An Autobiographical Note- Tryst With Progressive Writers.
Nostalgia Tryst with Progressive Writers ZGM Our childhood, in many ways, was the antithesis of William Henry Davies famous poem ‘Leisure’ in which he laments; ‘What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare, We had a lot of time to stand and stare, and watch a thrush singing in the bush, look for cuckoo’s eggs in bulbuls’ nests in the ivies cloaking neighbor’s house and chase swallows flying on the deserted … Read entire article »
Filed under: Kashmir-Talk
Showcasing History – Rebuilding Citadel of Kashmir Freedom Struggle
PUNCHLINE Showcasing History By Z.G. Muhammad Thirty-three years back, in December 1985, by sheer luck, I had landed in Paris. The State then was ruled by a ‘defection’ government. It was a government of just eleven legislators turned ministers who had deserted their party for ministerial berths and earned sponsorship from New Delhi. In this fifteen-month old government, bureaucracy ruled the roost. In one of the meetings, I also won a favor of a senior bureaucrat- a visit … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Kashmir-Talk, Point of view
When Grandmothers and Mothers Glued Their Ears To Radio Trarkhal
Nostalgia Our Love for Radio Trarkhal. ZGM Sitting in the window of his workplace with lenses as thick as magnifying glasses in steel frame tied to his ears with thick cotton threads, he weaved dreams on Pashmina Shawls with a needle and silken threads. Moving his needle with precision as swiftly as wings of a hummingbird, and often looking into a neighbor’s vast pomegranate garden in full bloom he sounded like reciting Rumi’s poetry, “Come to the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Kashmir-Talk
Kashmir A Nuclear Flashpoint And Beyond
PUNCHLINE Kashmir Nuclear Flashpoint And Beyond By Z. G. Muhammad More than eleven years back, some eminent scholars from the subcontinent, American and European Universities had gathered in the Gold Room of Rayburn House, Capitol Hill, Washington to debate and discuss a way forward on Jammu and Kashmir problem for ensuring peace in South Asia. The Meeting had been organized by an American Lawyers Association and a group of Kashmir Diaspora. Those from India, who … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Point of view
Our Poet, Scholar Teacher Pandit Pitamber Nath Dhar Fani
Nostalgia A Pandit Poet Teacher By ZGM Sometimes, for ‘angelic pureness’ of our times, I start believing that we were children of the medieval times. That lived in kinship with nature. The sun rising behind the Zabarwan peaks splashing everything with gold and through latticed windows stealthily entering into our bedroom, woke up my siblings and me. The ringing bells of goats and ewes and herdsman calling loudly goat’s and ewe’s milk for two annas two ounce reminded … Read entire article »
Filed under: Kashmir-Talk
Declassify Kashmir: Let people in India Know the Whole Truth
PUNCHLINE Declassify Kashmir By Z. G. Muhammad Thirty-five years back, like Banquo’s ghost, a couple of questions haunted my mind at regular intervals. Why Sheikh Abdullah, the man Friday of Jawaharlal Nehru who had greeted Indian troops on their landing at Srinagar airport on October 27, 1947, and made the “accession” of the State possible was six years later unceremoniously dismissed as Prime Minister of the State and imprisoned. Moreover, if there was something outside … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Perspectives
Nostalgia: Our Cultural Kinship with Kashghar
Nostalgia Abdullah Nankabab Wala ZGM Sometimes, recalling my childhood, I start believing that every one of us in our right was a Michelangelo- ‘and for us, every block of stone had a statue in it,’ and sculptor inside us always discovered it. From a small grass shoot to a tiny attractive black and purple beetle moving gracefully underneath the turf everything around stimulated our imagination and we conjured a world of our own on our ‘mental-canvas.’ … Read entire article »
Filed under: Kashmir-Talk, Perspectives