Pampore (or Sempore), near Srinagar, Kashmir

Pampore is a town in the Kashmir Valley near Srinagar, in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, long known as the valley’s saffron-growing center. It is associated with the 14th-century Kashmiri mystic-poet Lal Ded (Lalleśvarī), composer of the Śaiva vākhs: by tradition she was married into a family here, though her birthplace is more often placed at Pandrethan, closer to Srinagar. Her verses, still sung in Kashmiri across communities, made her one of the best-loved voices of Kashmir Śaivism.