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…
Before a political summon from centre, another searing summer had made air conspiratorial in the valley. Even now, as the 14 leaders are about to share the round table, the thawed loose talks are still creating a buzz in the valley. ย
After redefining rhythm and routine, a waning second wave has now restored some old order, including the mosque camaraderie. In this piece, the author talks about one such comradeship curbed by the coronavirus. When I became a captive of the red zone, that old mosque mate of my grandfatherโs age felt like a castaway company.ย …
When the ice melts on the meadows of Tosa Maidan, the morning brings back birds singing their instinctive songs setting a signal for nearby village dwellers to spend their summer on the most pleasant meadows of Kashmir. Abdul Ghani Shikari, 55, who lives in Sita Haran parish of central Kashmirโs Budgam district takes his family…
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…
On the heels of a Kashmiri Pandit councillorโs killing, a virtual talk and the subsequent speculations threaten to plague yet another summer in the valley. With J&K Police investigators still probing how did a protected person travelled to Tral without his security guards, some of his incensed brethren have already thrown their weight behind the…
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…
Theyโre involved in the community cause when even blood relations arenโt coming forward for the final farewell of their loved ones. The call came when Bashir Ahmad was battling a bug in home isolation. But more than his own wellbeing, he was getting restless for his ailing elder admitted in the Covid-designated hospital at the…
The critical cash meant for the treatment of the terminal disease is coming to the rescue of the needy in the Covid crisis. Tech-savvy Sajid Sofi sensed it quite early that coming events would soon cast their shadow in his serene hometown on the banks of Mansbal Lake in the Ganderbal district. It was early…
Once clogged by tourists, now lost in poverty. The people of Dal Lake are left with nothing but empty pockets in another lockdown. A white bird โgullโ sits undisturbed in the Dal Lake on one of the vertical beams of wood. Silent, he pushes the beam and hits the air willfully. An old man sitting…