Classic Books on Kashmir Demolish Conjured Narratives.
PUNCHLINE The Joy Of Re-reading Books Knock-Down The Dominant Discourses By Z.G. Muhammad In a scenario, when politics in our state has become crazy, the ‘hegemonic discourses’ have the sway, and a big lie projected as truth is accepted, restlessness is a natural corollary. To fight this restlessness instead of reading new books on Kashmir by authors published by big houses in India,- of course, tutored, of late, I have started re-reading books already read many years … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Kashmir-Talk, Perspectives
Governor “Sage or Saboteur”- debate in Kashmir Context
PUNCHLINE Chidambaram Has A Point Have Governors A Role In Kashmir Dispute By Z.G. Muhammad On Saturday, Oct 27, 2018, there was a graveyard silence outside, with people remaining indoors in protest against landing of troops from New Delhi at Srinagar airport in 1947. Everything was in mourning, mesmerizing autumn with its variegated colors had been converted into a season of killings – fifty youth killed in a month. In this somber scenario the moment I sat on … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Kashmir-Talk
Kashmir Women belie patriarchal medieval and Elizabethan ideas
Punchline Women on Forefront By Z. G. Muhammad In South Asia men, out of share bravado often use the phrase, ‘we are not wearing bangles.’ Interestingly, even top generals often use this phrase for sending a terse message to the enemy country that we are not as weak and breakable as women. This South Asian phrase is comparable to the famous soliloquy of protagonist in Shakespeare’s masterpiece Hamlet, ‘Frailty, thy name is a woman!’ that depicts women in a negative context as frail beings week in a character who fail to rise to the occasion and fight adverse situations with fortitude and courage. Women of Kashmir have long before belied these patriarchal medieval and Elizabethan ideas by not only standing by the side of men but also being in the vanguard of … Read entire article »
Filed under: Kashmir-Talk, Point of view
Srinagar is Not ‘Ghetto People’: Story of Collective Punishment of Downtown
Punchline They Are Not ‘Ghetto People’ Z.G.Muhammad Honestly, they ‘have been more sinned against than sinning.’ Distraught at the plight of a million people with bright minds and deft hands this Shakespearean quote knocked my mind while walking through the streets, lanes, and bylanes of the heart of Srinagar city. None but the people they catapulted to power after big struggle and sacrifices have betrayed them and made them powerless. Their collective story is akin to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Kashmir-Talk, Perspectives
Autumn: When Golden And Crimson Leave Had Songs For Us
Autumn Scenes Nostalgia When Autumn Cometh ZGM My siblings, my mates and I happily said goodbye to ‘stunning summer afternoons.’ That ‘soon we will plunge ourselves into cold shadows,’ did not bother us, and we never lamented as some poets have done. And ‘in the ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,’ we no more looked for songs of spring’ but eagerly waited for listening grandmother’s stories in cozy corners of the kitchen. The blonde and brownish leaves … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Kashmir-Talk
Write Your Story- Khalid Bashir Has Written One
PUNCHLINE Write Your Story Z. G. Muhammad Like many other bibliophiles, the iconic bookstore, ‘The Kashmir Bookshop’ on the Residency Road had also become my haunt. Similar to some morning visitors to the India Coffee House, I also had become an avid dust jacket reader inside the bookshop and had developed the habit of flaunting my knowledge about books over a cup of hot coffee. The bookshop by all stretch of the imagination was the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Kashmir-Talk
Kashmir: Tryst With Ballot
Kashmir’s Tryst with Ballot Z.G. Muhammad Some days, back on social media network Facebook, someone posted a black and white photograph of a handsome turbaned man draped in an up-button black coat. The picture looked straight into the eyes of the surfers telling terrifying tales of suppression of the yesteryears. It had hundreds of likes and dozens of shares. It generated scores of euphoric and eulogistic comments from a broad spectrum of our society as wide-ranging … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Kashmir-Talk, Point of view