Days after Delhi talks, another script has unfolded in the valley. A viral clip is now laying bare a new model for โNaya Kashmirโ and scrapping the political posturing of the 14 unionists. Lutyensโ Delhiโs diehard turned discarded โcrisis managerโโthe one who faced the 2008 land agitationโis said to be a new manager of โNaya…
As the valley remains oblivious about the number of wild cats prowling around habitations, the frequent attacks are only giving sleepless nights to people. There was nothing baleful in the air when Mehraj Din Reshi retired to bed on June 22 after checking flock in his fold. But in the rising rumpus of the man-wild…
In a place where a means of communication and movement is restricted due to political and climate instability, rumours driven by fringe discourses and heightened military footfall only make people restless. The massive troop buildup termed as the โhomecomingโ of paramilitary forces from the poll-concluded Indian states has made Imtiyaz Mir anxious. The new jackboots…
Politics, policy paralysis and pandemic have collectively derailed Kashmirโs wheelers now selling their buses as junk for survival. 3D effectโDoom, Distress, Demolitionโis quite blatant in the WBS (Western Bus Stand) in the heart of Srinagar.ย In this buzz-bereft bus yard, Abdul Rashidโs grease-smeared face gleams in the summer sun. The transporter has arrived for another…
Theyโre involved in the community cause when even blood relations arenโt coming forward for the final farewell of their loved ones. The call came when Bashir Ahmad was battling a bug in home isolation. But more than his own wellbeing, he was getting restless for his ailing elder admitted in the Covid-designated hospital at the…
Two boats of two eras saved lives in Kashmir caught in two pestilence periods. But between Now and Then, the vale is struggling to come out of the Shakespearean curse: โA plague on both your houses.โย The change was sudden and shocking. The man who till yesterday would plead the case of his community had…
โMany people made it, some fell and died while battling. The Covid-19 is the biggest nightmare of any survivor. There are injuries that the past year has inflicted upon humankind and the battle is not over yet.โ Such were the times, recounts Aqib as he arrives to offer prayers for the departed soul of his…
Prominent pulmonologist Naveed Nazirโs tweet about the possibility of a second Covid wave has only shifted focus on Kashmirโs vaccination drive still grappling with misinformation and speculations. Inside his crowded clinic at Sanat Nagar junction in Srinagar, a doctor stands isolated. Attending patients behind a transparent glass wall and addressing them through a mike, he…
Covid and cardiac caseloads have redefined the routine practice of conflict-hardened community medicos in Kashmir. In his old-world charm clinic in Srinagarโs Rainawari area, Dr. Majeed Ahangar stands immaculately dressed in a black woollen cap, black feather jacket and brown baggy pants. The poorly-lit infirmary reeks with medicine whiff, while the plywood walls pasted with…