It was my first solo trip to Kashmir. Seeing a solo woman traveller in Kashmir intrigued the locals, especially the curious womenfolk. Why are you travelling alone? Do you feel safe here? How does it feel to be a solo woman traveller? These were some of the questions that I had to constantly give an answer to. And most of them had not travelled beyond the safe boundaries of their village or city. But traveling alone outside their comfort zone was something they all dreamed of.

Whenever I travel, I always seek for two things, one is local books and the other is music. I ask the local people about it and try to explore it. On one such inquiry, I heard about the new bookstore that had opened on the famous Dal Lake in Srinagar. For me, that was the perfect setting for a bookstore. So, I hopped onto a small boat and reached the bookstore. It was a store with a big collection of local books and publications and a small café overlooking the lake. I was thrilled, I couldn’t have asked for more.

As I immersed myself in books, I picked up a book by Rumi and was reading its content when I heard a voice telling me that if I like Rumi then I should read Forty Rules of Love. I turned around with a smile to see the face of the voice only to be a greeted with a bigger smile by a young college going girl who shared my love for Rumi.

I told her that I was carrying the book Forty Rules of Love with me and I was reading it for the fourth time as it was one of my favourite books. She replied saying that she had read it three times already. And there, in that bookstore blossomed a friendship.

We bought books and then sat in the cafeteria and over a cup of kehwa discussed books, life in Kashmir, life outside Kashmir and love for travel. She had never travelled outside Kashmir, but she had no complains, because her books transported her to the beautiful world outside.

Living in a place which is constantly in and out of turmoil didn’t reflect in her personality, though topics of depression and anxiety did emerge occasionally. She was content with her life there and aspired to become an inspiring teacher. But there was one place she wanted to go to, that was Konya, Turkey. We both knew why. I told her that it was on my bucket list too and maybe we could go there together someday. It seemed like a possible dream.

The sun was setting over the lake and it was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen in my life. We sat silently watching it, being hopeful about our own dreams. I clicked a few pictures trying to capture the beauty of that sunset.

As the skies were changing colour at a slow speed, she remembered that she had to reach home before it became completely dark, reminding me of Cinderella. We hugged and promised to keep in touch. Just as she was leaving, she turned and asked me my name, we both laughed and realized that we had shared so much but had forgotten to ask each other’s name. Like they say, what’s in a name, some connections are more than that.