SAFFRON FESTIVAL
A tradition unchanged for 2,000 years
Imagine a vast plain of grey-brown earth, shaded here and there with willow and almond trees, surrounded by snow -capped mountains gently warmed by late autumn sun. Than cover that plain with swaying purple flowers,each exuding the most lush and beguiling scent.
Now,people the fields with tens of thousands of villagers wearing homespun clothes,picking flowers at a furious pace, and heaping them into wicker baskets.
Their chatter and laughter rings through the clear air,old men smoke hubble-bubbles under the trees,and all you can do is marvel at a sight like no other anywhere in the world.
These are the saffron fields outside the small town of pampore in Kashmir, just about half an hours drive from the summer capital ,Srinagar.
For,most of the year,these fields are barren ,as the bulbs of the crocus sativa germinate beneath the dry earth.But,come late autumn,the fields turn purple. The best time to witness its harvesting is mid September.

An Ancient Harvest
It has been this way for over two thousand years according to some.
In ancient days, Kashmir was on the silk route to China,and was a favoured playground of the Mughal kings and queens from 16th to the 18th century and later a cool retreat for the British during the Raj.
The wandering sufi holy men Khwaja Masood Wali,and Hazrat Shiekh Shariffudin apparantely arrived in Kashmir about 800 years ago,carrying flower bulbs from Asia Minor. After a local chieftian cured one of them who was ill ,he was given a saffron bulb in payment.
And thus, according to legend,did the blessed saffron crocus come to Kashmir. But,Kashmirs expert historians also believe that the very indigenous people of Kashmir grew saffron more than 2,000 years ago, a fact that is mentioned in the epics written during the era of tantric hindu kings. Kashmiri traders took saffron to ancient Athens, Rome and classical Persia,long before the Islamic age dawned. It has got great qualities of healing medicine as well as aphrodisiac. Normally,it is used as a special spice to prepare exotic food,sweets and added to the famous kashmiri tea (kahva), for color and flavour.

Saffron Flower
The crocus flower is a lovely shade of pastel purple,but its real value is found within the petals.Every flower has at its heart three red stigmas, the female part,two stamens that perform the male role,and a long white stem connecting all of this to the main flower.
Saffron pickers havent finished their jobs when they have plucked several hundred thousand flowers out of the ground.And that is how many they must pick if they are to see any reward at all for their efforts. It takes atleast two weeks for picking.
The sacks of fresh flowers are taken home or to labourers who toil through the nights,stripping away the insides of the flowers.
Nothing is wasted.The petals are eaten as a vegetable.Animals are given the stems,and ofcourse the market -the world-covets the rest :stigmas alone for the purest saffron,stamens the next most sought after grade,and finally a mixture of all the bits for the cheapest saffron- the kind the growers and pickers keep for themselves.
All life revolves around the saffron during the harvest. Aromatic Kashmiri tea is served and brews all day through ,ocassional humming and singing by women folk( two great mystic poetesses Lalla Arifa and Haba Khatoon are eternal inspirations), fruit vendors selling in exchange for petals ----- the mood is jolly and festive. No matter how busy the picking gets, there is always time for prayers.Kashmir is known as the valley of saints,the heart of Sufi Islam in the subcontinent.
COME and visit Kashmir in autumn (October) and be part of the authentic harvesting of saffron crop - the most expensive spice in the world. This is the time when chinar trees are turning golden green,villagers are busy harvesting in paddy fields,traditional marriage ceremonies galore with rich feasting of wazwan ( about 15 course cuisine).The panomaric views are clear,Dal Lake is quite and calm.........it can only be PARADISE.