Lifting the vale

Turn a deaf ear to Mughal mumbles about paradise on earth, forget Bollywood cavorting among chinars, and set aside more recent and sombre memories of unrest and curfew. It is summer 2011 in Srinagar and the age of Infinity is here to stay.

High up the Kralsangri, or &lsquoPotters&rsquo Hill&rsquo, and on the newly opened Taj Vivanta&rsquos vast, open terrace with a breath-catching 360° view, two limpid, clever pools designed by style gurus RDM of Malaysia have been drawing hordes of visitors for the spiffy optical illusion they offer after panning the wooded Zabarwan range on your right and the icy Gulmarg mountains on your left, you can almost feel the water of the sprawling Dal lake, a shimmering haze at the bottom of the hill, lapping right at your feet. For months before the hotel opened in April, the Taj Vivanta&rsquos unassuming exteriors, which blend form and design with the mountains and local architecture, had set off excited chatter across the Valley. And ever since Kashmir&rsquos youthful chief minister Omar Abdullah inaugurated it on April 17, the Vivanta&rsquos muted interiors, with the many handicrafts of the Valley adding occasional and stylish embellishment, are the talk of the town in ice-cream parlours, at shikara jetties and even among the doughty &lsquoAhdoo&rsquos Cabinet&rsquo, a group of retired and serving officials who meet at the hotel of the same name in downtown Srinagar at 11 on most days, to get down to anything and everything over toast, tea and chicken patties.

The season has begun well, all flights to Srinagar are full, and many Malayali ladies can be seen draped on the prows of shikaras, posing for photographs in Kashmiri costume. The Royal Springs Golf Course is teeming with Valleywalas at their favourite sport. And, best of all, young Kashmiri kids are hanging out again &mdash at the Tulip Gardens, along the Boulevard Road &mdash and watching, for a change, the world, instead of troops go by. The Taj now coming to Srinagar is a kind of in-yer-face, trendsetting move, and all Kashmiris who live off tourism &mdash from shikarawalas to houseboat-owners to even other hoteliers &mdash look forward to a boost in the Valley&rsquos fortunes.

&ldquoWherever we&rsquove gone &mdash Goa, Rajasthan &mdash we&rsquove always made destinations,&rdquo says Vivanta&rsquos sales manager, Basharat Rashid Bhat, a native of Srinagar who knows every legend behind the Dal and the mystical mountains surrounding it.

It is late April and just weeks since the hotel opened, but the Vivanta&rsquos phones are already busy tour operators want competitive rates, conference organisers want to bring their executives here and weekend guests from Delhi simply want to ensure a good view.

The TajVivanta in Srinagar is all view. Whether along its open, airy walkway, its casual, breezy lobby, its elaborately designed Chinese restaurant Jade Dragon, or the 24/7 coffee shop, Latitude, which opens on to the magical terrace with the infinity pool, the Taj Vivanta struck lucky by entering into a partnership with local business house Saifco Hillcrest and grabbing therewith the location that is said to have the most complete view of the beautiful summer capital of Jammu & Kashmir.

Not that the Kashmiris have been slouches in the luxury hotel department. There is the very successful Lalit Grand Palace, whose charm rests on its Old Wing &mdash the former Maharaja&rsquos residence&mdashwith sweeping staircases and grand ballrooms. There is the Hotel Centaur Lake View right on the banks of the Dal. And there is the other legendary downtown establishment Ahdoo&rsquos, which, to news journalists and other professionals on the move, is a wazwan-rich haven away from home and one which superbly meets the quirkiest of needs. But even the Vivanta managers say that the arrival of Vivanta&rsquos signature style of low-key, modern design and rich but muted furnishings will complement, not compete with, the brand equity of the heritage hotel Lalit or any other. &ldquoVivanta&rsquos arrival here alone will encourage more tourists of all kinds of budgets to visit the Valley and embolden other chains to come too,&rdquo says Bhat. &ldquoBusiness, leisure, rest and recreation. It&rsquos a different concept and one that young Srinagar has been waiting for.&rdquo

The new hotel&rsquos 48 ready rooms &mdash of a total of 89 &mdash are already selling like hot kehwa, and its 2,500 sqft presidential suite, with gigantic baths, rain showers, dreamy private balconies and sweeping views, is expected to be the ultimate romantic getaway, more for lovers than for leaders.

Eighty per cent of the hotel staff are local Kashmiri recruits and several bright graduates of Srinagar&rsquos hotel management institute have been snapped up by the Taj for its worldwide operations. Interestingly, many Kashmiri employees of the Taj group, whose families left the Valley decades ago, are excited about being posted back to the Vivanta.

For hotel guests, there are hiking and fishing trips being planned to Pahalgam, snowy weekends in Gulmarg and even traditional doonga cruises, complete with live Kashmiri music and a full wazwan, on the moonlit Dal. Tie-ups are planned with houseboat-owners for guests who want to spend an afternoon on one, and trips downtown, not just to shop for carpets and curios along fashionable Polo View, but also to visit the modest Zaribal area, where Anis Ahmed has a small handicraft workshop and has just begun to execute Vivanta&rsquos contracts for delicate bowls, fruit trays and other artefacts.

Up on the peaceful terrace of the papier-m&acircché workshop, his team sits in silence, painting leaves, fruits and tiny chinars on to glazed objects, as their ancestors have done for thousands of years. There is a sense of urgency and excitement to this order from Vivanta, one, they say, they have not experienced in years. &ldquoThis art, and indeed much else in the Valley, was dying out,&rdquo says Anis, as he picks up a samovar, delicately plated in gold leaf. &ldquoI am happy the Vivanta will awaken the world to the delights of Kashmir once again.&rdquo

The information

 Where Dal View, Srinagar Kralsangri, Brein, Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir
Accommodation 82 rooms and suites
Tariff Rs 12,000 (Superior Charm Room/Lake) Rs 13,000 (Deluxe Delight Room/Lake)
Contact&nbsp0194-2461111, vivantabytaj.com