Invoking Kashmir's revolutionary poet Gulam Ahmed Mehjoor, President Pratibha Patil on Monday asked its "gardeners (people) to create the glory of spring and make the flowers bloom and the birds sing again". She said Kashmir was rightly called rishiwaer or the abode of rishis as it embodies love, tolerance and compassion.
Pakistan's acclaimed pop band Junoon staged their maiden performance in Srinagar on Sunday, ignoring death threats by militants who opposed the show, and regaling thousands of cheering fans at an open air theatre by the scene Dal Lake.
The scene was like a postcard image of Kashmir - but superimposed with visuals straight from the Woodstock music festival.
Popular Pakistani sufi rock band Junoon on Sunday mesmerised the audience at a concert here with 4,000 people, mainly school and college students, turning out at the concert and singing along with its superhit Sayouni, despite the opposition to the event from terror groups.
The hills that have for years reverberated with gunfire, came alive with the sound of music on Sunday afternoon as Kashmiris, particularly the youth, turned up in large numbers and swayed to the rhythmic beats of Pakistani Sufi ban, Junoon.