Srinagar, May 10 -- It was one of those rare winter days when everything looks perfect. The sun was high, the sky was brilliantly blue, and snow from the day before still blanketed the earth in blinding white.

After being stuck indoors, I was finally stepping out, hoping to soak up the warmth of the sun and the cold of the snow at once. I was unusually cheerful.

I wasn't the only one. Near the Dal Lake, people had poured out like spring after a long frost. Tourists posed for photos, kids threw snowballs, and couples sipped kehwa. Even the famously lazy locals had made an exception for the weather.

The mountains in the distance looked dipped in white. The evergreens had been gently dusted, and black clouds hovered above them, threatenin...