Book Review: ‘Loal Kashmir: Love And Longing In A Torn Land’ By Mehak Jamal — A Deeply Personal Journey Through Love, Loss, And Life In Kashmir
What the media depicts about Kashmir is the tip of the iceberg. The real stories are about the Kashmiris living a life starkly different from the rest of India. Loal Kashmir: Love and Longing in a Torn Land come as a refreshing narration of stories from Kashmiri lives. The book by Mehak Jamal talks about love, interpersonal relations, Kashmiri identity, politics changing lives, etc.
Jamal, a Kashmiri from Srinagar, has an insider’s view of what Kashmiris have gone through since independence, from the rise and impact of terrorism to the abrogation of Article 370. Each story based on true incidents gives a different aspect of how they attempt to push past their surroundings.
In all, 16 stories lay out what it means to be a Kashmiri, and their struggle regarding living a life with militancy, curfews and under army control. The stories are divided into ŌTRÜ or the day before yesterday, RĀTH or yesterday and AZ or today. Each section covers stories from the ‘90s when terrorism rose to the present day of the abrogation, resultant curfew and normalising of life later on.
The varied stories have the underlying quality of Kashmir’s journey. It has impacted each story differently. Jamal should be given credit for bringing so many stories that had to be heard. Her writing style looks simple but yet tells the story without losing the plot.
The 16 distinct stories have two things in common — Kashmiriyat and the unfairness of their situation. In the Matador story of ŌTRÜ, you see Sagar Razdan and his family, one of the few Kashmiri Pandit families to stay in Srinagar despite the rise in militancy. His struggles while studying in school and later falling in love have the backdrop of the changing Kashmiri landscape.
Or in RĀTH, you meet Zara who has lived mostly abroad, is studying in the US and has her marriage fixed to Rehan, a US-based Indian. But things come to a standstill after marriage when the abrogation shuts down Kashmir. How she and her marriage survive is what you turn the page for.
Another touching story is Roohani from the AZ section. You meet Asad who was born biologically female but identifies as a transgender man. His struggle to be who he is in tradition-bound Kashmir, his love for his GF Haika and their struggles in the shutdown after the abrogation is the story’s gist. The story harks to an angle few think of in the Kashmiri scenario.
Amidst the complexity of Kashmir, you realise the struggles of those living a life that takes a sharp turn thanks to the state’s political status. And Jamal does good work in showcasing the same. The one complaint as a reader is the little representation of Kashmiri Pandit stories. They, along with their Muslim brethren, have suffered immensely and are now stateless in their own country.
Pick up Mehak Jamal’s Loal Kashmir: Love and Longing in a Torn Land, an aching book about Kashmiri lives that otherwise get lost in the state’s chaos.
Book: Loal Kashmir: Love and Longing in a Torn Land
Author: Mehak Jamal
Publisher: Fourth Estate India
Pages: 364
Price: ₹ 599
news