Groups of Muslim residents in the old quarters of Indian Kashmir’s main city Srinagar mark the annual festival at the shrine of a Sufi saint Mian Shah Sahib by throwing firecrackers across a stream at dusk on Dec 21. The small festival which coincides with the beginning of 40 coldest winter days in the disputed Himalayan region used to be a mixed Muslim-Hindu tradition now carried on by Muslims alone after most Hindus fled violence more than three decades ago. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES