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…
On the day when Kashmiris are observing the 175 years of the inhuman Treaty of Amritsar (the pact which sealed the fate and sold the valley along with its people, livestock and trees to Dogra rulers), many are recalling the treacherous regimeโs prime minister for his principled conduct with the Fourth Pillar of Democracy, now…
After Akbarโs invading army faced an โoppressedโ hatredโโPogi moghulโโfor being the first alien arm-twisters in the valley, the koshur slang only progressed with political shades and slurs throughout its โNaya Kashmirโ resurgent phases.ย As the two political pals rose to address the monarchy-liberated masses in Kashmirโs Red Square in the late forties, the celebrated Persian…
Kashmirโs Persian connection mightโve elapsed from public memory amid the blitz of the distorted narrative over the years, but a sanctum sanctorum in old Srinagar is still making these ties as obvious as it was back in the reformerโs time. A turret rising from a rusty pyramid-shaped rooftop in downtownโs defiant pocket populated by polemic…
Confused as the โhouse of comradesโ where endless discussions on Marx and Lenin during the Cold War era would spread intellectual airs in Srinagar, a buzzing hangout lost its relevance and place thirty years ago. Even as the coffee-makers have multiplied since then, that classic coffee has stayed a sentimental sip for many. When a…
As the Front man, he gave everything to the cause dismissed as โwildernessโ by a figurehead. And now when the same league is out for a new political bargain, the erstwhile supporter is seeing a clear dรฉjร vu. Sheikh Abdullahโs mid-seventy handshake with Indira Gandhi began backfiring when a secret police laid a net to…
A living witness to Kashmirโs tumultuous history, a baker from Old Srinagar is a stark signpost of Kashmirโs Central Asian connection. Dawn of a searing summer day makes Kashmirโs Aali Kadal look entrancing, with its old-world charm and waning architectural landscape. Some traditional washermen shouldering bundled shawls show up as early birds. The sun rising…