Madhav Deshmukh sits pensive in his bedroom balcony at Akola. Not the Vidarbha heat, but the fact that he cannot be in Srinagar, his second home, is troubling him. For the last 25 years, he has taken immense pride in "showing India's heaven" to tourists and also in being a Maharashtrian with a strong connect with the border state. In May this year, he was to take his 212th Kashmir tour, not to forget the Amarnath-Kedarnath yatras he was looking forward to.

"Tour operators such as myself live off magical Kashmir, which ranks among the topmost vacation choices. For years, we have told fellow Indians 'don't go to Switzerland as you have one in India'. Today, no destination is open, and I have to make peace with the balcony view," Deshmukh jokes. His loss of business and the deeper loss of connect with Kashmir cloud his summer. Likewise, most Indians feel robbed of the May joys of travel—be it family excursions, jungle safaris or annual sojourns to grandparents' homes.