Srinagar, Aug. 21 -- Before the first light reaches the chinars around Hazratbal, the shrine has already begun to gather its people.

Green banners hang above the shopfronts. Copper vessels catch the early light, while strings of small bulbs wrap around the lampposts, waiting for evening. Men set kettles of kehwa over low charcoal flames as pilgrims walk towards the shrine gate through the blue-grey morning.

The scene belongs to the present, though its meaning reaches far back.

Rabi-ul-Awwal is approaching its twelfth night, the date Kashmiris mark as the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. Friday prayers on August 28 will bring large congregations to mosques and shrines throughout the valley.

Watch the people for...