The apricots in the suitcase

A taste of the juicy, lip-smacking Ladakhi fruit

When I was posted in Ladakh in the early 1980s, the erstwhile Indian Airlines was the only civil aviation carrier operating between Srinagar and Leh. Leh had a newly constructed civil airport terminal, which was yet to be provided with screening equipment. So the airport staff were particularly vigilant. Besides the necessary check for items such as weapons and explosives, they were required to enforce the J&K State government rule prohibiting passengers from carrying fresh fruits by air from Leh to Srinagar. This rule was supposedly meant to prevent pests in fruits from infecting orchards in the Kashmir Valley. Because military aircraft serviced only the Leh-Chandigarh air link, senior service officers were using the Indian Airlines flights between Srinagar and Leh. Thus it was that a certain senior officer was returning to Srinagar after work in Ladakh.