โIn the night of broken glass, I pray someone finds my diary, somebody knows my storyโ The cycle of dark nights had just begun, when I sat to scribble the saddest lines. It was 3:00 am, on August 4, 2019, and Kashmir was once again cut-off from the rest of the world. โThe sea of…
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…
In this third-person narration, the author maps the unsaid and discounted agony of a young Kashmiri woman caught in the curtailed conventions. The afternoon saw her well, as the warmth of Sun uplifted her gloom. So did the warmth of the water. Like it was the only warmth in her life. Or at least the…
Inside a downtownerโs detained world where devoured dreams and despondency lay bare a commonerโs helplessness in Kashmir. It was a striking piece of information from an anonymous cop vouching for the innocence of a wronged downtowner who had landed in then chief minister Narendra Modi-ruled Gujarat jail in 2010. The news came after the man…