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…
Life on Jhelum bund has been a cultural cradle in Kashmir capital. While one side has a distinction of being an artisan abode, the other side echoes with what resonates from across the river. As the muezzinโs prayer pitch pierces through the rafters of rundown residences, life on Jhelum riverbank at once turns meditatively calm.ย …
As peace continues to drive diplomatic discourses and backchannel talks, the discord-dented commoners of Kashmir still wonder about the elusive calm in their homeland. I pictured Manzoor Ahmad as a frown figure inside his rundown shop in Downtown Srinagar. The 65-year-old tailor was working on someoneโs pheran. He enjoys working when the bright sunlight illuminates…
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…