‘Why can’t Kashmir be like other places?’

pune: for salima anjum and noor amir, the world was their small hamlet in the uri sector of jammu and kashmir.they had not explored even the valley, let alone venturing out of it. but all this changed on december 18 when the army decided to sponsor an all-india tour, the himsagar yatra, for 25 children from eight schools in the border area. it has been quite an experience for the children.fourteen-year-old salima got an exclusive photoshoot with bollywood heart-throb hrithik roshan. and third standard student umer noor mir, spent an entire day at esselworld in mumbai. for the children who were in pune on the last leg of their tour, the life they saw couldn't be more different from the one they have lived. life has been so unpleasant for me, says nisreen asgar from shahdara village. i have grown up hearing gunshots. there is hardly any activity happening in our village, and we feel claustrophobic. there are hardly any people in our village, as most of them have shifted to other (safer) places to survive the constant shelling, said 14-year-old shafiqua majid. the area has been bearing the brunt of the shelling across the indo-pak border for many years now.and going out of their houses could actually be a matter of life or death. says hussain, headmaster of the government girls' middle school at kamalkot, who is accompanying the children along with major r.s. chaudhury of the 15 maratha light infantry stationed at uri, for the children it has been a unique experience, to see the 'outside world' and interact with different people. the whole idea is to give them a taste of different places and cultures, says brig.v.k. sawani of the southern command, who received the children at the army headquarters here. and while the kids are happy about their visit, it raises some uncomfortable questions. as 14-year-old syed asif shah gulam from chappar asks: why can't kashmir be like other places? why can't peace prevail in kashmir?