Srinagar:The winter is officially over. Well, almostover. It is that time of the year when people look towards almond alcoves tohave a sighting of buds of almond bloom. Sometimes in late March or early Apralmond bloom decorates the whole valley. Soon people start f locking toBadamwari with their families and flock together under the colorful shade ofalmond trees. The vernal breeze touches our faces and we Kashmiris say a newyear has arrived. The questions that stare us in the face are that would weforget what we went through in the previous years. Is there a wisdom inwallowing in self pity? Or does wisdom lie in shoring up to a promise of abright future? Can we put our miseries out of the memory for sometime so thatwe can dedicate our time to rebuild Kashmir? Let us organize spring festivalsnot only at few places but at places of beauty and serenity like Pahalgam,Dodhpathri, Gulmarg, Deksum and others.We cannot afford to be prisoners of pastforever. We have to wake up to the reality that future is knocking at our verydoors. The establishment has to live up to its promise of providing massiveemployment to the youth in private sector. When people have jobs, purchasingpower, food, electricity and water supply a lot of problems can be solved. Letus hope for a brighter spring. However, the question remains-Will kashmir bloomfor ever?