A piece of heaven

Gautam Rode shares the experience of his recent trip to Kashmir, and talks about the hospitality and beauty of the place

Gautam Rode visited Kashmir recently for a shoot. The actor feels to say ‘the place is beautiful’ would be an understatement. “Every single location is a scenic beauty and words fall short to describe what I have experienced there. But I understood why people call it heaven-like. It indeed feels like heaven on earth. As a crew, we visited Srinagar, Gulmarg, Belgaum and Tangmarg, which have the most picturesque views and spots to visit. I went on a boat ride in one of the small row boats on the Dal Lake. It was an interesting experience as I got to row the boat myself. I went around the whole lake to get a full view of the surroundings,” he says.

Actor Gautam Rode on his blissful experience in Kashmir

Gautam also visited Winterfell Café, which is a Game of Thrones-themed cafe right opposite the Dal Lake. This place serves coffee and white rice with vegetables for all the vegetarians. “I even visited the Rani Temple in Gulmarg, which is famous for the popular song, ‘Jai jai shiv shankar’ being shot there.”

The Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar also featured on his list of places to visit and he found the premises to be “peaceful and serene.” “There were many stores that sold Kashmiri souvenirs, and he ended up buying the traditional Kashmiri Phiran, which is worn by local Kashmiri men and women” he says.

He adds: “The people of Kashmir are very warm, friendly and speak with a lot of respect using terms such as ‘hum’ or ‘janaab’. Wherever we were shooting, people would come out of their homes to watch our shoot, and even offer us Kahwah tea and snacks from their houses,”.

Gautam says: “Overall, the beauty of Kashmir is still intact and gives the feeling of old Kashmir. It’s really heaven on earth.”