Relying on research and interview material gathered during his stay in Srinagar, Subhajit Pal discusses Kashmir’s historical connection to Central and West Asia as it manifests in contemporary times.
Home Archaeology — by Rela Mazali
A Jewish activist woman from Israel conducts an “archaeological dig” into her immediate physical surroundings and the sites of her successive homes. It recounts her slow unlearning of Zionist erasures both of the dispossession of Palestinians previously living at these sites and of the discrimination against and relegation into poverty of Mizrachi Jews (Jews of color) sent to live at them.
A gradual awakening to an unblinkered understanding of the context – historical, social, economic of where she lives, this fragment opens a window onto the reality that is (again) erupting in horrific violence in Palestine Israel today, in the spring of 2021.
The text is the 5th section of the novella-length essaytale, “Home Archaeology”, originally published in full in Hebrew in the collection “Home Archaeology: Essay Tales” and re-rendered into English by the author. This piece will appear in print at a later time in a three-part series to be published by the author.
Jaun Elia: The Garbage Dump of History — Translated and Introduced by Muzaffar Karim
Academic and writer Muzaffar Karim translates and introduces Jaun Elia’s “The Garbage Dump of History,” a piece originally titled “Jannat Jahanam” in Urdu that appeared in Suspense Digest (July 2000). Karim’s introduction and subsequent translation situate international readers beyond Elia’s widely known poetic and academic work, bringing us closer to Elia’s thoughts on Kashmir before, during and after partition. In the process, Karim’s translation reveals a deep sense of empathy, expressed as irredeemable angst that the poet, scholar and philosopher felt for Kashmir and its people, and particularly its disenfranchised Muslim majority. By way of translation, Muzaffar Karim retrieves a piece of writing that serves as a relic or a historical document to register the desperation, angst and nihilism that has festered for decades as Kashmir has remained besieged and exiled from any semblance of peace. That that desperation and angst is expressed by Elia via this translation by Karim makes it even more symbolic of the hostile and unchanging times.
Reporting News and Psychology — by Amir Sultan
As a researcher in Psychology, Amir Sultan writes about relevant concepts and terms developed in his field through academic research done on two particular cases of cold-blooded murder. The piece offers interesting observations about studies in Psychology that relate to the world of news reporting. Some of the events discussed and referenced via hyperlink to their direct sources are of a violent nature. Reader and viewer discretion is advised for those sensitive to such events covered widely in the news.
A Sketch of Rose Apples and Cats During Covid-19 Lockdown — by Saima Afreen
Under Covid-19 confinement, Saima Afreen presents a non-fiction piece written in a literary style that allows the writer to venture far beyond the subjects of its title, into an introspective engagement with her experiences and memories to the greater visions before her, in a ‘mind state’ of lockdown that is relatable to many yet communicable by few. The writer provides articulations that oscillate between poetic imagery and literary prose to shape an experience of preventive pandemic lockdown from the Indian cosmopolis, traversing into a territory outside of solitude and well past the quarantined self.
The Ruined History of Purig Restored in a Conversation — by Murtaza Fazily
In a quest to find himself within a greater history of his place of birth, Murtaza Fazily recounts his conversation with a renowned historian of Ladakh, Haji Sadi Ali Sadiq Sahib, who narrates the tales of castles in ruins brought back to life (through the oral tradition) and the rise of the kings who built them. From the mouth of an aged historian and the man who sought answers and lent a persistent ear, here is the story of Purig and its forgotten history.
Archery in Ladakh: A Story Through Perspectives — by Murtaza Fazily
Murtaza Fazily visits his birthplace to meet young and senior archers, sports officials, bureaucrats, prominent cultural figures and residents to gather their perspective on archery and its essential place in Ladakhi society and its culture. In the story narrated mainly from the dialogues with such figures, a history of archery, its tradition, its transformation and its present condition is discussed thoroughly. The writer has chosen to remain loyal to the words of those who inform his research about the status of archery in Ladakh by providing ample space for their statements and accounts. As such, the story that follows is primarily driven by such statements and accounts by the same people who practice and promote archery while struggling to keep it relevant.
The Guest — by Majid Maqbool
Majid Maqbool recalls a night in the Kashmiri 90s when a band of unexpected visitors come knocking at the door. The account told from the perspective of an adolescent narrator recounts a story that is far too familiar to the Kashmiri population that has seen war and conflict at their doorsteps. However, such stories many times remain unwritten and have been transmitted more often through word of mouth and in many a conversation. The writer here successfully captures one such story and narrates it through the written word, introducing elements of storytelling and memory-making that are not habitually put into practice around such topics given the air of trauma, fear and censorship that keeps Kashmiris from recalling their own experience of Kashmir, particularly since the early 90s.