Intisaab- Kashmir kay shuhda kay naam

Mohammad Huzaifa Pandit Badan dareeda huun aaj ki ghata bain karti hui aayi hai Yeh sham ki kasini chaon, dehleez pay pukartay saaye Aur dareechon ki na-beena tatolti aankhain Khoonrez hawaao.n main, boo-e-gham ki muntazir Ki aaj qatalgahon say shayad phir teray kakulon ki mehak aayi hai. Haan wohi mehak … Read more →

Language without a Nation

Mir Hilal A year ago, when my son was 18 months old, he began to speak in chaste Kashmiri, and instantly became an oddity. He would draw a blank when people tried to charm him in Urdu spoken with a distinctly Kashmiri flavour. And when I would say he speaks … Read more →

The Leftist from Downtown

Khalid Mir In 2014 visiting home for Eid just before the floods ravaged much of Srinagar City and the vale, I found myself sipping coffee with a couple of acquaintances at the famed city restaurant ‘The Hideout’. Call me a cynic, even as the discussion hovered around how the society … Read more →

Lehra Aey Kashmir Key Jhandey Lehra

Engineer Rashid It was Saturday, 7th June 1952 when the Constituent Assembly met in the Assembly Chamber Rajgarh Palaces Srinagar at 11o clock. Mr. Ghulam Mohammad Sadiq, then President Assembly (Speaker used to be called as President Assembly) began proceedings of the day by calling Hon’ble Prime Minister Shiekh Mohammad … Read more →

The Walnut Orchard

Khalid Fayaz Javed slept after finishing the dawn prayers during the Ramadan of 2003. No sooner than an hour or so of that autumn morning sleep, his newly bought phone rang. He woke up just when the ringing was about to die. Half asleep, Javed said gruffly ‘Hello!’ The unknown … Read more →

To bury a martyr is not a thing to be forgotten

Irfan Meraj  A beautiful winding stretch of road leads to Atta   Mohammad’s home in Boniyar, Uri. The beautiful landscape is in sharp contrast to what it holds beneath. Atta Mohammad died a week ago at his home after a prolonged illness. The sole gravedigger of his village for several … Read more →

Witness from a funeral in Kashmir

Rouf Dar Every occupied nation undergoes different phases in a liberation movement. Kashmir, which became the hotbed of armed militancy in 1990s, is yet again amidst a refreshed phase of armed militancy which has gripped the entire valley. The rise of a teen commander Burhan Wani, from the ashes of … Read more →

Two poems by Asiya Zahoor

Hawa Mahal Lal Chund shaped the Palace of Winds as Lord Krishna’s crown. He tamed the course of wind to swirl and keep cold the Queens of Kachwaha, snow shrouds on beds burning sand. “Follow me, Ma’am,” the guide said, “I‘ll show you nine-ninety-nine windows. Intricate lattice work, heavily colored … Read more →

At the Foothills

At the Foothills I gather my summer dreams tuck them in yearning for winter — my savior at the foothills hauling a burden of sanity I wander uphill, my delirious memories rest at the foothills a weaver worries, will pashmina slip through a razor-wire knot? At dawn, colored threads tremble … Read more →

Three poems by Shirin Bismillah

Fused Thoughts From Moscow to New Delhi — we attempted To paint the flakes of cloud, intruding in the Unknown territories, reading Kafka. Sparrows who had a crisp morning dialogue For the last twenty years — had been looking for An empty branch and some action in Sheikh Sarai. From … Read more →

Poverty

Showkat Ahmad Bhat ‘’ Congratulations! Gul Kaakh’’, Asad , his neighbor’s son said to him. Gul Chaan who was feeding his goat which was tied to a peg in the compound of his mud house grinned at Asad. He got confused for being congratulated and was desperate to know the … Read more →

India’s Dubious Games in Kashmir

Shafkat Raina In New Delhi before visiting Indian controlled Kashmir, the Indian Defence Minister issued a controversial statement that, “terrorists in the state (Kashmir) can be neutralised with the help of terrorists, why should we do it, why my soldiers have to do it”. The people who are well aware … Read more →

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