STAND almost anywhere in Srinagar and look up. You will see a clear blue sky, a garland of snowclad mountains, and below, a lush green valley. I took a deep breath to savour the familiar smell. I had returned after 14 long years of exile. But it was going to be a temporary sojourn. The purpose of the journey was, after all, to dispose of my house, waiting emptily through the years of disruption and exodus of the pundits, I one of them.

Kashmir over the years has provoked a strange kind of fear for an average Indian. Some years ago an attempt to go to the Valley would have been a terrifying thought. So great was the fear for life that houses were sold off for meagre sums.

In my lane the neighbours were all new; the old ones had long left. Nostalgia and melancholy hung in the air. But not for long. My new neighbours invited me for tea, accompanied by rich delicacies from a Kashmiri bakery. The tradition of hospitality has survived. I could taste again the subtle flavour of a good cup of sheer chai - salt tea. I discussed with the Muslim hosts the intricacy of brewing tea in a samovar, a heavyweight copper kettle, and the special skill needed to pour tea from it. Words in local Kashmiri poured out effortlessly. The courtesy shown to me as if I was one of the family was unmistakable. Everywhere I was offered special discounts on my purchases for the mere fact that I was one from the Valley. My new friends made me promise that I would come again and not sell my house, a house that had withstood the ravages of militancy. We were so comfortable together, talking. Where then had things gone wrong?.

The experience made me look around. The place seemed to be limping towards normalcy. Occasional grenade attacks still break the silence of the place, but people have probably started turning a deaf ear to such noise. It will be wrong to say that everything is hunky dory, but there is certainly a lightness in the air.

The new magic phrase is economic prosperity. Kashmiris are basically hard working people. The common men on the street often moan today that the years of fruitlessness that have taken their toll. "What is this freedom that they are talking about? We’ve become victims of sloth and terrorism," lamented Gulam Rasool, a houseboat owner. Hunger, poverty and loss of life that is what terrorism brought to the Valley, he repeated. Parvez Mustafi, who shuttles between Mumbai and Srinagar making documentaries, thinks that the place is ripe for investment. For an average Kashmiri today, the important things are food, school and shelter. The education boom is visible everywhere. The Delhi Public School franchise is an important landmark in Srinagar. Then there are new institutes which were unheard of in the city two decades ago, like Cassette Engineering College, Manipal IT College, and training centers for women. Some eating joints stay open even till late into the night.

The most impressive are the women. Today, there are entrepreneurs among them, some hold prized jobs. They want to join the gyms and visit beauty parlours. Some have even gone ahead and own them. It was such refreshing change. That the women of Kashmir are hardy is an undisputed fact. Twenty years ago one saw her within the narrow confines of the kitchen and catering to an ever-demanding family.

The turn of events from 1989, when violence began in earnest, threw them deeper into the four walls. Today they seem ready to spring back. You can see women driving their own cars, getting educated, running small establishments. Shameema Firdous, Member of Legislative Council, says, "We have a right to live happily and without fear. If women decide to change it is indicative of a larger change in the society."

Despite all this, it is perhaps difficult for a Kashmiri pundit to go back and settle down like old days. The pain and horror are too raw even now. Going back to their own land as tourists is the option left for most.