Srinagar: It's a tale of love at first sight straight from the storybook.
Just a month ago, he was hit in a grenade attack. He narrowly escaped death, but that hasn't kept him away from his eternal love Kashmir. The limp in his walk and a plastered foot hasn't stopped Mukesh Vaishnov from walking that extra mile.
Mukesh hails from Jodhpur. A tour operator by profession, Mukesh believes Kashmir is a paradise on earth and it's going to take more than the horror of almost losing a limb to stop him from coming here. So, the rise in violence hasn't stopped him from bringing more and more tourists to the Valley.
"The people of Kashmir are very hospitable. They have helped us a lot," Mukesh says.
On his 61 visit to Kashmir, Vaishnov had with him a group of 45 brave hearts whose spirits haven't been dampened by the surge in violence targeting holiday-makers.
Since April this year, there have been six attacks on tourists. At least a dozen tourists, mostly from West Bengal and Gujarat, have been killed and scores other were injured in a series of attacks.
Rekha, a tourist, also feels the same way. She simply likes Kashmir and the terror attacks have failed to scare her.
To offset the tourist drought due to escalation in violence, the Jammu & Kashmir Government is now discreetly trying to woo back tourists to the state.
Increasing grenade attacks in Srinagar had set off a scare among tourists, so much so that many had left in a huff. Others were defiant. It's people like Mukesh and Rekha who continue to enthuse life in this sector.
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