“A couple of years ago stories about Kashmir started to spread through the ski bars of the Alps, rumours of a powder paradise, where a metre of fresh, light snow falls like clockwork every week throughout the winter. And could there be a more compelling subject for a traveller’s tale? Kashmir has been romanticised by everyone from the 16th-century Mogul emperor Jahangir (who, when asked on his deathbed if he wanted anything, whispered “Kashmir, only Kashmir”) to Salman Rushdie (who spoke of “the lush valleys, the lakes, the streams, the saffron meadows – the intense physical beauty and culture of enormous harmony”) and Led Zepellin (“Ooh my baby, let me take you there”).”

In his travel article published in The Observer, Sunday 31 January 2010, “The call of Kashmir”  Tom Robbins talks about how this troubled corner of the Himalayas has gone from war zone to ultimate ski destination. To his dismay, this year, as he chose to go all the way to India, to ski in the Himalayas, he found out that for the first time in 15 years, there’s no snow.  Well almost none.  But then as he begins to head back, it does start to snow…

He goes to Gulmarg, and can’t miss reminiscing about the “Raj” – the period of British rule in India. He’s given an interesting read on all that he is comes across. Read here his account of the journey to the new so called powder paradise…