Arshid Rasool
Gurez valley is a land locked mountainous valley which falls along the ancient silk route which connects the Kashmir valley to the south of Gilgistan. The region is famous for its natural beauty, cultural and architectural heritage. The inhabitants are ethnic Dards/ Shinas who are scattered among the villages all over the province. The socio-economic conditions of the region are diverse and steered by inaccessibility, marginality, fragile ecosystem and harsh winter. Livestock keeping and farming on limited patches of mostly irrigated arable land forms the traditional subsistence economy of the population. People here are dependent on nature and mostly rear cattle and sheep for livelihood. However, there has been paradigm shift due to increase in tourism, newly diversified off farm activities and external intervention in the form of rural development initiatives and construction of road work and Kishanganga Hydro Project. During winter, heavy snowfall at Razdhan Pass forces land route of Gurez to remain closed for five to six months but the valley is repository of rich forest resources and has been a renewable source of fodder…non-timber forest product, fuel wood, timber and other herbs of rich medicinal values.
The people over here speak Shina, Kashmiri and Urdu. A mosaic of folklore, traditional music, and arts of Gurez is famous all over the Kashmir and also luring tourists from far and wide. There are few clubs which arrange singing concert of folk music at houses, public places and marriage ceremonies. Internet has helped them to reach more and more people and showcase their talent. The people’s enthusiasm towards regional songs and drama can be seen in Gurez festival which is held every year. As the concrete structure won’t last long here due to harsh winters and accumulated snow, locals have built beautiful wooden houses which can tolerate heavy snowfall and remain fair inside in summers. There is limited infrastructure for schools but children here can be found enthusiastic towards study as well as sports and drama which can be easily felt while interacting with them. For medical, they either treat the person with local traditional herbal medicine or go to government health center but they hardly get ill because as son of the soil they are adaptive to nature and live a healthy lifestyle.
The nature has bestowed its beauty on the valley where waterfalls can be seen tumbled down fluted slopes that were dusted with emerald grasses and capped by rocky crags. The patches are fringed by dazzling wildflowers. The valley seems to be like it had been plucked intact from a folktale. People here greet the tourist with amazement and warmth and do invite them for tea and snacks into their log houses which have wall to wall carpeting and fat pillows served as furniture. Tourism has introduced a much-needed source of income to locals and every village now has electricity for five to seven hrs each night, powered by a community diesel generator. After summer the locals can be seen back to farming and other traditional work and enjoy the profound peacefulness of their isolated ancestral home. The region is also known as Dardistan – the homeland of Dardie people. The valley administrative center ‘Dawar’ is famous for its small market which have few dry goods shops, produce sellers and other shops. ‘Habba Khatoon’ is the center of attraction here, which is a pyramid shape peak and any day low clouds can be seen to hang over it like a shawl. It is named after a 16th century porter also known as the Nightingale of Kashmir, who is said to have lived near its base. Gurez valley wants its story to be told and heard and moreover it needs to be understood and not forgotten.
In Gurez we can see the women sharing the responsibilities with their male counterparts and can be seen with a load of woods over their heads and climbing the hills around their village. At the same time, they can be seen enjoying various functions and festivals along with the opposite gender and do participate in various regional drama & folk music. They are typically dressed in woolen cloaks and scarf. Older women wear the traditional local headdress, or an embroidered felt skullcap to save them from the chilling winter. People from the city go to hill station to escape from the aridity and monotonous lifestyle of city. The happiness quotient of Gurez people is much higher than the city people despite of such hardship as it offers a utopian land away from the corrupt influence of civilization today as Gurez offers to live the life in absolute harmony with cosmos. One can witness the harmonious co-existence of humans and animals living together in the same house and enjoying the old school way of life in peace and harmony. It is evident that Gurezi way of living hold the secret to the essence of life.
