Winter in Pallandri (Azad Kashmir)

“Pallandri” is the first capital of Azad Kashmir, the heart of Kashmir, a place of natural beauty. The towering hills of Pallandri, covered with the green grass and ever green tall trees present a fabulous view to its viewers. Summer in Pallandri burns the canals dry. Sun seems to be a flame upon the meadows.

The basic need for life, clean drinking water almost becomes scarce for the people living on the hill tops. Summer brings the shortage of drinking water and the winter changes the hot summer winds into icy breeze. 

Winter after the summer season is like cold water in a desert. Winter crushes the unkind summer slowly. The heavy rainfall of the winter overcomes the water shortages of the summer. Rain drops bring a joy to the people of Pallandri. Winter brings its own culture, dress, indoor games and food with it. People mostly stay at home and special foods are cooked and served. People enjoy pakoras and samosas with tea in the foggy weather. These entire things add to the beauty of the winter. Calm ghazals and slow songs will be heard.

Winter is known to increase the gloominess of the broken hearts. But they can cry without being heard in the rain and wonder with their tears unnoticed.

Snowfall brings the epic beauty to the city. It is the most attractive part of the season. Winter won’t be complete without snowfall. December is the month of Christmas and snowfall. Small miniature cotton buds fell down from the sky during the night. Morning brings a pleasant surprise. Everything is covered in a white blanked. Mountains and trees covered with a sparkling sheet. Very next day after the snowfall sun shines vibrantly making it difficult to catch the scene with the naked eyes in the first glimpse. The beams of light fall upon the crust of snow and are reflected. The snow begins to dazzle. The glittering, smooth and flawless snow looks lovely and gorgeous. The ever green trees covered with the white snow exhibit the colors of Pakistani flag. Therefore, it puts on display the most favorite color combination of Pakistanis.

How beautifully N. Scott Momaday explains the beauty of snow in these lines.

I am the cold of the dawn

I am the roaring of the rain

I am the glitter on the crust of the snow

I am the long track of the moon in the lake

Every season has its own beauty but winter has something special to offer. None of the seasons matches the beauty of winter.

AA Sardar (Student of 11^th Grade)