Some Kashmiris who lost their loved ones to the strife situation have picked up an uncanny routine with time to bring some solace in their battered lives.ย The four visitors that defied the graveyard silence with their spoken sorrows made a summer day even more restive for the cemetery regulars. They came and whispered prayers…
Termed as the mastermind behind the recent assassinations of political workers and cops, Abbas Sheikhโs killing is seen as the passing of the rank recruiter.ย The surreptitious strike in the summer capital by a near dozen covert counterinsurgents may be a perfect potboiler plotline, but it has already become a shot in the arm of…
The fairer troupe that once drummed out the political support has now become frowning figures of lost politics. As one โmadamโsโ go-getter from downtown Srinagar, Kulsum is currently living a life of a political recluse.ย Bereft of yesteryearsโ zeal to participate in political pomp and show, she mostly stays indoors and no longer going out…
Among the cultural symbols which have faded in the guise of modernity is an iconic Kashmiri rug called โGabeโ. But now, fighting this craft demise is a master artisan once again decorating Kashmiri drawing rooms with the revived rug. Change which Ghulam Mohammad Lone had long craved for has already taken place to his contentment.…
An epitaph may be the last tribute from a family to their loved ones but for some it also means a source of livelihood and craft which is now changing. Since the early eighties, Mehrajuddin of Malkah locality of Srinagar has been sitting in the graveyard silence to write last tributes to the dead. Operating…
Lately, the videos of โIsraeli soldiersโ chasing Palestinians on horsebacks have triggered an argument among Kashmiri youth circles. Refilling the fuel tank of his TVS gearless scooter, Yasir Mukhtar, 26, has been spending over three thousand rupees every week for the long travels he makes from his home in the uptown area of Srinagar. Gulmarg…
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…
As lockdowns have created financial crisis and distress in the society, Old Srinagar which once abhorred intrusions in its artistic atmosphere is now witnessing a growing footfall of NGOs. A frail old woman, seventyish, from the interiors of Barthana, comes by foot, huffing her way to the main Qamarwor area in Srinagar, to collect a…