The pandemic has brought a sudden spurt in sales of pets in Kashmir. Zaira Mustaq, owner of Pet Arena, a pet shop, clinic and parlour, says she has been witnessing a rise in sales in pandemic whenever market is opened.

Darwin hybrids – These are tall tulips in spectacular colors, mostly in the reddish-orange to red range. Varieties also include pink, white and yellow.

From modelling to the world of acting, transition is not only challenging but it also tests the skills to survive in competitive and complex medium of film making. Mehak Chisti’s journey depicts the same challenges as she started her career as a model and then grinding her skills by participating in various plays and theatre workshops. The desire to be a top notch actor, she joined Masters Programme in acting at Jamia Millia Islamia. She has worked in documentary shoot, theatre group, on stage and screen productions besides OTT platforms.

The wedding ceremony is undoubtedly one of the most cherished moments in one’s life. Wedding day marks the advent of a new journey. However, to make this day memorable, it needs proper planning to the minutest details especially for women. Prior to wedd

The three-day festival of ‘Kheer Bhawani’, devoted to Mata Ragnya Devi, began in Tulmulla village of central Kashmir on Friday.

Gone are the days when women just used to be homemakers; they are money-makers too. Women are now dominating the business sectors which were traditionally male oriented. Numerous opportunities are opening up for women who wish to set out on a new career p

Women in Kashmir are making best use of their talent through social media platforms. From makeup artists to techs everyone is trying to offer something unique and best service to the people. As wedding industry is getting revolutionised in Kashmir, a new

Wamik Fida is a staff writer, content management systems (CMS) manager, and editor at a digital publishing company based, Valsef headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

In the new normal of living with the complications and changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of us have been feeling overwhelmed.

Once a go-to sweets on special occasions, Basrakh and Toosha have lost appeal and market as well. But, now they have returned on the bakery shops again due to subtle changes which have added to their demand and taste.

The wedding ceremony is undoubtedly one of the most cherished moments in one’s life. Wedding day marks the advent of a new journey. However, to make this day memorable, it needs proper planning to the minutest details especially for women. Prior to wedd

A blessing in disguise for some, a difficult scenario for others

Ronak Habib, 21, is a young model from Kashmir valley who always dreams to achieve higher feats in her line of career.

Around 10 days ago OnePlus released its mid range smartphone, OnePlus NORD CE 5g. The aim of launching the successor to last year’s OnePlus NORD 5g is to become one of the bestselling smartphones available. The starting price of the phone is Rs22999, an

In order to restore the popularity of Papier Mâché products across the world, Basharat Hussain (40) used his skills acquired during the fine art degree. He innovated many traditional designs and motifs of Papier Mâché art to compete in the internation

On 22nd June 2021 AMD released “AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution or FSR”. It is an open-source image quality toolkit available for streamers and developers to implement into their games while playing or developing, optimized for AMD GPUs. FidelityFX he

Experts Wednesday stressed on the need to improve opportunities for students to engage and interact with their classmates by incorporating extracurricular activities in virtual mode amid the on-going pandemic. They further argued that these types of activ

The operating system (OS) Windows 11-the successor to Windows 10 (OS) has arrived after six years of its predecessor. Considered as the major release of the Windows NT operating system, Windows 11 is designed keeping in mind as a platform for plat

Wireless earphones have become very popular over the past few years due to their good sound quality and the fact they are truly portable. Designed to be trendy, some well known brands have ensured that their dopes are budget friendly which is well within

In his 20s yet, he addressed a youth assembly at UN on enhancing the quality of education, did his research on Dragonflies, never shied from helping people and even converted his car into an ambulance to help Covid-affected

Most of them started writing during their school days. The pandemic, they say, came as handy as it provided ample time to them to weave their ideas into stories

A popular encrypted messaging App “Telegram” has added a new feature to its desktop, android and IO’s Apps. With the new feature, the users can turn their “Group Voice Chats” into “Group Video Conference”. Users will have the option to keep

The desire and passion seems to be an intrinsic part of human DNA. Even if you have a well-paying job and it may seem to others you have settled in your life; still the passion to follow your dreams or craft makes you restless. What is it that makes peopl

Many switch to online shopping, others face dilemma amid raging pandemic

Local musicians, artists and aficionados have been thronging this quaint, exuberant piece of heaven, Best View Resort, right in the heart of the Dal Lake.

Once a flourishing rural cottage industry, traditional wicker work, has lost its sheen and is now on the verge of dying out, however, still some are continuing with this craft and are hooked to it…

Over the last few years the trend of hijab (head veil) is fast catching up among working women and students in Kashmir Valley. From formal educational institutes to casual marriage parties, the veil has made inroads in modern women's wardrobe. Though, the

Families of slain policemen: Killing cops will not help in resolving anything

The launch of XUV700 is expected to be in late July or early August 2021.The car will be competing with the likes of Hyundai Alcazar, MG Hector Plus, Tata Safari and Jeep Compass. The price of the vehicle is said to be in the range of 15-25 lakhs. It will

A few online global programs like Coursera, Udemy and Edx were started with a mission to provide high quality education to everyone, everywhere around the world by having teachers and instructors from top international universities like Harvard, Caltech,

The wedding ceremony is undoubtedly one of the most cherished moments in one’s life. Wedding day marks the advent of a new journey. However, to make this day memorable, it needs proper planning to the minutest details especially for women. Prior to wedd

The three-day festival of ‘Kheer Bhawani’, devoted to Mata Ragnya Devi, began in Tulmulla village of central Kashmir on Friday.

Gone are the days when women just used to be homemakers; they are money-makers too. Women are now dominating the business sectors which were traditionally male oriented. Numerous opportunities are opening up for women who wish to set out on a new career p

Women in Kashmir are making best use of their talent through social media platforms. From makeup artists to techs everyone is trying to offer something unique and best service to the people. As wedding industry is getting revolutionised in Kashmir, a new

Wamik Fida is a staff writer, content management systems (CMS) manager, and editor at a digital publishing company based, Valsef headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

In the new normal of living with the complications and changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most of us have been feeling overwhelmed.

Once a go-to sweets on special occasions, Basrakh and Toosha have lost appeal and market as well. But, now they have returned on the bakery shops again due to subtle changes which have added to their demand and taste.

The wedding ceremony is undoubtedly one of the most cherished moments in one’s life. Wedding day marks the advent of a new journey. However, to make this day memorable, it needs proper planning to the minutest details especially for women. Prior to wedd

A blessing in disguise for some, a difficult scenario for others

Ronak Habib, 21, is a young model from Kashmir valley who always dreams to achieve higher feats in her line of career.

Around 10 days ago OnePlus released its mid range smartphone, OnePlus NORD CE 5g. The aim of launching the successor to last year’s OnePlus NORD 5g is to become one of the bestselling smartphones available. The starting price of the phone is Rs22999, an

In order to restore the popularity of Papier Mâché products across the world, Basharat Hussain (40) used his skills acquired during the fine art degree. He innovated many traditional designs and motifs of Papier Mâché art to compete in the internation

On 22nd June 2021 AMD released “AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution or FSR”. It is an open-source image quality toolkit available for streamers and developers to implement into their games while playing or developing, optimized for AMD GPUs. FidelityFX he

Experts Wednesday stressed on the need to improve opportunities for students to engage and interact with their classmates by incorporating extracurricular activities in virtual mode amid the on-going pandemic. They further argued that these types of activ

The operating system (OS) Windows 11-the successor to Windows 10 (OS) has arrived after six years of its predecessor. Considered as the major release of the Windows NT operating system, Windows 11 is designed keeping in mind as a platform for plat

Wireless earphones have become very popular over the past few years due to their good sound quality and the fact they are truly portable. Designed to be trendy, some well known brands have ensured that their dopes are budget friendly which is well within

In his 20s yet, he addressed a youth assembly at UN on enhancing the quality of education, did his research on Dragonflies, never shied from helping people and even converted his car into an ambulance to help Covid-affected

Most of them started writing during their school days. The pandemic, they say, came as handy as it provided ample time to them to weave their ideas into stories

A popular encrypted messaging App “Telegram” has added a new feature to its desktop, android and IO’s Apps. With the new feature, the users can turn their “Group Voice Chats” into “Group Video Conference”. Users will have the option to keep

The desire and passion seems to be an intrinsic part of human DNA. Even if you have a well-paying job and it may seem to others you have settled in your life; still the passion to follow your dreams or craft makes you restless. What is it that makes peopl

Many switch to online shopping, others face dilemma amid raging pandemic

Local musicians, artists and aficionados have been thronging this quaint, exuberant piece of heaven, Best View Resort, right in the heart of the Dal Lake.

Once a flourishing rural cottage industry, traditional wicker work, has lost its sheen and is now on the verge of dying out, however, still some are continuing with this craft and are hooked to it…

Over the last few years the trend of hijab (head veil) is fast catching up among working women and students in Kashmir Valley. From formal educational institutes to casual marriage parties, the veil has made inroads in modern women's wardrobe. Though, the

Families of slain policemen: Killing cops will not help in resolving anything

The launch of XUV700 is expected to be in late July or early August 2021.The car will be competing with the likes of Hyundai Alcazar, MG Hector Plus, Tata Safari and Jeep Compass. The price of the vehicle is said to be in the range of 15-25 lakhs. It will

A few online global programs like Coursera, Udemy and Edx were started with a mission to provide high quality education to everyone, everywhere around the world by having teachers and instructors from top international universities like Harvard, Caltech,

His immense talent was recognized and appreciated by all, until one day he received an offer to sing in Mumbai. Leaving his hometown and coming to a strange city was a dream come true, but not without its own set of hardships.

At the close of 13th century Jasrota was being ruled by Raja Kailash Dev, who died about 1325 AD. He had two sons, Pratap Dev and Sangram Dev both sought to succeed their father but it was impossible to prove which brother was the older. Eventually, the rulers of neighboring hill states negotiated a settlement, the territory between the Ujh river and the Ravi was surrendered to Sangram Dev, who established an independent principality with his capital at Lakhanpur in 1350 AD. The alternative name was Thein, came from the name of a strong fort on a lofty cliff overhanging the right bank of river Ravi, some 10 Kms north of Lakhanpur, now the site of Thein Hydel Project also known as Ranjit Sagar Dam.

The tandoors made here in Palhallan are of high quality. They are famous across Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh for their durability and long life.

I belong to a Sufi family in Poonch. My grandfather Late Walayat Shah Bukhari was a religious leader and a Sufi poet. My life and work have been influenced by my grandfathers (maternal and paternal). I completed my early education in Poonch (Surankote area), and my childhood and teenage years were also spent in Poonch. Around 1999, our family moved to Jammu due to an unfavourable situation.

Decline in reading culture is being attributed to the advent of new social media platforms as youth mostly remain engrossed in living a virtual life. The prevalent education system is also blamed for poor reading culture as it promotes competition without the real essence of enriching intellectual abilities.

The Valley is as beautiful as Gulmarg and Pahalgam, but less spoiled and more pristine. The principal valley is locally known as ‘Boud Bangus’ (Big Bangus) and has an estimated area of about 300 Square Kilometers. It consists of a linear elliptical bowl aligned along the east-west axis and is surrounded by Rajwar and Mawar in the east, Shamasbury and Dajlungun Mountains in the west, Chowkibal and Karnah Guli in the north and Leepa Mountains in the south. A smaller valley, known as ‘Lokut Bangus’ (small Bangus), lies on the north-eastern side of the main valley. Both the valleys comprise level green meadows surrounded by low lying mountains covered with dense pine forests.

Twenty years after getting sexually abused by her father’s friend, Bisma (name changed) struggles to overcome the trauma from the incident. “He worked in a government ration store. He often visited our family on weekends and spent whole days with us. He would call me to the guest room to give me the chocolates, he brought along. He touched me inappropriately. He smelled of mouldy rice and dusty sacks. One day, my brother witnessed what happened and told my mother. She hushed him and called it complete balderdash. I couldn’t understand what that paedophile was doing with me. He continued doing that for many months until I started getting scared at even the sight of him. I would hide whenever he visited,” Bisma said, with teary eyes.

Hyacinth, an important temperate ornamental bulbous crop, flowers in the spring season and is known for its beauty and fragrance. Hyacinth is a common name of around 30 perennial flowering plants. It belongs to the family Liliaceae. The common Hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis L.) is the most important from a commercial point of view. The common garden Hyacinth, Hyacinth orientalis, originated in Anatolia and was brought to Europe and other continents in the16th century or later. The Hyacinth bulb produces a dense, compact spike of flowers, 6-12 inches (15-30 cm) tall. Hyacinths are highly fragrant, bell-shaped flowers with reflexed petals.

Nothing on earth can match the joy of a Sunday afternoon spent at a serene place, sitting on a picnic mat along with a good company or traversing the untrodden routes, scaling great heights and enjoying great food in natural sounds of gushing waters and chirping of birds.

However, the pandemic poses a “big challenge”. Therefore, people should avoid crowds during festivals. The gold standard would be to remain cautious even if you had been fully vaccinated.

Affirmative therapy is a safe space for these people to discuss their challenges, their problems, to work through these problems and accept one’s real identity. A place that ensures that they won’t be judged. In the article published by SheThePeople.Tv, Srishti Banerjee highlights how affirmative queer therapy is very important, especially in India owing to all the stigma that is attached to LGBTQ+. In India, the queer community has not been able to come out of their shell and be who they really are. Counsellors provide them with a secure place to ensure their mental well-being. Affirmation is integral to queer affirmative therapy, the primary role of the therapist is to support or uphold the experiences of their clients without judging them or without advising them any treatment methods for it, the therapist can’t either direct them towards any direction. The affirmation process takes into account the psychosocial reality of a client as well. It is also important that the therapists p

The filmmakers of J&K were already at a huge disadvantage due to the absence of cinema halls in Kashmir and the suspension of outsourcing of programmes by DD Srinagar and DD Kashir. However, recent back-to-back lockdowns have allowed them to look towards the restricted platforms' options to get their work released.

Mammer is one of the most visited places among tourist destinations in Kashmir and one who visits the place will love to visit here again. Mammer mesmerizes tourists with its beauty and a river flowing alongside the spot.

Irrigation is essential to obtain good seed yield irrigation may be required before planting and at suitable intervals up to flower. One or two irrigation may be desirable for many seed crops. The frequency of irrigation and amount of water supplied depends upon the physical texture of the soil, rainfall and crop requirement. Seed crops are rather sensitive to moisture stress at the vegetative, flowering and maturity stages. The irrigation should be stopped 2-3 weeks before seed maturity to ensure drier conditions needed for harvesting.

Aromatic plants possess odorous volatile substances which occur as essential oil in one or more parts viz. root, wood, bark, stem, foliage, flower and fruit. The characteristic aroma is due to a variety of complex chemical compounds. The term essential oil is concomitant to fragrance or perfumes because these fragrances are oily in nature and they represent the essence or the active constituents of the plants. Essential oils are highly concentrated, low volume, high value products. About 2000 species out of the 4,50,000 species known to mankind contain essential oils. The volatile oils occur in different parts of the plant as in the rose petals are rich in oil while as in lavender spikes, Mint leaves, Sage flowers and in cumin, fennel, etc, in seeds and in vetiver in the roots are sources of essential oils

I was trained by Vinod Rawat for six months and that I consider my Masters in acting, which build my confidence. I rose above the myth that models can’t act.

Population of Kashmir division as per 2011 census is 71.99 lakhs including 51.5% people residing in rural areas. Around 1.85 lakhs of females are involved with agriculture and 38.45 thousand of females are working as agricultural labourers. This indicates that around 2.24 lakhs of females are directly involved with farming in Kashmir division of Jammu and Kashmir. The average size of holding is very small (0.545 ha/holding) as compared to 1.66 ha at the national level with more than 93% of owners of these farm holdings subsisting on agriculture and allied activities. Commercial floriculture is a profitable activity known worldwide and is an industry having around 60 billion dollar annual trade. Biggest commercial floriculture market is at Alsmeer Nethger started by civil society namely Flora Hollanda and now 191 countries are involved in this trade with an anuual turnover of above 50 billion Us dollars with a growth rate of 10%.Globally 2 million ha are under commercial floriculture an

5 kilometers away from the town of district Ganderbal, a diversion from the highway leads to a quaint hamlet. Twenty minutes of bumpy ride through a rough way; surrounded by paddy fields and orchards, leads to a village called Gutlibagh, which houses the largest number of Pakhtun communities in Kashmir. A few curves ahead, an old well-kempt house stands with a lively ambience. A German shepherd welcomes the incomers with consistent howling and barking. Inside the house, a single ceiling fan is giving out more noise than air. A man in his early 80s is dozing off on a bedstead. Disturbed by the incomers, the man, Nasrullah Khan bestirred himself and rose from his bed. Khan with clean-shaven looks much younger than his age. Khan belongs to the second generation of the Pakhtun community who migrated to the region during the Afghan rule in Kashmir and settled in various parts of the region.

Physical benefits : Deep involvement with nature ,social interaction, deep concentration on different components visible at eye level ,aromatic feel at smelling point of view, hand eye and mind coordination help easing stress. It has been reported that after surgery scenic view of natural elements dominate positive feeling on negative ones, helps concentration on negative emotions and reducing stressful thoughts.

Mehran Hilal, a professional footballer, wasn't riding bicycles before the pandemic, but now he bikes around for hours daily.

Owner of the café, Moomin Bilal, said it is quieter these days as people prefer to spend their time staying at home.

People born during 1950s are witness to the fact that religious teaching and social gatherings were performed in the lap of Chinar tree even during 1970s and 1980s. Most of the shrines in Kashmir has dense Chinar plantation which proves the facts. Sur names for Chinars are assigned throughout valley like Baba Bouin, Molvi Bouin, Doodar Bouin, Chari Boiun etc which reflects specific meanings and particular landmark.

The above is an excerpt of a discussion from a Kashmiri clubhouse room, where people have been discussing everything under the sun. Launched in 2020, Clubhouse-an audio-only social app is witnessing an overwhelming response in Kashmir. Being iOS exclusive for over a year since its launch, clubhouse rolled out the android app on May 21 in several countries including India which lead to a steep increase in the number of users across the globe along with Kashmir.

Zarqa believes that the remembrance of Allah is the best way one can seek solace in hardship. For Zarqa the act of remembrance was in Arabic Calligraphy. “After seeing my portrait sketches and calligraphy, my friends insisted that I should work on this art again. I was overwhelmed by the response. It gave me a confidence boost.”

Rasiq had also tried hard to get admission to the Institute of Music and Fine Arts but did not succeed. Hailing from Gopalpora in Budgam district, Rasiq was among the top three finalists of a musical reality show.

Domestic violence is a very broad term or otherwise a generalized expression for all deliberate and intentional omissions or acts of physical, psychological or even sexual violence that can cause psychological trauma or physical injury to the victim. In aggravated circumstances there may even be a likelihood of death. The term also includes economic deprivation, where a victim fights for sustenance in the household. Such acts are committed on a victim by the family members such as the husband. In other circumstances, the act is committed by an intimate partner, while a couple is residing together.

‘More business-centric, little on supporting local art and talent’

Once a dominant language in the valley, Persian has faded into oblivion with passage of time. However, some die-hard farsi admirers are keeping it alive to remind its historical and cultural significance

Pinkfrog’s song “Baby Shark” went viral in the year 2020, and has become one of the most viewed videos on YouTube. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted the song with a twist “Baby Doge doo doodoodoo” changing the lyrics from “Baby Shark” to “Baby Doge”. Baby Doge is a spinoff cryptocurrency of Dogecoin. It sored up to 40 percent in value instantly and according to CoinMarketCap it has witnessed a rise of 98%in value in the last 24 hours. The tweet has made Baby Doge talk of the crypto market. Every major organisation has been talking about the new favourite coin.

All we do is, tell them what all they didn’t do, and hold all of it close to our heart. We hurt them sometimes by only counting their faults again and again. Hence unconsciously we take their good for granted.

While quoting a book of M S Wadoo, an eminent local forest officer, Saleem Beg, convener INTACH, says, "He attributes the significance and sacredness of Chinar to the Buddhist past of Kashmir. 'The Buddhi tree (Booyn), planted in prayer centres, was worshipped and its trunk engraved with the figure of Mahatma Buddha in the same manner as the Buddhist Tree (Ficus Religiosa Linn of Bodhgaya – Bihar).

Shoes for Summer Treks

Fashion marketing campaigns of top-notch companies like Flipkart, Myntra, Amazon and Lenskart not only tend to be creative

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