After a brief stay at Jammu, we took a taxi to Kashmir, were we were treated to a breathtaking panorama. From there we traveled by road to sringar--passing many an army convoy along the way.

Staying in the houseboats in Daal Lake was an experience in itself. Shikaras are available in two, three of five bedrooms, with attached bathrooms and a largecomfortable happ. Shafi, our man, would never say no to some extra tea or helpings of the homecooked meals for breakfast and dinner.

After experiencing the tranquility of Srinagar, one wonders how this place can experience violence at all. Contrary to the general perception, tourists here are not at risk. Shah Jehan had rightly said, “If there is Paradise on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here.

Visiting the military base camp was an enriching experience and there we learned a lot about our army men. An average Indian soldier serves at a posting for about 3 years. During this time, about fifteen of them stay together, taking turns at cooking, disposing refuse, manning the guns, getting water from springs, etc. they are trained in first Aid, but during an emergency, the men prefer taking advise from the base camp doctor on the telephone or radio. The annual leave for our jawans is eighty days, which they can take after every three months of work.

At the Srinagar base camp, the wake-up time is 5am. After prayers, the jawans do their routine exercises and then the place functions like any other routing office under a Commanding Of-ficer, where requisitions are filled and leave forms are processed to ensure that the camp runs smoothly. This Base Camp looks after a unit of about 800 men who are deployed in various posts. For recreation the jawans can turn to playing such sports as volleyball, basketball or watching tv and video films.

The children of soldiers go to military schools. After school, these kids go the Army Institute of Technology (AIT) or the Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC). The children of the jawans are provided free education, while the officers pay fees at discounted rates.

About three years prior to retirement, the soldiers are sent to The Directorate of Resettlement, where they are given aptitude tests, vocational guidance and training, either technical or non-technical like soap making, poultry farming, dairy farming etc. this is to ensure that they earn their livelihood after they leave the services.

We met many families who in 1995 went across the border -- lured with promises of money which were never fulfilled. These people have now returned to India disillusioned.

Besides manning the Line of Control, the army has undertaken several development projects like construction of bridges, improvement of roads, repair of schools, providing fresh running water to school children, medical camps, veterinary care, adoption of poor and needy families and scholarships to deserving children.

-- As told to Smita Deshmukh by a Mira Road resident, Nasser Lalljee, a web-page designer and a photographer who recently visited the Kashmir Valley