Looking Back

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We walked straight into the coffee shop, Paras and I. Swanky, spacious, sweet smelling. Here I must confess that I was surprised.. It was like walking into a fancy, over priced bistro in Bombay. It was overpriced. While it would be so simple to say that I went to Srinagar with a blank mind, it is not so. I went to Srinagar expecting bombs.. exploding on streets, empty streets, shops barely standing on the sidewalks. I went there expecting to not find women. Or to find them all covered up, scuttling to hide from all gaze. While you are told things are slowly moving back to 'normal', I never once expected 'normal' to be what I have back home in Bombay. I just expected to see a scene out of a Makhmalbaf film - beautiful, stark and painful. I was wrong. It was our first day. Our....