“Where do you think you are going?” an inspector of the Jammu and Kashmir Police shouts, just as one is about to leave the railway station.

Put it down to naivety. In Baramulla, unlike anywhere else in the country, one can’t walk in and out of a railway station as one pleases. Every arrival must account for itself. A reason must be furnished, identification produced, an interrogation endured.

The next five minutes go in explaining that the visit has little to do with the turbulent past or present of the region. The writer had come, instead, to trace the roots of Auqib Nabi, the pacer who has been named in India’s ODI squad for the five-match series against New Zealand.

In Baramulla, unlike anywhere else in the country, one can’t walk in and out of a railway station as one pleases. (Express Photo)

Only after a thorough scrutiny is permission granted to leave the premises.…