Waters never die—they only change form

As the sun dips behind the Zabarwan mountains, the waters of Dal Lake shimmer in hues of gold and crimson. A lone silhouette — a boatman — glides gracefully across the surface, his boat cutting through the tranquil reflections like a brushstroke on a canvas.

Water is eternal. It never dies; it simply transforms. From the placid ripples of Dal Lake to the raging rivers that carve through the valleys, water carries with it stories of time and resilience. The Shikara wala, with his rhythmic oar strokes, becomes a part of this timeless cycle—his movements a quiet homage to the ever-changing yet immortal essence of water.

This scene isn’t just about a boatman at sunset. It’s a reminder that, like water, life flows, adapts, and evolves. The lake you see today may one day rise to the skies as clouds, only to return as rain, feeding the very waters that cradle the Shikara.

As the silhouette fades into the twilight, one thing becomes clear: the beauty of water lies not just in its form but in its eternal journey. And so, the Shikara wala rows on, a symbol of life’s ceaseless flow under the ever-changing hues of the Kashmiri sky.

Waters never die—they only change form.

The image above is clicked on Canon EOS 1000D

The burden

A heavy burden, a murdering poison, to bear it for decades is a feat. 

The above image is clicked on Canon EOS 1000D

Hydaspes the great

We dwelled on its banks for ages 

We moved, we grooved across its waters 

We played, we basked in its glory 

We relished its blessing 

But trembled in fear when its waters showed the might 

We never thanked back when it came for help after witnessing our plight

Its flow has swept away countless bludgeons too

The times it turned green, at times orange, red or blue 

It saw their might on its shores

It saw Qadeer thumping his enormity

It also saw fists that were held high

Its turns and twists hold zillions of tales

Only Almighty knows about their fate

Hydaspes the Great!

Most of us know Jhelum as Vitasta (Sanskrit) or Vyeth (Kashmiri). Not many know that ancient Greek had named the river as Hydaspes. The River Hydaspes is the Jhelum of modern-day Kashmir. Hydaspes (Jhelum) rises from a spring at Verinag situated at the foot of the Pir Panjal mountain range in the south-eastern part of the valley of Kashmir. It flows through Srinagar and the Wular lake before entering Pakistan through a deep narrow gorge. 

The river was regarded as a god by the ancient Greeks, as were most mountains and streams. Other rivers of the east, personified by the Greeks, included the Indian Ganges, and Assyrian Tigris and Euphrates.

The Battle of the Hydaspes

The Battle of the Hydaspes River was fought by Alexander the Great in 326 BC against King Porus of the Hindu Paurava kingdom on the banks of the Hydaspes River (Jhelum River) in the Punjab near Bhera in what is now modern-day Pakistan. The battle resulted in a complete Macedonian victory and the annexation of the Punjab, which lay beyond the confines of the defeated Persian empire, into the Alexandrian Empire.

Presently, the waters of the Jhelum are allocated to Pakistan under the terms of the Indus Waters Treaty.