Paradise lake

The shot that made Ami Vitale famous

Since the 15th century, Kashmir has been described as “paradise on earth”. More recently, it was a popular destination for backpackers travelling across the northernmost areas of the Indian sub-continent. However, this extraordinarily beautiful region has been bitterly contested by India and Pakistan since it was split between the two countries following Partition in 1947. Many wars have been fought since, and in 2002 another seemed inevitable as troops mobilized on either side of the border. Photojournalist Ami Vitale was already living and working in India when she travelled to Srinagar, the summer capital of Kashmir, to document the military build-up.

“Srinagar was once a tourist hotspot with floating houseboats and beautiful hotels, but in 2002 they were being used as military barracks,” says Ami. “This image of the soldiers patrolling the Dal Lake symbolizes the absurdity of war. Here is this sublime place meant for honeymooners and tourists, and the gondola style boats (shikaras) that once cradled lovers have been taken over by soldiers patrolling the picturesque lake for militants.”

Timeless images

Ami’s somewhat surreal composition of armed soldiers advancing across the mirror-calm water of Dal Lake in a flotilla of wooden shikaras was awarded by World Press Photo.

But of greater significance, she says, was the defining moment it represented in creating a timeless image rather than just ‘timely’ images. “I learned to slow down and take the time to get the images that would become iconic, rather than just responding to covering the daily violence,” she says. “Kashmir taught me that it takes time and patience to tell stories.”

Looking back, she sees her coverage of the Kashmiri conflict as a formative experience with a gamut of contrasting memories, of beauty and bloodshed, that will never fade. She now sees her work from this time as a narrative for the enduring power of the human spirit in times of conflict, and as a source of inspiration for herself and others.