 Kashmir, historically, culturally, geographically, has always been India's melting pot. Being at the crossroads has created in its mountains and veils an exciting mosaic of criss-crossing influences often sublime. But to savour the actual flavour of this intermingling of influences, you have to embark on a gastronomical journey. Travel to a little corner of downtown Srinagar, known as Vazapura, the city of chefs. Every nook, corner and street of Vazapura exists to facilitate its residents' chief occupation, which is to cook. Or should it be said to create elaborate feasts? For the Vazwan is no ordinary meal, but a culinary experience like no other. But this ultimate marriage of influences, recipes and ingredients from pan-Indian kitchens has often meant that many a wedding in real has had to be postponed because the family waza was overbooked and had no time to prepare the wedding feast. Vazwans are normally held to celebrate an occasion and a lot of preparation goes into them. Once all the ingredients have been collected, the team of wazas get to work under the strict supervision of the head chef of Vastavaza. Mine-boggling amounts of mutton are chopped, sliced, pounded and ground to cook the traditional dishes such as rista, gushtava, droganjosh, tabak mas. All these and other dishes are cooked on a wood fire in covered pots. The wazas pass on recipes which are often closely guarded family secrets from father to son. While the stamp of Mughal, Sikh, Dogra, Persian kitchens in cooking styles is apparent, the condiments and spices along with other ingredients come from practically all corners of India including the southernmost which give the Vazwan that unique distinct flavour. For the wazas, the taste of the pudding actually lies in its eating as they see their guests relish every mouthful. But not for long, for it is the wedding season and back in Vazapura they have to begin preparation for the next Vazwan.