Soon after the 1947 Dogra Raj downfall, a Kashmiri versifier writing misery and mutiny faded away in the prime of her youth as if she never existed until Mountain Inkโs Meher Qadri unearthed the poetโs buried legacy with a questionโโIs she the first uncrowned poetess of Kashmir?โ At the cusp of World War-II in 1938,…
In the land of โAdabโ, a venerable versifier is speaking hearts and minds of masses with her mystical verses. In her meditatively-calm room, sheโs murmuring the song of storms. The song is a rendition of her verses woven with mystic musings. Thereโs an apparent throbbing heart in the melody transcending sensory perceptions. It talks about…
She may be known for her museum of love, but Atiqa Bano of Sopore was more than a curator of the past. She was an unassuming philanthropist and the community crisis manager who silently fought destitution till her death. A decorated gallery of awards and recognitions makes it a wall of fame. But beyond this…
It was a pleasant day and his funeral cortege faced no inconvenience. Even the wake and bereavement continued without weather playing any spoilsport. I lost my snow-white beard-man in the winter of my homeland. On the day of his departing, the nip in the air shuddered mourners. But in the backdrop of Tangmargโs snow-draped peaks…
On the day when Kashmiri Pandits are celebrating Herath, Mountain Ink presents the living legend of Mohini Raina โ the beloved nurse who sought salvation in her sisterhood and spiritual roots to overcome an overwhelming situation in her homeland when her tribe members migrated from the valley. When Indian Home Minister Mufti Sayeed played his…
After New Delhiโs last summer step, the loyalist of Kashmirโs grand old party and its โtallest leaderโ felt disheartened, disappointed and deceived. More than a year back, as the valley woke up to the news of abrogation of Article 370, my grandfather Abdul Samad Dar took a routine walk in our sunny- cum-sullen lawn. With…