By Ehsaan Yousf
Bandipora, 19 December 2022: For tribal population, travelling in the woods and high altitude meadows is a daily routine but Shabnam Bashir Gojer Chechi-a 22-year-old tribal girl, turns this daily routine into a productive work by documenting the unexplored meadows and tourist destinations.
The enthusiastic tribal girl has earlier written a debut book about the unexplored tourist destinations of Kashmir providing detailed information about these tourist destinations of the valley.
She said she owes her community and wants to give it back by offering these meadows to the people in the mainland so that they visit these places and the tribals earn their livelihood.
Bandipora, a remote district of North Kashmir is a land of many tourist destinations be it Asia’s largest fresh water lake Wular lake or Sheerasar, one of the highest peaks in Bandipora having potential of adventure Tourism.
Residing in a remote Quil-Muqam village of Bandipora district , Shabnam Bashir Gojer Chechi became the author of her first book “Unexplored Kashmir” after taking a tour of around eight far-flung meadows of north Kashmir, scripting them in detail for their tourist potential.
Shabnam said the main area of her research are unexplored meadows in the upper reaches of Harmukh ranges in North Kashmir that are famous for natural beauty, lush green slopes, fresh water, flora and fauna. She said she used primary as well as secondary sources in her research for the book including personal experiences gained by visiting these places, interacting with tribal communities besides conducting interviews of elder tribal people who narrated the oral history and used as secondary sources.
Her Will Power and self Confidence made her think beyond her age and perhaps gender too in her rather conservative surroundings, where girls were meant to get married once they reached the age of 12.
With dreams unlimited she dared to dream for herself and her fellow villagers unlike other females of her age in her area she thought of creating a tourist hub in her village which is known as a remote area with hardly any tourist attraction. Following the footsteps towards her goal and aim of getting recognition for her area which certainly won hearts and people started, her friend’s relatives and family started thinking on her lines too and supported her too.
Shabnam researched for 4 consistent years so that unexplored tourist destinations of the upper reaches of Bandipora could be explored and brought on a tourism map. She went by foot for four years to explore the beautiful destinations.
Nachni, Dumgali , Nagmarg etc are some of the unexplored tourist destinations she discovered and wrote in detail about these beautiful landscapes in her book, Unexplored Kashmir. She also put forth the concept of ‘Local Home Stay’ to promote tourism in the area which was well supported by the administration.
She did not stop here but knocked the doors of District Administration to conduct the first of its kind festival-The Ketson Festival in the upper reaches of Aloosa with an aim to establish an interaction between the tribal population and the local Kashmir population living in towns and cities. The Festival witnessed a rush of people of all the age groups. During the winter tribal tourism festival traditional activities were showcased which are rare in modern times.
District Administration and the locals hailed the efforts of the young girl. People expressed hope that such efforts shall preserve the rich tribal culture and promote tourism in the area thereby providing livelihood to the Local Youth.