Weddings during wartime...

Recently my co-worker was married in the Kashmir region of India.

Regrettably, one group of people who believe in a mysterious force that has political bidding but that no one can see and another group of people who believe in a mysterious force that has political bidding but that no one can see are currently launching mortars and bullets at each other for control of this region.

Kashmir is hotly contested between Pakistan and India. Thus my surprise when my co-worker told me she was going there to be married (you hear about weddings getting blown up in Afghanistan - I was anxious for her safety) could not be contained.

The photos are amazing. It looks like northern California, but rockier and with steppes. The arid air has produced tall thin trees growing green and thick on canyon walls. It looks simply breathtaking.

More beauty was at work there as well. My co-worker had beautiful henna work done on her hands:

and brought me back a very nice wall hanging:

• culture
• politics

• Previous: Let’s make it two Massachusetts victories in a week
• Next: Trying not to look at exit polls