Bountiful and 'snowful', winter reclaims its glory in Kashmir

"What is Kashmir without snow? It is like living in a garden that has no flowers. I vividly remember the winters of my childhood. Our village would remain cut off for weeks without end during the 'Chillai Kalan'(40-day-long period of extreme cold beginning December 21)," said Haji Sidiq, 78, who lives in a north Kashmir village. "Nobody ever died of cold or hunger those days, even when material affluence was nowhere near what it is today. Every village home had a cow, a small flock of sheep, some poultry, stocks of grain, pulses and dried vegetables.