KASHMIR : MEN, MATTERS AND MEMORIES...
By Avtar Mota
Not politics ,not controversies but certainly a Kashmir that lives deep in the heart of an exile like me . As child , I grew up with my mother humming below lines while performing her daily chores:-
"Dodh kya zaane yas no banney
Gham ke jaamai valith tanney
Pheeris ghar ghar peyam kanney
Deuthum kaanh no paninne kanney
( Dressed in the attire of sorrow,
For help, I moved from door to door,
Alas! Only stones were hurled at me ,
Alas ! I found none by my side .
He who has not experienced suffering,
How does he know what pain is ? )
It is only an exiled person who knows what exile means. The haunting memories of men and life lived in recent-past keeps visiting one's mind. The mind is overwhelmed and writing gives momentary relief. Hence this compilation. These are stories of sweet memories of some ordinary looking men who were for inclusiveness and shared living . For them, culture and heritage were the rallying issues. These men find mention with heart warming anecdotes in Part I of this book. I mean men like Ghulam Hassan Sofi, Hriday Kaul Bharati, Umesh Kaul, Bansi Kaul, Avtar Kaul, Vijay Malla, Chaman Lal Chaman, Pushkar Nath BA, Ali Mohammad Lone, Sadiq Ali, Shantiveer Kaul, Arvind Gigoo, Muhammad Ashraf , Mohan Nirash, Bansi Nirdosh, Moti Lal Saqi and many more. Read to know some interesting anecdotes about these men and their art.
In Part II , you find nostalgic stories about social life in Kashmir through some essays like , Winter without Rain or Snow, Mir Paan House, Srinagar Coffee House, Cricket In Kashmir , Bangladeshi clothes in Kashmir, Tobacco And Kashmiris, Kawa Yenivol( Evening Time Assembly of Crows) , Gross Neglect at Burzahom , Haanjis of Kashmir, Journey of A Kashmiri ( From Complacent Onlooker to a Global Competitor ) and many more .
I am sure the book is going to amuse , enthuse and engage the reader constructively. The review published by The Greater Kashmir newspaper on 31st October is also uploaded in JPG format .
Presently the book is available worldwide on Amazon and Flipkart apart from Notion Press Chennai on below links:-
https://notionpress.com/read/kashmir-men-matters-and-memories
https://www.flipkart.com/kashmir/p/itm5d171938b80d4?pid=9798895888681&affid=editornoti
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0DL5FBPLV
The book is also available in USA and UK on Amazon on below listed links :-
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DL5FBPLV
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DL5FBPLV
The book is available with a discount of Rs100/ from Rohit Pandita( 9596976373) pan India distributor .
(Avtar Mota)
PS
REVIEW BY I B ZUTSHI PUBLISHED IN THE DAILY EXCELSIOR AND THE GREATER KASHMIR ON 17-11-2024
KASHMIR: MEN
MATTERS AND MEMORIES
"Avtar
Mota hardly needs any introduction. Not that he is a writer who enthuses and
amuses his readers but for his highly informative and educative blog Chinar Shade that has been visited by
more than 21 lakh readers till today .This is his eighth book. The subject is
again Kashmir. Not politics or controversies but certainly unforgettable men,
matters and memories. This 194 pages book is spread in two parts. Part I deals
with some unsung names from Kashmir who have had significant contribution in
the fields of art, literature, social life and other fields resulting in bonding of a society that appears divided on many
lines at the moment . The men dealt in this part were for fair play,
inclusiveness and tolerance .This part begins with a tribute to Shantiveer Kaul
son of stalwart Kashmiri poet Dina Nath Nadim. Mota succeeds in bringing out
some affable traits of Shantiveer’s personality to the readers. Shantiveer died
young and all of sudden. The essay on Avtar Kaul who produced and directed 27 Down , a movie with Rakhee and M K
Raina in the lead roles. This essay is full of fresh information about cinematic
skills of Kaul who was swept away by the
Monsoon sea of Mumbai at a time when he
was required to receive Award for his film. The essay is engrossing and the
narration is heart touching. This part also has a gripping essay on Bansi Kaul
the doyen of theatre in India. I am sure most of the readers must not be
unaware about the rich contribution of Bansi Kaul to Indian theatre. The essay
on poet Moti Lal Saqi is a research work wherein various facets of his poetic
and literary talent have been brought to light. One finds essays on singer
Ghulam Hassan Sofi, and Vijay Malla enthralling and full of nostalgia and sweet
memories. The author happened to know both of them personally. Accordingly ,
one finds some insightful anecdotes in both the essays .The essays on Ali
Mohammad Lone , Umesh Kaul, Chaman Lal
Chaman , Hriday Kaul Bharati ,Muhammad Ashraf ( composer ), Pushkar Nath BA(
playwright ),Mohan Niraash, Bansi Nirdosh, Prem Nath Dar are full of anecdotes
and unknown information about these stalwarts from the Valley . For the
posterity and the present younger generation of Kashmiris, the author has
skillfully documented the rich contribution of these individuals to the
literary horizon of Kashmir.
Part
I also has an essay on eminent broadcaster Lassa Kaul who fell to the bullets
of the terrorists for performing a national duty during the turbulent period of
1990s in the Kashmir valley. It is a
grand tribute to a great son of the soil. Again, the essay on writing skills of
Arvind Gigoo is too interesting to be missed. The author calls him’ Manto Reborn’. The essay on Arvind Gigoo begins with a popular cameo , "I am
where I am not, therefore, I am not where I am" written by him in his book
,’ The Ugly Kashmiri’ . One is moved by what the Mota says about Sadiq Ali, the
politician from Kashmir. Mota doesn’t touch the politician Sadiq Ali but the
man who has a heart of gold. When Mota
met him in Jammu in 1990, Sadiq Ali said this:-
“I am pained to see the plight of
Kashmiri Pandits at this moment. I want to tell one thing to you people. Forget
all at the moment. Just focus on the education of your children. It is the
greatest tool with which people re-establish themselves and stand up once
more.”
Part II of the book is based on reminiscences,
recollections and longing. It is in this part that one comes across the sparkling
brilliance of Mota as writer of fiction , humour and a writing skills that engrosses a reader .His commentary
on social life of Kashmir is starkly visible in essays like , ‘Winter Without Rain or Snow ‘, Bangladesh Clothes and Kashmiris ‘,’ Kaawa
Yenivol or Evening Time assembly of Crows ‘,’ From A Complacent Onlooker To A
Global Competitor ‘,India Coffee House
‘, ‘Mir Paan House ‘, ‘Tobacco and
Kashmir ‘, ‘Death of An Institution
( Rupa Devi Sharda Peeth ‘, and many similar write-ups. In the essay.’ Death of An Institution, Mota writes,’The
library, the precious manuscripts in Sharda , the school building and the
entire infrastructure were completely destroyed in a militancy-related fire.
The institution started by Parmannad was turned to ash by some cruel hands’ .Through
the essay on Burzahom, the author warns about the colossal neglect in
protecting Neolithic treasures recovered at Burzahom site. The Burzahom
archaeological site is on UNESCO’s World Heritage watch list. The UNESCO brochure says, “Burzahom brings to
light transitions in human habitation patterns from the Neolithic period to the
Megalithic period to the early historic period." The story, ‘The Paetgor Shop In Kashmir’ is a
nostalgic story about the social life in Kashmir. ‘Paetgo’r shop’ was a part of
the social life of Kashmiri Pandits. I remember the Paetgo’r selling simple and
expensive Attahuru , Teki -taal ,Taranga , Kalpush, Zooji , pins, buttons ,
threads , kohl ( Surma ) , ribbons ,Bindis , Sheesh-laath and everything that
the Kashmiri Pandit ladies needed for marriage , sacred thread ceremony and
other rituals . The Paetgor shop has vanished from the landscape now..
The essay , ‘Cricket and Kashmir ‘brings forth nostalgic
memories of the Ranji Trophy matches and
cricketers like Abdul Rauf, Harish Bahri
and Mirza brothers especially Dr Farooq
Mirza . Mota’s one to one interaction with Dr Farooq Mirza throws open the
human side of the cricketer .Mota again excels in his research as he presents
to us his story about the Haanji tribe of
Kashmir. He traces their links to Nishada community of India bringing cogent
references from Rajatarangini and many more ancient texts especially Ramayana.
The book is a treat to go through. It evokes, refreshes, enthuses and brings sweet memories of our recent past. It is a work of labour that needs to be possessed and read and re-read. I call it as Mota’s Deepawali gift to his readers..........( Indu Bhushan Zutshi )
CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.
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