More than tulips, it’s the dandelions that fascinate Kashmiri women

Srinagar, Apr 21: As spring colours every grey twig in Kashmir, a familiar sight graces the meadows, orchards, backyard gardens, hill-sides and even public parks in urban areas: women collecting dandelions, locally known as Haend.

The annual harvest of Dandelions and other wild herbs growing in spring is the excitement that echoes among Kashmiris families, perhaps more than the famed Tulip Garden.

Bright yellow flowers of Haend form a natural carpet across Kashmir.

In April, women are seen plucking the blooms along with the entire plant from the soil. The roots are chopped off, and the bunch with flowers shoved into the baskets and bags.

The pleasant sunshine of April makes the activity a sort of a family picnic when women in villages gather together to collect their spring treasure.

Aamina Begum, a pleasant woman in her 60s from Kupwara said she and her neighborhood women collect dandelions in huge wicker baskets for days.

“Some we cook fresh, the remaining is dried in the sun to be consumed in winters,” she said.

Aamina’s daughter also joins her on her trips when she gets time from household chores.

Haend has a cultural space in Kashmiri cuisine and traditional medicine. It is cooked solo, with meat curries and fresh as well as dried for.

It is an essential part of post-partum nutrition in Kashmir.

Scientific research increasingly supports the medicinal value of dandelions, many studies reinforcing the traditional wisdom.

One such study published in Nutrition Reviews and another in Food and Chemical Toxicology underline the plant’s nutrition packed with vitamins A, C and K and minerals such as iron, in addition to its antioxidant properties.

Researchers swear by its anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties.

It is also a diuretic as per a research published in Journal of Ethnopharmacology, in addition to it aiding in digestion.

Some studies also suggest that it may have anti-cancer for leukemia.

However, the popularity of dandelions is beyond the scientific findings.

It is a cultural feast that has been passed over from many generations, its bitter taste preferred over many sweet tasting foods.

Apart from Dandelions, women collect obuj (sorrel) and sotchal (mallow) are also harvested in the season.

A month later, as the weather gets warm, nunnar (purselane) and Lisse (amaranth) are harvested from the wild and wild growing areas of Kashmir.

While Kashmir celebrates the Tulips and Almond Blossoms, the rural landscape and a part of urban population is more excited every spring about collecting dandelions and other herbs, keeping the tradition alive, a journey that may soon halt with the advent of packaged foods and vegetables from across the country.