The number “four”

Yogesh Mishra   On the way to school Zuni counts One barricade, two barricades, three barricades Green is Pakistan Saffron is India And blood is red It is little Zuni’s new charade The way she learns counting and recalls a color’s name   I do not know whom to blame … Read more →

A poem for Aasif Sultan

Omer Sultan I wrote this poem to address the illegal imprisonment of Aasif Sultan, the Assistant Editor of Kashmir Narrator, a monthly magazine. Aasif, my brother was arrested on the intervening night of 27th and 28th of August 2018. He dropped me to the airport a day before his arrest. … Read more →

The truth behind “Khokh”

M J Aslam   Kashmiri Dictionary defines the word “Khokh” as “an effigy used to scare away birds from fields of the crop”. Its English equivalent is “scarecrow” which is used by peasants during harvest season in their farmlands to keep away the pesky birds from damaging the crop. That … Read more →

When the War is  over

Shabir Ahmad Mir   When the war is over And you can come over To our side I will let you poke Your finger Into the holes left By bullets and pellets And you will feel how much they hurt Still.   When the war is over I will let … Read more →

Slap

Shabir Ahmed               “Come on. We must leave. Now,” Tariq heard his father say in a voice that was all too familiar. Commanding. Demanding. Used to obeyance. Arms akimbo Tariq’s father filled the doorway with his immense frame. How could one not obey him! … Read more →