Mahadeep Singh Jamwal
It is shown that not all the youth were ‘Mujahids’ and some had taken up the ‘Kalashnikovs’ merely out of showmanship the girls will feel as if a superstar is coming. 18. Munnu: A Boy from Kashmir by Malik Sajad. One of the finest graphic memoirs published last year, Munnu tells the story of a young Kashmiri boy growing up in the valley in the 1990s. Son of an artisan, little Munnu’s twin obsessions are drawing and sugar. As his elder brother Bilal’s friends cross over to join the resistance, Munnu sees his father being taken away by the army for identification parades every other week. Amidst these daily traumas, life doesn’t stop – nor do coming-of-age woes, romantic crushes and the trials of pubescent boys. 19. Curfewed Night: A Frontline Memoir of Life, Love and War in Kashmir by Basharat Peer, an intimate account of growing up in Kashmir in the 1990s by a journalist. Beginning with the story of his family surviving the Indian army’s reprisal on their village, Peer follows up with by an account of the attempt on his father’s life a few years later, and ends with a long section documenting the voices of the victims of the “occupation”. 20. The Country without a Post Office by Agha Shahid Ali; Few writers have been able to create poetry out of Kashmir, while conveying its complex tragic history, as Agha Shahid Ali. This iconic collection begins with a poem set during the clashes between ordinary Kashmiris and the Indian army in the 1990s. Even in the midst of death, arson and rape, lines of quiet elegance and outstanding power haunt the reader. 21. The Tree with a Thousand Apples by Sanchit Gupta narrates how the innocence of the city is systematically torn apart, every page; begin to understand why the Dal Lake is dying. It is a universal story of cultures, belongingness, revenge and atonement. 22. Past, Present and Future a book by Dr. Rajkumar Singh (Professor in the University, Department of Political Science, B.N. Mandal, University, Saharsa (Bihar) published in 2008, deals in with the problem of the State of Jammu and Kashmir. Beginning with the political history of the state in ancient times it presents Chronology of Kashmir rulers – Hindus, Muslims and the British respectively. The book is loaded with the Kashmir’s political history, religion and culture, diplomatic, social and legality of accession, diplomatic dead locks on Kashmir, wars on Kashmir and Cross-Border Terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. 23. The History of the Struggle for Freedom in Kashmir: Cultural and Political, from the Earliest Times to the Present Day by Prem Nath Bazaz (National Book Foundation) Prem Nath Bazaz’s chronicle of Kashmir’s freedom struggle is divided into two parts: Before the Partition of India and After the Partition. The basic premise of the book is that Kashmir belongs to Kashmiris even as its present and future may be inextricably tied to its two powerful neighbors. The book traces the sentiment for freedom in Kashmir from the earliest times to the present
The above account of books reflects the plight of valley and valleyites, many sensational expose, the tails of tragedies and hardships of Kashmir community exodus. These books portray the story of ruined Kashmir. But apart from above, we come across the ever best part of Kashmir beauty as one chapter in the great book ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ by ‘Paramhansa Yogananda’. The chapter 21 under heading ‘We Visit Kashmir’ narrates that our northbound journey brought into view the true Himalayan vastness. We continued on the labyrinthine way, adorned by views of rivers, valleys, precipitous crags, and multitudinous mountain tiers. Joyous anticipations filled our hearts as we neared central Kashmir, paradise land of lotus lakes, floating gardens, gaily canopied houseboats, the many-bridged Jhelum river, and flower-strewn pastures, all ringed round by the Himalayan majesty. Our approach to Srinagar was through an avenue of tall, welcoming trees. We made a pilgrimage to the ancient Srinagar temple of Swami Shankara. As I gazed upon the mountain-peak hermitage, standing bold against the sky, I fell into an ecstatic trance. A few days at Srinagar; then on to Gulmarg, we ventured onto the very steep Khilanmarg; the path led through a dense forest, abounding in tree-mushrooms, where the mist-shrouded trails were often precarious. For the first time in this life, I gazed in all directions at sublime snow-capped Himalayas, lying tier upon tier like silhouettes of huge polar bears. My eyes feasted exultingly on endless reaches of icy mountains against sunny blue skies. On our downward trip we saw afar a vast carpet of yellow flowers, wholly transfiguring the bleak hills. Our next excursions were to the famous royal “pleasure gardens” of the Emperor Jehangir, at Shalimar and Nishat Bagh. The ancient palace at Nishat Bagh is built directly over a natural waterfall. Rushing down from the mountains, the torrent has been regulated through ingenious contrivances to flow over colorful terraces and to gush into fountains amidst the dazzling flower-beds, ultimately dropping fairy like into the lake below. The immense gardens are riotous with color roses of a dozen hues, snapdragons, lavender, pansies, and poppies. An emerald enclosing outline is given by symmetrical rows of Chinars, Cypresses, and Cherry trees. We took several trips in the ‘Shikaras’ or ‘Houseboats’, shaded by red-embroidered canopies, coursing along the intricate channels of Dal Lake, a network of canals like a watery spider web. Here the numerous floating gardens, crudely improvised with logs and earth, strike one with amazement, so incongruous is the first sight of vegetables and melons growing in the midst of vast waters. In this storied vale one finds an epitome of all the earth’s beauties. The Lady of Kashmir is mountain-crowned, lake-garlanded, and flower-shod. In later years, after I had toured many distant lands, I understood why Kashmir is often called the world’s most scenic spot. It possesses some of the charms of the Swiss Alps, and of Loch Lomond in Scotland, and of the exquisite English lakes. An American traveler in Kashmir finds much to remind him of the rugged grandeur of Alaska and of Pikes Peak near Denver. The jewel-like lakes of Kashmir guarded like beautiful maidens by the stern surveillance of the Himalayas stand out in my memory as the loveliest spots on earth.
Concluding my exploration of few publications on Kashmir brought out a short note on Kashmir endorsing the lines of Mughal emperor Jahangir “Gar firdaus bar-rue zamin ast, hami asto, hamin asto, hamin ast” meaning If there is a heaven on earth, it’s here, it’s here but these were the words centuries old and present era speaks songs of death and destruction only in ruined heaven by demons. The Kashmir has passed through treacheries of varied rulers. Kashmir was an important centre of Hinduism, Buddhism Shaivism, Islamization, Kashmiri Sufi mysticism and now the ‘Wahhabism’ has over ruled all isms in valley. It has witnessed Shah Mir Dynasty, Mughal Empire, Afghan Durrani Empire, Sikhs ruler, British ruler, and Dogra rulers before attaining status of Jammu and Kashmir State but now the platform taken over by dullards of anti-national vision dually supported by power hungry pseudo-secular politicians. The fragrance of the words of Mahatma Gandhi “It is really difficult for to distinguish between Hindu Kashmiri and Muslim Kashmiri. You people have one language and one culture” have faded away and Hindu Kashmiri flushed out from secular character of the valley by fanatics.
(Concluded)
