Medieval Snowstorm!

I found this article on a recent Google-trawl: Heavy snowfall pushes Kashmir valley back to medieval times.

IANS Srinagar Feb 21: Three days of uninterrupted heavy snowfall have pushed the Kashmir valley back to medieval times.Complete electric power failure, non-availability of drinking water, snow-blocked roads and empty shelves at markets…

The strange thing is that the main narrative thrust of this article is how the Kashmiri have abandoned their old non-industrial ways, and they have nothing to fall back on now that the modern world has failed them. So they have no firewood-lit stoves, no charcoal for their kangri/pheran combo*, no spare candes, (no cars, no phones, no motor bikes, not a single luxury). In other words, they don’t have any of those things that they would have had, had they remained “medieval” and not given in to modern convenience. Thus, this snow storm hasn’t pushed them back to the middle ages, it’s pushed them back to the stone age. Or at the least, late antiquity.**

*Apparently an earthen and wicker firepot that one puts into a pouch in a loose-fitting garment.
**I’m not convinced that India (or Pakistan–don’t want to take a stance on the Kashmir question) was ever properly “medieval,” though this website claims that it not only was, but that it also rocked while being medieval, with Google-hit-enhancing high points like group sex and spanking.

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