Dastangoi- In Support Of Kashmir (Huzaifah Lanker Trust and Dastangoi: The Lost Art Form of Urdu Storytelling)

Mahmood Farooqui and Darain Shahidi

Mahmood Farooqui and Darain Shahidi

Mahmood Farooqui and Darain Shahi

Huzaifah Lanker Trust and Dastangoi: The Lost Art Form of Urdu Storytelling, collaborated to bring to the audience in New Delhi, the Partition Dastaan. The Dastaan-e-Taqseem-e- Hind, was organised as a fund raiser for the Flood Victims of Kashmir. 

PRESS

These are some of the articles that have appeared in the leading newspapers about my work from Kashmir.

Article printed in Greater Kashmir about Folktales . 2014

http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2014/Aug/8/the-success-story-of-a-son-in-law-10.asp

Mention on New York Times Blog-2013

Asian Age-2012

http://archive.asianage.com/life-and-style/portraits-pain-document-loss-310

Deccan Herald- 2012

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/299577/a-story-loss.html

Indian Express-2012

http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/show-stealers/1120934/


Hindustan Times-(2010)

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news-feed/views/conflict-camera/article1-550045.aspx

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Raina

I get accused all the time about being pro-Islam/ Pro Kashmiri rights and what not. If my work from Kashmir or anywhere was examined carefully, the examiner would not come to any conclusions. The dichotomy and ambiguity of my nature would be reflected. The constant need to look at both sides of the coin and not picking one- the complete fascination for both good and evil, day and night, masculine and feminine would be clearly seen. But Alas! we live in a world where no one has the time to look at anything, carefully.

So let me tell you where I come from. I'm neither Hindu nor Muslim. My parents are Sikhs, which should automatically make me one. I have spent more time in churches and dargahs than gurudwaras, only because of my affinity with quite places. But I believe I  have neither religion, nor nationality.  I was born in J&K but I'm not Kashmiri. I come from a family where one of my sister's is married to Kashmiri Pandit boy and one of my brother's to a Muslim girl from Bhadarwa. Now that enough of background and my standing has been stated, try not to pin me down and put me in a box. It would be an exercise in futility.

I read somewhere that one of the meanings of the name Raina in Bulgarian is- 'paradise'. I don't think that the Pandits who were named Raina, where called so because they lived in paradise (Kashmir). But it has been stated, that the Pandit families who originally lived in Rainawari and then moved into the main city where called by the surname- Raina.

Nikhil Raina,  my Brother-in- Law never lived in Rainawari. He resided in a famous Pandit locality of Srinagar, Habba Kadal close to the Ganpatyar Temple, with his maternal grandmother. Though, he personally never witnessed the Pandit exodus, his family did. Living with his nani, helped him to remain a bit disconnected from what happened. Nikhil, is a 37 year old  Kashmiri Pandit man who lives in Bombay, these days.


Q1 What are your earliest memories of Kashmir?

Earliest memories are that of the snow and of going to school. I also remember the Ganpatyar temple very distinctly. I recall going to my maternal grand father's shop in Habba Kadal, after school.The temple was bang oppisite our shop. Since I lived with my maternal side, my memories of Kashmir are primarily of Srinagar. My parents lived in Kulgam with the rest of the family. I don't remember that very clearly.

Q2) What are your feelings about the Kashmiri Pandits exodus from the Valley?

About the exodus - I don't have very strong feelings, since I left the Valley much before militancy. I shifted to Delhi. But my parent's suffered a lot in Kulgam. They received threats and that made them leave. When they were in Kashmir we had a bunglow with around fifteen rooms but when my family migrated to Jammu, they had to live with a relative. There were seven of them in one bedroom, for one whole year! Of course, they were lucky- no one had to stay in a migration camp.

As far as exodus is concerned, personally I think it was a blessing in disguise for the Kashmiri Pandit youth. The kind of exposure they got was huge. They left their homeland but the displacement helped them to achieve a lot.

Q3) For a Kashmiri how hard is it survive in Bombay, considering the climate and the cuisine?

The climate and the cuisine- I don't think that matters now to anyone, anymore. It's been a long, long time since my family left Kashmir and shifted to different parts of the country . So all of us have adapted nicely to our present environment and culture.

Meaning of the name Raina

The Two Thugs

The Two Thugs




There was once a thug, who called himself a tradesmen. If asked what he dealt in, his reply was, whatever can give me a meagre profit.

To Be Continued. 

Himal & Nagrai

Folktales of Kashmir

Soda Ram, was a poor Brahmin man who had the misfortune of being married to a nag. His wife, was terribly disappointed in him as he couldn't fulfill her materialistic ambitions. Soda Ram was tired of her constant complaining but couldn't find a way out. One day, his wife asked him to visit the king to receive alms from him. Soda Ram was only too pleased to get away from the constant complaining, so he left, without so much as a murmur.

He returned a few days later carrying a bag, which he presented to his wife. The woman felt suspicious as her husband had never been this nice to her but decided to open the bag. Out leapt a serpent. The poor woman screamed and shrieked but her husband had locked her in the room and wouldn't let her out. ''Let it sting you'', he replied to all her pleading. 
But the serpent decided to spare the woman and miraculously turned into a beautiful baby boy. 

This boy was called Nagrai, the king of serpents. The Brahmin and his wife took care of the little boy and soon he grew into a beautiful young man. One day, he asked his foster father to take him to a pure spring so that he could bathe. The Brahmin couldn't help this young man, whom he adored- as the only spring of that kind belonged to the princess. But Nagrai, pleaded with his father to take him till the outer wall. When he reached there, Nagrai turned into a serpent, crawled in through a tiny crevice in the wall and took a bath.

The next day, the princess Himal observed that someone had taken a dip in her spring because she had heard the splashing of water. but she couldn't see anyone. As all such love stories go, she saw Nagrai one day and fell in love with him. She inquired about him from the serHimal, though a well mannered girl was so taken by Nagrai's handsomeness, that she immediately approached he father and insisted on marrying this boy. The poor King did not know how to respond to this request. But eventually, gave in as his precious daughter refused to eat.

To be Continued. 

Just for fun

There are many things I love about Kashmir and it's people but they take themselves too seriously. Being born in a Sardar family, it's a bit odd for me. We are pros at making fun of ourselves. This post is just for fun.

Six

Any outsider who travels to the Valley will be caught unawares by a few idiosyncrasies of the spoken language of the Kashmiris. Don’t get confused when a person asks you, ‘Tum ko mat he pata’. Now for any Hindi-Urdu speaking individual this is a funny term. All it means is ‘don’t you know?’. I was told by a friend -who was staying in a Kashmiri household that the lady of the house, while serving him dinner kept asking- “Tum ko mat he khana?’. He just didn’t know if he was supposed to eat his dinner or not.  All she was trying to ask was if he wanted more.

Tu mera Bai he!

Ok, Bhai is another one. For a Kashmiri, to pronounce the word is difficult for some reason. So if your Kashmiri host says ‘Bai’, he’s not referring to the kaamvali bai he means brother and sikkss means six.

Eid-Ul-Fitr

Eid-Ul-Fitr, one of the main festivals of the Muslims, is celebrated with great fervour in Kashmir. The festival marks the end of Holy Month of Ramadan, which is the month of fasting for the Muslims. During this month they fast from dawn to dusk. Their fasting is different from the way the Hindus fast during the Navratras, where certain kinds of food/fruits are allowed. This is more vigorous, similar to the Karva Chautt Vrat or fast, which the women of the Hindu community in North India keep, for the long lives of their husbands.

The Muslims fast for thirty consecutive days, for their spiritual upliftment and they start following this tradition as soon as they hit puberty. At the end of the month the festival of Eid-Ul-Fitr is celebrated.

The word Eid is derived from the Arabic word Awdat which means to return, to turn or to recur.  So in this context the word means a recurring event.  According to  Ibnu-Arabi, 'Eid' is called so because it returns a renewed happiness each year. But with time, the context of the word has changed and it's known as a festivity.

The story behind the origin of the two Eids goes back to what has been mentioned by Muslim Ahmad.
He states that the Prophet Muhammad reached Madinah, in the days of Jahlliyah- what the Muslims claim to be were the days of ignorance, much like the Christians term it Paganism. He saw the people celebrating two days of amusement- One was the day of Nahroz, which is the first day of spring, akin to Baisakhi which is celebrated in North India. The second day that they celebrated was the final day of the year. These two days were replaced by the day of Nahar and the day of Fitr- the day of sacrifice and the day of breaking. These two Jahliyyah traditions became the Muslim festivals of Eid-Ul- Fitr and Eid-al-Adha.

There are various views as to whether it is compulsory for each individual to offer the special prayer of Eid. But in Kashmir, one finds no disagreement on this matter. A congregation of more than a lakh gets together each year at the Jama Masjid. But it is at the famous Eidgah ground in Downtown Srinagar, where the gathering is the largest. The Mirwaiz, usually leads the prayer at Eidgah but for a few years now, this hasn't been allowed.

This year, in showing solidarity with the Palestinians against the terrible carnage that is taking place in Gaza, the mood in the Valley seems to be low-key. Shop keepers are complaining about the low foot fall. But looking at the photographs of massacred Muslim children during the month of Ramadhan, has made people feel less celebratory. Geelani has asked the public to protest for 30 minutes after the Eid Salah.

Eid-Ul-Fitr

Lailut-ul-Qadr/Shab-e-Qadr

They say that the night of the Lailut-ul-Qadr, or the Shab-e-Qadr is the night of Power. Lail means night and the word qadr means decree. Lailut-ul-Qadr is considered, the night of decree  because the Muslims believe that the Quran, their Holy Book was revealed to them on this night.

 In the Holy Quran, it states that for praying the night of power is better than a thousand months.

The Sahih Bukhari further states that anyone who prays during the night of Shab-e-Qadr will be forgiven all of their past sins. There are contradictory claims to the actual date on which this night falls. While Sayeed Bukhari states, that it’s one of the odd numbered nights in the last ten day of the month of Ramazan. Therefore, it could be on the 21^st, 23^rd, 25^th, 27^th or the 29^th day of the month. While, according to the Sayeed Muslim- it’s the 27^th night of the Holy Month of Ramazan. There are apparently, 40 different versions stating which is the Night of Power.

Tonight lakhs of people in Kashmir, will be observing the Shab-e-Qadr. The Jamia Masjid, itself will have people filtering in from all parts of Kashmir for this special night. According to a Greater Kashmir report, the Jamia Masjid expects a congregation of close to a lakh while the Hazratbal Shrine expects about close to thirty thousand people tonight.

Shab-e-Qadr in Kashmir

Sleeping in Srinagar-Home Stays

Homes away from home are becoming more and more popular amongst Indians. Some are called boutique guest houses while others are known as Home stays. Here's a list of some well known ones, in Srinagar.

1) Almond Villa- This eighty year old colonial building, which stands elusively opposite the Dal Lake, is a quaint property that belongs to the Dogra Family of Jammu and Kashmir. Unlike, the hustle bustle that surrounds the hotels situated on the famous Boulevard Road of Srinagar, The Almond Villa remains one of the quietest properties, while still managing to give a breathtaking view of the Dal. The expanse is covered with a variety of flowers and fruit orchards, where many species of birds can be found. The famous Dara Shikoh festival is organised here every year. The tariff is around Rs 5,500.

2) Mahatta Home Stay- Situated in the well-known Rajbagh locality of Srinagar, this home stay is highly vouched by the single women who travel to the Valley. There are seven deluxe rooms and four standard rooms with all the basic amenities like attached toilets,  a Wi-fi connection, room service and parking. During the season the price is around Rs 3,500 and mid and off season around 2,500-3,000 respectively.

4) Dove Cottages- The Dove Cottages is a boutique hotel that was recently started by a mother daughter team. The rooms are done up in a traditional Kashmiri style with  Khatambund (wooden, hand carved) ceilings and accessorised with Crewel (local embroidery) Cushion Covers. The tariff starts from  Rs 4,000 for a single room and goes up to Rs 7,500 for a premium quality double room. 

5) Travellers Inn- The Travellers Inn is a private home stay run by a brother-sister duo in Srinagar, as well as in Pahalgam. While the one in Srinagar is situated in the quietest corner of Rajbagh, next to the Convent; the one in Pahalgam is a stone's throw away from the Lidder River. Both the huts are small with just four bedrooms each and a living area; which make both these properties ideal for a family vacation. The tariff is close to Rs 10,000.

There are many lovely places to stay in Srinagar. Keep a watch out for more on this blog.

Ghulam Ahmed Mahjoor

Ghulam Ahmed Mahjoor

Habba Khatoon translated by S.N Wakhlu

Habba Khatoon

Lal Ded.

Lal Ded

Mahjoor

Mahjoor

Kashmiri Folklore- Wai Wouf

Wai Wouf-  The Wai Wouf is supposedly a nocturnal creature. There are many versions of the tales about this creature. Some believe that it is an animal-a cat or dog that howls wouf wouf, while it moves around in desolated houses. While others believe the Wai Wouf is a little midget whose powers lie in his toup, his cap.

This is a story I heard from Ayaz who heard it from his grandparents.

"One day a donga walla who used to go for work in the Dal captured the Wai Wouf’s cap. So he started using the power of the cap to control the creature. The donga walla had reduced it into a common slave and would send him to run errands. Now the Wai Wouf was very clever. He waited for an opportunity to regain his power by repossessing his cap.  One day, the Wai Wouf tricked the man’s wife to return his cap and as soon as he repossessed it he killed the entire family by submerging the  donga into water."- Ayaz (lives  near the Dal in Srinagar) 

Folklore from Kashmir-Wai Wouf

Kashmiri Folklore- Vigne on Jinns and Peris

Vigne, an Englishman who visited Kashmir around 1835 described some mythical figures in his book- 'Travels in Kashmir, Ladak, Iskardo, the Countries Adjoining the Mountain-Course of the Indus, and the Himalaya,'. i'm just mentioning the ones I haven't covered. 

The Jins

"The Gins (geni) are the most universally feared, and Samud Shah [ a local noble and Vigne's guide and host on many occasions] assured me that there were many places where a man could not venture after nightfall, for fear of them. There is an old musjid standing alone on a desolate spot, between Shupeyon and Safur Nagur, near, I think, the village of Arihel, where the gins, as he affirmed, were as thick as sheep in a fold. He once, when travelling, repaired thither for the purpose of saying his prayers ; he heard his own name pronounced, and a gin suddenly appeared in the shape of a jackal, and nearly knocked him down by running against him. He was terribly frightened, and having made his escape, narrated his tale to the first peasant he met, who expressed his astonishment at his having ventured into a place which every one knew to be so dangerous."

The Deyu

"The Deyu are cannibal giants."

The Peri

"The Peri is a being beautiful enough to compensate for all these horrors. Their bodies are made up of the four elements; but fire is the predominant ingredient without consuming the rest. But their amours with a mortal are followed by death from fire.

The attachment of the females is as fatal as that of the other sex ; but they are said to play all kinds of pranks. Their ladies, like Titania, will occasionally become fond of "a lovely boy stolen from an Indian king." And the young Kashmirian girls modestly accuse the fairies of both sexes of stealing the surma (antimony) from their eyelids whilst they sleep; the one from love, and the other from jealousy of their beauty. The old building of Kutlina, on the green slope that overhangs the city lake, is considered as one of their principal quarters, and is also on that account denominated the Peri Mahal, or the palace of the fairies."

"The Mushran appears in the shape of a dirty-looking and very old man, who seizes a person with a parental hug, and produces thenceforth a wasting and dangerous decline."

Kashmiri Folklore- Naar Mokal

The Naar Mokal is similar to the Brum Brum Brum Chouk. A spirit that is made up of fire. It’s known for spreading fires by jumping  quickly from one house to another. 

Folklore From Kashmir-Naar Mokal

Kashmiri Folklore-Bram Bram Chouk

Bram Bram Chouk-  Some narrations state that the Bram Bram Chouk is a wolf like creature who is found in winters carrying a torch on his head and that he causes fires in houses when he is enraged, something like the Naar Mokal. While, others believe that he is a monster with burning eyes which are positioned on the top of his head. Basically. The Bram Bram Chouk is a big old hairy, scary monster. 

Folklore from Kashmir-Bram Bram Chouk

Kashmiri Folklore-The Tasrufdars

Tasrufdars are believed to be tiny elves, who live in and around water bodies. They are apparently disturbed by human presence and can be harmful. Villagers around Hatbalnag believe that the spring was sacred as tasrufdars lived in it and they would harm anyone who polluted the spring. Some people believe that they can also be found in big old chinar trees.

Folklore of Kashmir-Tasrufdar

Kashmiri Folklore-The Raantas

The Raantas or Rantus is another mythical entity. She is your classical run of the mill bollywood ki ‘chudel’. The witch with the feet turned in the opposite direction. The kind of entity who kidnaps men and then takes them to her cave in the mountain. There are many similar female mythical entities in Kashmiri Folklore.
 The 'Rih' is said to be a seductress too, who entices men in order to devour them. Many stories have merged into one, therefore the raantaas and the rih have kind of become one entity.
Then there are others-the 'Dyn' or like she is called in Hindi 'Daien' who is also a female; who too eats out the hearts of men. The Degins and the Degus, according to Vigne, ''seek husbands amongst mortals, but that their attachment is productive of fatal consequences, as its object dies in the course of two or three months.''

Folklore Of Kashmir-Raantas

Kashmiri Folklore- The Pasikdar

There are many interesting stories one hears, while sipping kahwa in remote villages in Kashmir. Legends about ghosts and mystical entities. I will be sharing these tales with you. First there is of course, the story of the pasikdar- the guardian or pehredaar of the house. The  friendly entity/ ghost- the one who guards the house from evil spirits. Apparently, this entity is present in all Muslim households, guarding the inhabitants from any evil that may befall on them. Some people say that the pasikdaar leaves from a house where basic hygiene is not maintained, while others claim that he strangles the person who runs the household if the house is ill-kept.

Folklore of Kashmir-Pasikdar

Habba Khatoon

Habba Khatoon

Habba Khatoon, also known as the Nightingale of Kashmir was a 16th century poetess.


This is one of her poems-
He who has killed every fabric of me
I long for a sight of him,
He looked at me over the wall
I would present him a fine tosh shawl.
Why he feels annoyed with me?
I have ever since long yearning for him.
Slyly, he peered through the door,
Who lead him to my house?
Every part of my body is now in pain
For long I been yearning for him.- Habba Khatoon.

Nund Rishi

Nund Rishi

Are they actually coming?

Taliban In Kashmir

This January when I was in Kashmir there was an impending sense of doom in the air. Post 2010 one hadn't seen this kind of graffiti on the walls. Recently, there was a video that was released by the Wali Ur Rehman claiming that he will send Taliban fighters to Kashmir. It seems like a certain section of the Kashmiri society is ready to welcome them.

Taliban In Kashmir

The End Of Innocence- Children of Kashmir

Children of Kashmir

What I find most disturbing about my stay in Kashmir is finding children at protests.

Children of Kashmir

Children of Kashmir

Quotes On Kashmir

1) ''Agar Firdaus bar ru-e-zamin ast, Hami ast o- hami ast o- hami ast.''
Translation- ''

If there is heaven on earth, it is here, it is here it is here.'' Jahangir, Fourth Mughal Emperor.

2) "The place is more beautiful than the heaven and is the benefactor of supreme bliss and happiness. It seems to me that I am taking a bath in the lake of nectar here."- Kalidas

3) "The valley is an emerald set in pearls; a land of lakes, clear streams, green turf, magnificent trees and mighty mountains where the air is cool, and the water sweet, where men are strong, and women vie with the soil in fruitfulness. "- Sir Walter Lawrence, first Settlement Kashmir of Kashmir and the author of The Valley Of Kashmir .

4) ''As a historical legacy, the Kashmir conflict has been an outstanding issue for more than a century.''-Li Peng, Former Premier of the Republic of China (1987-19988).

5) ''Violence will lead nowhere. Differences and disagreements should be resolved through dialogue. Violence can solve nothing; instead it can create more problems.''- The Dalai Lama, Tibetan Spiritual leader addressing school children in Kashmir.

If there is heaven on earth..it is here, it is here, it is here.