MountainMan

Skier, Mountaineer, Dadda to an amazing munchkin. Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering.

[The Jaipur Dialogues @JaipurDialogues]

All Hindu Organizations should also be at Jantar Mantar on 10th October to counter CJP

Be it ABVP, Bajrang Dal, or any other Hindu Organisation working on the ground

RT if you Agree!

[ANI @ANI]

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweets, "Captain Smit Machchhar is a hero. In the face of the gravest danger and despite being seriously injured, he showed immense courage and an unwavering resolve to protect the lives of others. His valour helped save hundreds of lives and avert a great tragedy. India is proud of Captain Machchhar. Praying for his speedy recovery, renewed strength, and good health."

[Vineet Kaul Watt 🏕🏔⛷ @vineetkaul]

If anyone is flying to London (central London) in the next few days from DelhiNCR, I have a very small parcel for my kid.

Would be highly obliged if it could be taken along.

X, pls do your thing and RT.

[Vineet Kaul Watt 🏕🏔⛷ @vineetkaul]

In the 80’s I was in my shots. 😛😂

#JustSaying

[Vineet Kaul Watt 🏕🏔⛷ @vineetkaul]

The debate on Smash the Patriarchy, felt a bit shallow @ShivAroor

One of your young male guests was not making any sense at all. He should probably join the Congress party. 🤦🏽‍♂️😅 #justkidding

Getting rid of patriarchy is literally an evolutionary exercise (of course of a much shorter duration). It is not a clarion call for war, where the spoils of winning will be the end of patriarchy.

Remember, socially, India is extremely complex. The only way we can change lives of women, in our family, our neighborhood, our office, our state, country . . . will be by walking this marathon one step at a time, one family at a time.

Manusmriti (I don’t even know what that is and who follows it), majority religion bashing, BJP will do social engineering etc is not how women will get empowered. And neither can women be empowered by giving them something just because someone wants to smash the patriarchy (West tried that with DEI & miserably failed at it)

Also, Gen Z is not a homogeneous group, in whose name everyone is hedging all their bets, the next election itself should show that.

[Vineet Kaul Watt 🏕🏔⛷ @vineetkaul]

My second visit to JNU!

What an incredible campus. Love it 😍

[Vineet Kaul Watt 🏕🏔⛷ @vineetkaul]

I received a book today from @jeetenderbhan. We know each other through X.

"Holding My Lighthouse" is Jeetender's story about him and his dear mother, navigating life with dementia.

He clearly is one of those kids who see their mother as the light that matters. And now, he has to show light to his mother, who perhaps does not recognise it. Life sometimes gets really cruel.

Jeetender wrote me a personal note mentioning my mother and the love that I had for her. Of my many struggles, the ones I battle without her shade & sunshine have been the toughest thus far.

As my mother would often say, when the times got tough - Keh chune parvay soree ha gyache theek!  

Jeetender, my namaskar and nalmot to your dear mother 🙏🏾. Keh na chune parvay soree ha gyache theek. 🥹

PS: Here is the ode to my mother I wrote back then - https://t.co/Rb7OI6EUtQ

[Vineet Kaul Watt 🏕🏔⛷ @vineetkaul]

Just for 60 secs, let’s keep religion and politics away. Just 60 sec.

Ask any Kashmiri, across economic strata, were they happy in 2019 or are they happy today ? The answer will a resounding Yes for today.

There are reasons for it and those reasons touch almost every Kashmiri in the valley.

But 60 seconds are over and you will hear what the politicians & their partners will want you to hear.

There is a reason for that as well. And the biggest reason is lack of a vision. If they have nothing to offer the population, what do they do to lead them, they sell Article 370 and similar gibberish.

We have less than 2 decades for J&K to build its future, to escape the horrible debt of last 36 years. If this time is wasted, there is going to be an unending decline on every possible parameter.

5th August should serve as a start and not an end!

[Vineet Kaul Watt 🏕🏔⛷ @vineetkaul]

Delhi!

#JantarMantar

PS: Videos from X. Copyright, respective owners.

[Vineet Kaul Watt 🏕🏔⛷ @vineetkaul]

If you have any interest in hospitality or business in general, do watch @virsanghvi sit down with the CEO of @TajHotels (IHCL), Puneet Chhatwal.

I don't know Puneet but he and his office are super sensitive to customer feedback.

In 2024, I was at The Pierre for almost a week and out of love for the Taj group, wrote a scathing email to him. His EVP, Prabhat, wrote back to me & set up a time to talk with me over phone and WhatsApp. He literally acknowledged every point I had raised and also discussed why things were the way they were.

Needless to say, they more than made up for the experience by offering a stay, which I redeemed after a year and a half at Taj Buckingham. That is how genuine the effort was.

I have had flawless stays at Rambagh, JaiMahal, Ranthambore, Buckingham, St James etc etc but I have also had some off and some terrible experiences. However, every time I have reached out, the issue has been identified and corrective action taken.

For example, I literally was one of the first guests at Taj Srinagar and then stayed there almost every year. In 2016, I had a terrible experience, they made the stay free etc etc but I never went back to stay at the hotel. Having said that, I see the hotel has significantly improved in every possible manner over time.

So I am not surprised at all by the numbers they are doing. Puneet is super focused and the interview with Vir is a delight.

If Puneet reads this, I have a request. Taj should build a ski in and ski out resort in Gulmarg, with a cable car to Apharwat. It would be wild to say the least😊🔥. I am sure, Hon CM @OmarAbdullah would agree.

https://t.co/CU7pHZryeV

[MountainMan @kaulwatt]

@hayrixxx @kadirmidedinsen 11

[MountainMan @kaulwatt]

@artikbisaIin @kadirmidedinsen 82598

[Vineet Kaul Watt 🏕🏔⛷ @vineetkaul]

If it is anyone case that the state did not commit excesses in Punjab, well good luck with that.

If it is anyone case that were zero instances of excess in J&K by the state, well good luck with that too.

If we think banning a movie like Satluj will help the state in anyway or for that matter Punjab, well doesn't the cuckoo land look so beautiful.

If you are willing to come down to reality, you just need to understand a few things only -

- Late 70's onwards, Pakistan was running a playbook, like clockwork, they still are.

- Khalistani's were the biggest enablers of this plan, willing, unwilling, naive, choose your poison.

- What they did in Punjab with the Hindus and also with the Sikhs, was not only barbaric, it eventually reached a stage where the writ of the Indian state was in tatters.

- Here is a nuance for you. If it was not for the Khalistani's, terrorism in Kashmir might not have even erupted. Think about that for a moment.

The factory was set and goods (terrorists) were being produced, all ISI had to do was run another brand on the conveyer belt, minimal additional investment, maximum return.

- Around 1988-91/92, Kashmiri terrorists & their supporters committed a literal genocide and the Indian state again kept quiet. Okay, let me be a bit magnanimous, the Indian state could not cope up.

- Eventually, these very terrorists devoured Kashmiri Muslim families and culminated into yet another challenge to the writ of the Indian state.

But this time, much like, the factory ISI had set up, the Indian state also had learned, over time, how to deal with this challenge. K P S Gill was an intergral part of that learning. The Indian state did what it did - Punjab, J&K, entire Maoist belt . . . we are now in 2026. As a side note, even though I don't know much about Manipur, but they should read the writing on the wall as well.

The movie SHOULD BE allowed to play!

Ideally, it should never have seen light of day but if it did, the only question the Indian state should be asking itself is, how? How was it released here and globally?

People who have suffered at the hands of terrorists in Punjab, people who are genuinely offended by the movie, should just put the facts in public domain and not ask for the movie to be banned.

People with resources, should make a movie on Punjab and what KPS Gill did for the country, while owning up to the excess the state committed or had to commit.

PS: I haven't watched the movie, not because it was banned but I am not a movie person. I haven't watched Kashmir Files either because I have first hand account of what happened, didn't need a movie to relive those times. But for folks who just look the other way, it is an important medium.

Democracy and Human Rights is a two way street. If you challenge the writ of the state with gore violence, always remember, the state has ultimate right on violence, eventually the state will prevail.

Engrave this reality in your brain and never say anything that enables someone's kid to be on the opposite side of this reality.

[Vineet Kaul Watt 🏕🏔⛷ @vineetkaul]

29th June was Mata Roop Bhawani’s Birth Anniversary and I happened to be there at the new temple by chance. What an incredible coincidence 🙏🏽💕

The new temple at Chasme-Sahibe has been constructed at the original site, a site where Mata did her first sadna.

The new temple has been constructed by Shri Alakha Sahiba Trust. They have done a phenomenal job. I would say that they have set a benchmark for any reconstruction attempt that is made in Kashmir by Kashmiri Pandits.

It is a beautiful Mandir where the statue of Mata and her father/Guru, Pandit Madhev Joo Dhar gives the feeling of a living statue. The floor is covered with pateje, flooring made of grass, which in turn transports one back in time.

The temple also has a magnificent Shivling.

While there is still some work to be done but the temple is a must visit. If my mother was alive she would have been beyond joy seeing the new temple.

Mata Roop Bhawani’s story is an incredible one as well. Her father Pandit Madhev Joo Dhar was a devout follower of Mata Sharika, the presiding deity of Srinagar. His tapasiya was so intense that Mata appeared and asked him his wish. Pandit Ji asked Mata to be born as his daughter and thus was born Mata Roop Bhawani.

Mata was spiritually inclined since the beginning but was married at a very young age. Unfortunately, her mother in law was a difficult woman and would trouble her and taunt her husband a lot. One day she was on her way to Parbat and her husband was following her. Soon a lion appeared and prostrated before her & so did a bunch of nearby residents. Mata saw her husband and offered her hand to him, saying that she would help him cross this world. He in turn got terrified and ran screaming that she is a daen(witch) . . .

Mata Roop Bhawani continued on her spiritual path and continued her sadana at several places in Kashmir before returning to Srinagar . . .

#RoopBhawani #KashmiriPandits #Kashmir #SharikaBhagwati #ChasmeSahibe

[Vineet Kaul Watt 🏕🏔⛷ @vineetkaul]

@Iyervval @pratiba_sk Super! 😋
Where is the kabargah? Come.

[Vineet Kaul Watt 🏕🏔⛷ @vineetkaul]

Since 1975, Gulmarg has seen many skiers over the decades like Gul, Ayaz, Sandy, Virender, Ashraf, Aju, Krishna and many more and of course the kids on the block now . . .

But guess what, there was only one OG, the one Gangsta, the one Maverick, Vijay Kaul

I went back Skiing after 36 years and this is dedicated to Vijay uncle. To the legend!

Next year, I will do a back flip (will be a first in Gulmarg) in honour of the men who made Gulmarg what it is today, the folks at IIS&M.

PS: I did put on skies a few times before but always for 10-15 min on a baby slope, that does not count.

#gulmarg #skiing #Kashmir #gandola #affarwat

[Vineet Kaul Watt 🏕🏔⛷ @vineetkaul]

I was in Srinagar on 4th Feb and decided to head to Shankaracharya Temple.

At the temple there were folks before me, families.

My turn came and the Guru Ji there asked me my gotra, much like he had asked others before me.

I said it is Dattatreya. He asked - Kaul ho? Kashmiri ho? I nodded in affirmation.

The Guru Ji, adjusted his stance, while telling me ruko, his face brightened all within this 30 seconds.

Then, he made me do an elaborate puja using a Shringi . . . The Guru Ji was genuinely happy doing it and I felt so nice that it is hard to explain.

Salaam Mubarak!

#HerathPoshte #Srinagar #Home #Shankaracharya

[Vineet Kaul Watt 🏕🏔⛷ @vineetkaul]

Flying over Kulgam, from mādar-i watan to watan, enjoying the Nun-Kun massif.

Pro Tip - Sit on the right side from Del-Sxr & on the left from Sxr-Del.

@JandKTourism

#Home #Srinagar #kKashmir #Delhi #Airindia #Airbusa320n

[Vineet Kaul Watt 🏕🏔⛷ @vineetkaul]

The wait has extended decades, 36 years and counting!

How is this even fair, how is this even acceptable, no, not to the people but to the Gods.

After all Gods are accountable as well. Why are they not worried about the delay ?

Why aren’t the Gods thinking that when they decided to send the feet back to wear these khravs (wooden footwear), will those feet even fit, will they even recognize the khrav?

This is unfair 😔.

#KashmiriPandits #Kashmir #HariParbat

[Vineet Kaul Watt 🏕🏔⛷ @vineetkaul]

Come to Gulmarg! 😍⛷️🏂

Of my countless tripe to Kashmir and Gulmarg, I finally managed to ski after 36 long years.

Back in the day I have skied for 10 straight years, every winter for three months.

We would climb up at 5 am to Khilanmarg, Beta and Upper Beta and ski down. Or go up Monkey Hill and ski down and of course ski down to Babareshi and then hitch a ride back to Gulmarg.

If you can make time in winters and you should, come to Gulmarg, join a Ski course, learn skiing and you will never be sad again.

And folks who know how to ski, Gulmarg provides the best there can be in terms of snow, ski runs, gradient and off piste.

@narendramodi @JandKTourism @OmarAbdullah @nasirsogami @aiburza @kheloindia @incredibleindia

#skiing #gulmarg #kashmir #India