I recorded some of these songs too and carried the recordings with me. Those days, a radio programme for gujjars would be broadcast from our Radio station. I gave these recordings to the programme producers. The songs would get broadcast frequently. There would be lot of listener request for these songs. 

For some of the owners of the horses, it would mean grief. The horses on reaching the padaav, would be left in the nearby meadow to eat grass. There would be some poisonous weeds which would cause the death of the horses. I do not know whether these deaths due to ingestion of weeds is happening these days too.

I remember noticing a foreigner probably from Poland aged around sixty years walking up as a yatri. He carried a stick to help in walking. He always wore a raincoat. He had engaged a coolie who was carrying his haversack during the yatra. During night time, he would sleep in his sleeping bag in the middle of open ground with the bag completely zipped up except for a tiny slit to allow air for his breathing. He would eat some biscuits and had a special stove with him to boil water for tea and also prepare some simple meal for himself. I met him and recorded his interview. He spoke in halting english. 

The return journey from the cave was enjoyable because it was mostly down hill. We reached Panchtarni and after a brief stop, we decided to move on to the  next stop Sheshnag. The weather was good and by dusk we were at Sheshnag. We camped there for the night. The recording equipment was all packed up. Next day morning, we started to move to Chandanwari. Pissu hill was no more to be feared. We walked down with ease. From Chandanwari we moved to Pahalgam. There were a number of Langars on the way and at each one we would be persuaded by the volunteers to come into their makeshift structures to rest our limbs and take food. There were so many of them that we could not oblige everyone. By 3 PM, we reached Pahalgam. We did not stay there. We took a bus and by late evening we were home. 

Next day I returned all equipment to the OB section. The programme staff made a 45 minute documentary out of the recorded material. The finished programme was played back on the third or fourth day after our return. The programme had a 100 percent reception by the Hindu community.

With this my trip to Amarnath was over. I made another trip (private) in the 1970's. It was from a different route. I will describe that in a subsequent blog. Bye.