Tribute To Dr Javid Iqbl ( 1946- 3-6-2026)
The Healer Who Wrote: Remembering the Life and Pen of Dr. Javid Iqbal By Z. G. Muhammad Writers possess thoughts, ideas, and vision; when the time comes, they may breathe their last, but they don’t truly die. They live on in their works, through their sentences and paragraphs. Their words pulse with passion and ideas, continuing to whisper wisdom and sanity into the ears of the people around them. This is the profound comfort I hold onto as we mourn the passing of my dear friend, Dr. Javid Iqbal, who recently fought a quiet battle with liver cancer. Let us reflect on the man that death has snatched away from us. In my view, Dr. Javid Iqbal was one of the most distinguished writers and columnists of our land. Renowned for the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Kashmir-Talk, Z. G. Muhammad
The Birdman of My Childhood: A Tribute to Hassan
By ZGM He is gone. My other half, my younger brother Hassan, vanished like a white dandelion carried away without a whisper of breeze. He left so suddenly that he forgot even to leave a parting note—no recollections of our shared childhood, no word of forgiveness for the terracotta toys I broke, the kites I tore, the paper boats I drowned, or the candyfloss I snatched from his hand. When he was four, he swallowed a copper paisa with a hole in its middle and George IV’s crown embossed upon it. Tears rolled down my cheeks like monsoon rain. My grandmother and I rushed to the Astana of Naqshband Sahib, where I raised my small hands in supplication for his safe return. His recovery deepened my faith in the shrine. From then … Read entire article »
Filed under: Kashmir-Talk, Memeiors, NostalgiaKashmir, Z. G. Muhammad
Our Persian Heritage Needs To Be Translated
Z.G. Muhammad My Rambling Thoughts. I am amazed that translators receive less credit for their work than creative writers. However, had Arabs not institutionalised the translation of great works and philosophy between the eighth and tenth centuries, much of this literature might never have reached South Asian audiences. Looking at our heritage, we also have a strong translation tradition. The Sultans of Kashmir focused on translating Sanskrit literature into Persian and Persian literature into Sanskrit, creating a vast reservoir of literature that might otherwise have been lost. As late as the twentieth century, Maharaja Pratap Singh established a translation bureau under the aegis of the Jammu and Kashmir Libraries and Research Department. This bureau not only worked to preserve Sanskrit literature but also facilitated the translation of classic Sanskrit works produced in … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Featured, Memeiors, NostalgiaKashmir, PUNCH LINE, Z. G. Muhammad
Echoes From The Past: As Fresh As Today- Review Of When The Dawned By Som Nath Zutshi – Reviewed by Z.G. Muhammad
Book Review Echoes From the Past- Fresh as Fresh as Of Today By Z.G. Muhammad Lull and literature cannot coexist. Literature is like water from a gushing natural spring, finding its way even by slicing through stones. It eventually bursts like a volcano when forced into a lull. Once literature breaks the shell of inertia, imposed or otherwise, it travels through decades to challenge and reform. As someone rightly said, wordsmiths “always could shift paradigms, define eras, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Book Review, Kashmir-Talk, Z. G. Muhammad
My Memoir: My Father Fond Memories of My Pets Jackie and Tommy
Part VII My Memoir: My Father Death of Tommy- My Pomeranian Dog Z G . Muhammad Z.G. Muhammad Numaish had become our dream world, and with father’s juniors holding the fort, we felt no less than princes during our visits. The grand illuminations, the music at the bandstand filling the exhibition ground with lilting tunes and the well of the death with a motorcyclist playing stunts inside wooden well had its thrill for my elder sibling and … Read entire article »
Filed under: Kashmir-Talk, NostalgiaKashmir, NostalgoaKashmir, Z. G. Muhammad
Of Supplications, Collective Prayers and Rains.
ZGM Zahid G Muhammad It sounded like folk tales, folklores of yore – whenever we heard stories about great famines that had often visited our birth burg in the past. Despite being a tale of the past fear of starvation, flood and epidemics continued to haunt our grandparents. It tormented them more ferociously than the looting sprees of desperadoes from distant lands that had ravaged our nation in the past. One would often hear vivid stories … Read entire article »
Filed under: Kashmir-Talk, Memeiors, NostalgiaKashmir, Z. G. Muhammad
My Memoir: My Father Part VI. Story of Two Alis- Ordinary Kashmiris
Part VI Part Six ‘The father did not join political discussions in the Radio Room with the news loving neighbours. Perhaps the reason was fear of snoopers and gumboots reporting it to those in the saddle and fear of earning their wrath.’ Nevertheless, when I wrote it at the start of this memoir, it was not suggested that he was snobbish, uninformed, or ill-informed about political happenings. Even if he may be detesting politics and the contemporary … Read entire article »
Filed under: Editor's Take, Kashmir-Talk, NostalgiaKashmir, Z. G. Muhammad