{"id":4162,"date":"2019-07-22T15:54:51","date_gmt":"2019-07-22T10:24:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/?p=4162"},"modified":"2019-07-22T16:01:45","modified_gmt":"2019-07-22T10:31:45","slug":"story-of-downtown-boy-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peacewatchkashmir.com\/blog\/point-of-view\/kashmir-talk\/story-of-downtown-boy-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Story of Downtown Boy Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/fb:like>\n

Author: Zahid G Muhammad<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Srinagar: The City of Resistance and Culture, Story of Downtown Boy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAuthor: Zahid G Muhammad\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher: Gulshan Books, Srinagar, Kashmir<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Year of Publication: 2016<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pages: 474                                         Price:\n1295<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ISBN: 9788183394383<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reviewed By Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Srinagar has the distinction of being a very vibrant city centre.\nIn Srinagar, too Downtown a term that now raises many eyebrows as the term\ndowntown carries a very negative connotation has been a dynamic area. But the\nauthor of the book, a versatile \u2018proletarian\u2019 historian who has the distinction\nof documenting peoples history Zahid G Muhammad prefers to call himself a\ndowntown boy. Downtown for most Kashmiris is the area that refers to the old\ncity or Shahre Khass<\/em>. Today this area can be notified as to the one that\nfalls under the jurisdiction of seven police stations where restrictions are\nimposed regularly by the state to curtail people\u2019s movement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Srinagar The City of Resistance and Culture <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The present book under review is an intimate personal history of\nnoted peoples historian and columnist Zahid G Muhammad. He has the distinction of\ndocumenting the everyday life and peoples history of Srinagar. This book seems\nto be another one in his series of books because previously Srinagar: My\ncity, My dreamland<\/em> has been published again reflecting on the complexities\nof Srinagar. So why Srinagar becomes an important place that needs\ndocumentation, analysis and record of its events become clear as one takes a\njourney through the pages of the book. The book is divided into seven parts,\nreflecting different facets of Shahre Khass<\/em> through the eyes of Zahid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Prologue to the book, Zahid reflects about the inheritance\nhe as a Kashmiri received from his forefathers, \u201cFor having inherited this\ngreat tradition of resistance against injustice from our elders our generation\nowes all vibrancy that runs through our blood to our fathers and forefathers.\nFighting, with courage, the coercive and arm twisting tactics of the fanatic\nrulers and their hanger on\u2019s they preserved the social fabric of Kashmir\nsociety and defended their monotheistic faith that teaches love and piety.\nSafeguarded hospices, mosques, astanas<\/em> and their religious places\u201d\n(P-iv). Zahid, given this inheritance, considers himself to be a child of\nconflict. The turmoil around his birth, growing up in a congested area, and\nschooling, myths about owl nail, moths and amulets were all a part of his\nchildhood. The Bihisti, <\/em>waterman who used to sprinkle water on the kuccha\n<\/em>roads would never be experienced by our generation. The homemade treatments\nfor common ailments, his dream of owning a bicycle and his political\nbaptization even before he was enrolled in a school. These events make one\nremain glued to the book. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was politically baptised before I was admitted to the kindergarten.\nIt is not hyperbolic but a reality; a reality that you might have lived. Yes, I\nwas politically baptised before I had learnt to make beautiful tiny paper boats\nand to floating them in the drain outside our home that after travelling some\neight hundred meters discharged in the Mar Canal\u201d (P-185). The political\ndiscussions and its intricacies seem to have been a part of his childhood, a\ntradition that continues in today\u2019s Kashmir. The political discussions at shopfronts\nknown in local parlance as Panjey Siyasat<\/em> and its role in political\ngrooming of youth cannot be underestimated. These shop fronts were playing the role\nof universities where common people got to know a lot about politics. There\nwere a number of people who were exiled for their political beliefs. There was\nin place a ban on listening to the radio station of one’s choice. It was more\nabout switching and listening to Azad Kashmir radio stations, but today this\nban seems to be horrible and uncivilised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zahid\u2019s childhood, adolescence and youth are full of adventures as\nhe takes the reader down the memory lane. The writing tools of students during\nhis school days will appear quite antique today. The tradition of learning\nQuran from a lady teacher of the locality known as Oaatanji<\/em> must have\nbeen a novel experience. Imploring education was not without its struggles\nbecause the Hindu-Muslim divide did reflect there too. \u201cConsidering Muslims as\nimpure, some teachers not only preferred to eat food away from the gaze of Muslims\nbut kept a distance from them, their belief was a touch with Muslim makes them\nimpure. Nonetheless, there were some progressive teachers who were committed to\nthe cause of spreading education across the religious divide\u201d. (P-116)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The politics seem to be an integral part of Zahid\u2019s life as that of\nany Kashmiri. Zahid talks about Mujahid Manzil, its vibrancy and then its\nretrogradation. He reflects how common people used to Hero worship, political\nleaders. The pictures of jailed and exiled leaders used to be symbols of freedom\nand resistance; even the Pakistani dictator Ayub Khan\u2019s snaps were sold in\nKashmir. A social boycott of people was also in place because of their\npolitical beliefs. There were also hordes of snoops, spies and informers who\nhelped the state to torture, detain or arrest any political dissident under the\ndraconian Preventive Detention Act (PDA). The dispute over Kashmir impacted the\ndaily affairs and routines of people as we witness that people in Srinagar used\nto sleep on terraces during summers, but 1965 summer was different as a war\nbetween India and Pakistan halted this practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zahid does not just deal with politics, but common mundane affairs\nare described quite vividly like marriages, customs associated with it, their\nhistory, eunuchs, bridesmaid and recitation of Quran by the new bride before\nher in-laws. The folk singers (ladishah<\/em>) and their role in transferring\nthe pain and Kashmir narrative from generation to generation are documented too.\nIn those days songsters who sang and sold songbooks in Shahre Khass <\/em>was\ncommonwhile Khanyar was a bastion of poetic and folk music concerts.\nBut Zahid laments over the fact that \u201cThe cultural invasion that we have\nsuffered has not only snatched from us our folklore but even those beautiful\nrhymes full of prosody, cadence and rhyme have died-perhaps never to be\nrevived\u201d (P-65).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Associated with the cultural invasion is the dress pattern, caps, Kasabas,<\/em>\nturbans that now are redundant. Even Pheran<\/em> and other traditional dress are\nbeing discarded; Spinning wheel a craft that mostly women indulged in is now on\nthe decline too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zahid talks about his childhood excitement of visiting Dal Lake as\na child, unlike today children, were not glued to Tv and mobile screens. He\ngives a vivid description of how Dal connected to different areas. He talks\nabout the different games that were played during the summers and rainy season.\nReligious rituals were a part of local traditions, as is reflected by Naat\nKhaans<\/em> and Ramadan. Moharram <\/em>came with its festivity, and even Sunnis\njoined the processions. Hajis and Hajj pilgrimage had a halo associated with it\nso had the shrines their share of stories like Leopards visiting them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zahid talks about an institution like daily newspaper Aftab and its\nlegendary editor Sanaullah Bhat and how he has the distinction of producing\nwriters. His reflection about hubble bubble locally known as Jajeer <\/em>being\nsocialism incarnate is indeed a great observation because it recognises no\nstatus, stature, class and allowed the nobles and paupers, aristocracy and\nartisans and patricians and peasantry to enjoy a puff of smoke with equal\nequanimity\u2019 (P-363). He time and again talks about the prevalence of love among\npeople that is missing today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M.H.A.Sikander is Writer-Activist based in Srinagar, Kashmir and\ncan be reached at sikandarmushtaq@gmail.com<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This book is marvellous in understanding the daily lives of\ninhabitants of Srinagar. It is a living testimony of the fact of how times\nchange and is nostalgic about the loss of good in shahre khass<\/em> culture. It\nis recommended for anyone interested in the people\u2019s history of the area. Given\nits vast canvass and the issues documented, I fail to find a mention about the\nlove lives of youngsters. The blooming love relations between young boys and\ngirls, how they used to express love, the inhibitions and success stories. I\nhope the author will grant us a sneak in the love lives of the youth of his age\nsoon in his next book. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Author of Downtown Boy <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/fb:like><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author: Zahid G Muhammad<\/p>\n

Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander <\/p>\n

Srinagar: The City of Resistance and Culture, Story of Downtown Boy<\/p>\n

Author: Zahid G Muhammad<\/p>\n

Publisher: Gulshan Books, Srinagar, Kashmir<\/p>\n

Year of Publication: 2016<\/p>\n

Pages: 474                                         Price:
\n1295<\/p>\n

ISBN: 9788183394383<\/p>\n

Reviewed By Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander<\/p>\n

Srinagar has the distinction of being a very vibrant city centre.
\nIn Srinagar, too Downtown a term that now raises many eyebrows as the term
\ndowntown carries a very negative connotation has been a dynamic area. But the
\nauthor of the book, a versatile \u2018proletarian\u2019 historian who has the distinction
\nof documenting peoples history Zahid G Muhammad prefers to call himself a
\ndowntown boy. Downtown for most Kashmiris is the area that refers to the old
\ncity or Shahre Khass. Today this area can be notified as to the one that
\nfalls under the jurisdiction of seven police stations where restrictions are
\nimposed regularly by the state to curtail people\u2019s movement. <\/p>\n

Srinagar The City of Resistance and Culture <\/p>\n

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