On 15 March 2018, Ghulam Mohammad Bhat (Madhosh Balhami), lost his ancestral house and most of his thirty years of poetry to a fire that broke out during a gunbattle between Indian soldiers and rebels.
Balhami poignantly sums up this loss in the couplet:
“…Woh aatish-e-namroodh mera kuch begaad na sake
Mera qalam na le sake magar mera qalaam le liya”
(Nimrod’s flames could not harm me
Could not snatch my pen but took away my words)
—Source: Madhosh Balhami: The Poet of Perseverance Facebook Page
Episode One
In this episode, Ghulam Muhammad Bhat (Madhosh Balhami), talks about his early education and the trauma of losing his parents at a young age. He revisits the moment when he took to poetry to express his inner anguish.
Episode Two
In this episode, Madhosh Balhami talks about the 1987 elections in Kashmir, his first public recitation of poetry and his realization of injustice and oppression.
Episode Three
In this episode, Madhosh Balhami narrates the events that shaped him as a poet, who intended to write Kashmir’s resistance history through poetry. He also captures the nuances of life in a place mired in conflict.
Episode Four
In this episode, Madhosh Balhami recollects how he had to face torture and spent time in prisons despite no fault of his. He describes how each of these events shaped him as a poet. The poem ‘Yaarbal’ symbolises his personal and poetic journey and his unwavering resilience.
Episode Five
In this episode, Madhosh Balhami recollects the horrors of prisons and torture centres of Kashmir. Through this recollection, he stands witness, and articulates, experiences many in the Valley had to bear.
Episode Six
In this episode, Madhosh Balhami recounts the events of the fateful day when he lost his ancestral home and almost all of his poetry, a tragedy that he is still coming to terms with. In the poem ‘Panni Sharan’, Balhami reflects on, and introspects about, the approach of Kashmiris as seekers of their rights. He also calls attention to the individual and collective responsibilities of the people of Kashmir, especially in the face of continuing grief and tyranny that affects each and everyone in the valley.