In company of a powerful mind

‘‘I am not so sure,’’ she says, skipping the end reels of Mani Ratnam’s Yuva that is being screened upfront on the 7-hour flight from New Delhi. ‘‘I will take it as it comes, and if it does come up, you will be there to hear what I have to say.’’

Mehbooba was reluctant to take this trip, after all she has always felt she was not ready — similar opportunities to visit United States and even Pakistan have been quietly avoided. ‘‘When I was asked to speak to the President to convey my thoughts, I realized this time, I had to come…for the experience, and for the attraction of being in the company of an extremely powerful mind.’’

Post-lunch, she moves on to the visit at hand. First three days in Tanzania where she along with the President and Minister for Social Welfare Meira Kumar will visit a school for special children, donate teaching and other aids, computers and also launch a camp for their health upkeep. The President himself details this in an in-flight briefing.

Social responsibility is something close to Mehbooba’s heart. In Srinagar, her Umeed Trust has just started holding health camps for women where medicines are given out at a nominal cost. ‘‘We have started small, giving out things as trivial but necessary as toothbrush and toothpaste,’’ she says.

Mehbooba is known for speaking her mind. As PDP leader, she was often first one to arrive at the scene of a terrorist attack to lend a shoulder. As an MP, is she able to continue that? ‘‘Yes, I try,’’ she says. ‘‘I don’t believe any parent wants their children to take up guns. But then these days children are so hard to control.’’

Mehbooba’s first priority is to try and instil a sense of security among the people. ‘‘There is a perceptible change in the mood of the people and we are now trying to channelise that mood into something positive.’’

Mehbooba is happy about the promise to open up borders for journalists. ‘‘The next step would be to have people from Kashmir go over to PoK and vice-versa. Only then will the misconceptions vanish. Opening up Wagah is great but why not Sialkot-Jammu, Rajouri-Poonch?’’

As a beginning, Mehbooba has been harbouring this idea: to open shrines in the state and allow devotees from across the border to come and pay their respects there. ‘‘At Charar e-Sharief there is supposed to be an Urs during October, just like in Ajmer Sharief. If people from PoK would like to come to Kashmir during this time, I would like to take this up with the MEA .”

There are several MEA officials on board, including Secretary (West) Shashi Tripathi. Whether they are listening isn’t Mehbooba’s worry right now. She says a few hours into the flight and she is already missing her daughters 17-year-old Irtiqa and the younger Iltija.