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…
In Central Kashmirโs Budgam district, an elderly pandit is a treasured healer for commoners seeking โkoshur ilajโ for their burn injuries and chilblains. But beyond his โdast-e-shafaโ, the non-migrant pandit is a symbol of Kashmirโs syncretic past. In his poorly-lit room, Pandit Jagarnath Koul is examining the burn-scar on his patientโs hand very keenly. The…