THE GRAND HOTEL, PT. THREE

The broken key and locked door and all of it was resolved personally by the owner of the hotel. Despite initial problems I was rewarded for patience: the owners and staff of the Grand were great hosts who helped me through a rough patch - I stayed a week.

On Residency Road near the intersection with Poloview, the Grand Hotel is adjacent to the largest open spaces in the entire city. The Mughal Darbar Restaurant & Bakery is a short walk, recommended. Also close by are the Jet Airways office, the Net Surfer Café, and the Pick ‘n Choose Market, where you can find peanut butter, Nutella, and incredibly – Bonne Maman jams from France.

The Kashmiri that I meet are universally polite. Without exception I was made welcome in hotels & restaurants, offered coffee and a comfortable seat in offices, and invited into homes, even to stay in a sick bed. No one was ever rude to me and I was never menaced about my nationality. People on the street were sometimes curious but mainly indifferent to me.

Back at the Grand the Srinagar flu persisted in me four days and claimed Waseem and others. My agony would have been far worse without the comforts of room service. It was usually the friendly Bilal who broke the isolation with deliveries of soup and the hot water bottles I'd place in my sleeping bag. When the power was out, or the central heating was taking a break, it was easy to get chilled. My mind was on those less fortunate who lived in Srinagar and worried about the winter. These were the coldest days of the season to date if you read the news, and the stories were of closed mountain passes and kerosene heating fuel shortages.
Photo credit: MHIP