. Kashmir, in it’s separate identity from the Gandhara mahajanapada was controlled from it’s conventional capital of Puranadisthan (Pandrethan), currently situated to the south of present day Srinagar. Kalhana, mentions in his 12th century epic Rajatarangini, that the 5th ruler of the Gonanditya dynasty sought to construct a new capital for the kingdom. Mentioned as “Sri Pravarsena” in many Indian texts, Pravarsena II was a probable Huna king, who ruled the kingdom somewhere around the middle of 2nd Century AD. He founded a new capital in the land tracts between the Lake “Mahasarit” (Dal Lake) and river Vitasta. Named Pravarapura or Pravarasenapuram, the city was planned in an exceptional manner. On the northern bank of the Mahasarit, he developed an alluring garden and named it as Shalimar. “Shalimar” is a Samskrit term meaning “abode of love”. It was this place, which was resurrected by Mughal Emperor Jahangir in accordance with Islamic architecture and is still known as Shalimar ...
Kashmiri Saraswat Brahmins/Kashmiri Pandits - 1890 Part 1, Ancient and Middle Republican Kashmir By : Shivansh Ganjoo "Look, A dallya batta walking." It became a common sentence on the lips of Kashmiri Muslims whenever they saw a Kashmiri Pandit walking on the streets. This became very common during the time of 89-90s. By January of 1990, we were shown guns, we were threatened and forced to leave our roots. Forced to leave our homes. Forced to leave the valley. Today, while watching a debate on the "News Hour" on Times Now, moderated by Arnab Goswami, whenever A Kashmiri Pandit and Kashmiri Muslim come face to face, we are referred to as cowards. They laugh on us and say that we showed cowardliness and fled the valley, when a ''peaceful'' struggle for independence was going on. Unfortunately, by the due course of time, we have been labelled as cowards and most of us are not bothered about it. Why ? Because we have mixed with other cultures ...
Title (Sanskrit) - Lord Ganapati, who resides in Srinagar, I pray to you. Blazing leaves of Chinar in Kashmir, Autumn. The second half of September and the whole month of October turn the valley of Kashmir into a beautiful heaven, which seems to be engulfed in orange fire. These 2 contradictory statements to describe a single phenomena sound absurd at the first encounter, but one understands them in a true sense when s/he experiences it with her/his own eyes. I have never been to my homeland, never seen that phenomenon with my eyes, but impeccably imagined it. That imagination and visual sight, runs in our blood now. The months of autumn engulf the whole valley with dead and orange coloured Chinar leaves, which creates the sight of a burning heaven. Walking across the orange Chinar drenched footpath along the banks of Dal, with a soothing breeze from the lake patting your cheeks, says my father, is the most beautiful sight on this planet. On one such autumn day of September ...
Masterpiece
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