Srinagar, Nov. 12 -- Kashmir is usually described through its visible beauty, snow-covered mountains, flowing rivers, fertile plains and agricultural land. Yet beneath this familiar landscape lies a much older world. The mountains surrounding the Valley, the rocks exposed along its slopes and the elevated plateaus scattered across its floor are not merely features of geography. They are part of a geological archive that records the movement of continents, the disappearance of ancient oceans, volcanic activity, mountain building and dramatic climate change. To understand how Kashmir acquired its present form, one must look far beyond recorded human history. The story begins when the Indian landmass occupied a very different position on Ear...