Trip to Kistwar

It was a very unexpected trip. When Atul, the Tehsil of Marwah in Kistwar, the district close to Anant Nag, which is in the extreme south of Jammu, described the scenic beauty of Mini Kashmir, I started to imagine  about the place. He spoke of very poor quality of primary education, lesser educational opportunities, difficulty in accessing help, and about other administrative difficulties, I thought of visiting the place.I was with Dr. Arti and Dr. Bhakshi who had to visit the govt. hospitals of  Doda and Kistwar. We started our journey at 7 pm from Channi Himmat. Bhakshiji was a very good driver who safely manipulated the uphill travel. I enjoyed the car ride very much. We travelled close to 50% of the distance to Kashmir. We visited the two hospitals.  Sher-E- Kashmir- Dist. govt. hospital  appeared to be a hospital serving mostly Muslim population as majority of the inhabitants  were Muslims. I could see most o the female patients and by standers wearing purdah. Hygiene seemed to be a concerning problem. While traveling to Kistwar, I saw long lines of Goats and sheep on the road. Dr. Bakhshi explained to me that basically sheep rearing is done by 'Gadees', who are Hindus and goats were reared by 'Gujers', who were Muslims. They were labelled in the communities as nomads as they move with their sheep and goats anywhere in Jammu and Kashmir, depending on the seasonal requirements. He said in summer they even move to Amarnath.  He was a veterinary doctor who enjoyed offering his expertise to the goats in danger due to sickness in high ranges. He also told me that sheep are led by goats and the whole battalion by dogs like German Shepperd for guidance to safely walk on the road. I  interestingly saw the moves of this battalion on the roads.
we visited the Bhaderwa campus of the Jammu University, which was exquisitely beautiful. It is 200 kilometers away from the main campus.This campus runs the M.B.A. program. we met the Director and spent time with him and other faculty members. While walking to the guest house for the night stay, I could pluck apples from the trees, which was another exciting event for me. I was surprised to see huge apples, of course, the product of artificial integration, with less sweetness with nearly .600 gms weight.
Kedi Singh, a former PhD student and his wife took us to Mini Kashmir and to the temple near Gupth Ganga, which is a tributary of river Ganges and which is situated 3 kilometers from the campus. From the top, looking down, I could see a big colony with innumerable houses. I wished to live in one of those houses for at least for a day. In my conversation with one of my friends in the Women's studies center at Jammu university- Priya, I realized that it would be a possible event in my next trip to J & K.
We passed through the Dulhast hydroelectric project which uses water of river Chinab. In the next morning we visited Vasuki Nag temple.