Srinagar, Nov. 12 -- Mauzam Bakshi

There are few sights in the natural world as extraordinary as a mountain meadow awakening after a long winter. As the snow retreats from Kashmir's higher slopes, the earth begins to reveal a hidden abundance of life. Tiny flowers emerge between rocks, damp hollows turn yellow with globeflowers, and delicate primulas gather along streams fed by melting snow. Blue poppies appear against the green of the grass while gentians, anemones and countless smaller blossoms transform otherwise austere mountain slopes into carpets of colour. For generations, these flowers have returned with the changing seasons, following a rhythm governed by snow, sunlight, moisture and temperature. They represent one of the most d...