A BRIEF HISTORY OF KASHMIR

The splendor and salubriousness of the Kashmir valley are legendary, In the words of the greatest of the Sanskrit poet Kalidas, Kashmir is "more beautiful than the heaven and is the benefactor of supreme bliss and happiness." Kashmir's greatest historian Kalhan called it the "best place in the Himalayas"--"a country where the sun shines mildly…" The 19th century British historian Sir Walter Lawrence wrote about it: "The valley is an emerald set in pearls; a land of lakes, clear streams, green turf, magnificent trees and mighty mountains where the air is cool, and the water sweet, where men are strong, and women vie with the soil in fruitfulness."