WORLD VIEW: India & Kashmir

Hey, Ankur, did you eat a lot of good Indian food while you were in India? "Well, in India, it's just called food," Ankur smirks.

Every couple years, friend and Detroit News photographer/videographer Ankur Dholakia's fam packs up and jets over to India to visit relatives and do some exploring. This year, they decided to check out the disputed region of Kashmir, located where India, Pakistan and China meet.*



While Ankur noted an unsettling and constant military presence on the streets, he was otherwise favorably impressed with Kashmir. In the state's summer capital, Srinagar, he noticed relatively little poverty - in contrast to other major cities in India, where heartbreaking poverty co-exists with extreme wealth. Srinagar was not a modern metropolis of towering skyscrapers. Rather, it was a collection of low-slung buildings and homes hidden behind thick privacy walls in a lovely lake-dotted landscape. Because the dollar goes far in India, the family was able to hire a cook to travel with them. Though, other creature comforts like thick, cushy mattresses and air conditioning were harder to come by than delicious meals.

When asked to expound upon India, Ankur smiles his gentle smile and says, "Young people there are the same as here. They think about cars and cell phones. Cell phones are very big." Ah, cell phones, the universal constant.

For more observations about India and Kashmir have a look at Ankur's photos. Enjoy!

*Different parties dispute how Kashmir is depicted on maps. This map is only intended to give you a general idea of where India and Srinagar, Kashmir, are.