Srinagar Diary

Poetry of a Land

On July 4, I visited Srinagar with my wife for a few days. The same day, the prime minister visited the state and flagged off the Udhampur-Katra rail link, connecting the Valley to the ‘outside’ world. Speaking in an emotive tone, he emphasised his government’s determination to do everything possible for the development of the state and to win the love of the Kashmiri people.

My last visit was nearly four decades back for the executive board meeting of the Sahitya Aka­demi. Chief minister Sheikh Abdullah invited Akademi president Umashankar Joshi, me and a few others to dinner at his house. The food was fabulous, laid out on an impossibly large brass plate. Most of the dishes were non-vegetarian. Later, Umashankarji, a confirmed vegetarian, confided to me that it was slightly problematic for him. We all squatted on the beautifully carpeted floor. During the dinner, Sheikh saheb reminisced on Kashmir’s history and heritage and emphasised the need for the Akademi to do more for Kashmiri literature and culture.

This time, we were in the guest-house of the sprawling Kashmir University located on the Dal lake shore, and appropriately named Zawarban, after the mountain facing the lake. The campus is beautiful, with spacious lawns bordered by blooming roses and gladioli. I saw students in groups with beaming faces and chatting away. It is a comparatively young university—started only in 1959—but its faculties span the gamut. Most impressive is the 3,000-capacity convocation hall.

The Way of Rahi

In a reception for me, I spoke on Rahman Rahi, almost a father figure in Kashmiri poetry and the lone Jnanpith awardee from the state. The vice-chancellor, A.M. Shah, presided and the 91- year-old Rahi was chief guest. On the dais was also Professor Zaman Azurdah, eminent writer and Sahitya Akademi award-winner. The hall was packed with students. I noticed that the beautiful girl students with scarves on their heads were virtually all on one side of the hall.

I referred to Rahi as a true rahi on the pathway of poetry in the troubled Valley. I spoke how his ghazal and nazm had added new dimensions to these two modes which Kashimiri poetry shares with Urdu. In fact, Rahi, Amin Kamil and Dinanath Nadim changed over to Kashmiri from Urdu and thus brought along into their language the spirit of Iqbal, Faiz, Firaq and Josh.

The Devi and Quran

During our stay, we made the obligatory visit to Pahalgam on the Lidder valley, briefly stopping at the Awantipora ruins. The celebrated saffron fields of Pampore were now naturally barren. We crossed over the valley of apples after seeing Mughal empress Noor Jehan’s favourite spot Achabal with its beautiful cascading fountains and manicured lawns. Small tents had sprouted on the banks of the Lidder for Amarnath yatris. We also made time for an extremely pleasant shikara ride on the Dal lake and briefly rested on the Char Chinar island.

Later we visited Sonmarg. On this route, there is the celebrated Kheer Bhawani (Devi) temple, a place sacred to the Hindus. The devi here is known by her local name Ragnya here. She and Lord Siva—known locally as Bhuteswar—are the presiding deities here. Not only did the Muslim driver of our Innova, Mr Gonie, offer prayers there, he said there were a couple of other Muslim worshippers there as well. Back at Srinagar, I spent an hour inside the beautiful Hazratbal mosque joining five or six young men who were reciting from the Quran sitting on the colourful carpets. I chatted with them for a while and was astonished to find that one of them was a Hindu researcher on the history and theology of Islam in the Valley. The driver Gonie scattered a packet of nuts for doves in front of the mosque gate. In no time there was an enormous crowd of hundreds of them. I was told that these traditional symbols of peace were permanent residents of the neighbourhood.

The Healing Human Touch

The evening before our departure, I called on Governor N.N. Vohra. I recalled my earlier memories of him as a servicemate, president of India International Centre and a distinguished and upright home secretary. The Raj Bhavan is not far from Pari Mahal. It looked appropriate for him, as he during his tenure has been an angel to the troubled Valley, applying the healing touch. During our chat for an hour, his wife joined us and enquired about my children. The day ended with a fabulous dinner at Prof Azurdah’s beautiful double-storeyed home with his two handsome sons and other family members. As we leave the Valley the next morning, Rahman Rahi’s poem-anthology Navroz-e-saba  (Muse of Early Dawn), which celebrates love and hope, reverberates in my mind.

Legend has it...

That on his deathbed, Emperor Jehangir was asked about his last wish. His instant reply was Kashmir, Kashmir and nothing else but Kashmir.

Poet and literary critic Sitakant Mahapatra is former secretary, culture; E-mail your diarist: sitakantmahapatra [AT] rediffmail [DOT] com