KASHMIR: EK PREM KATHA
(A Collection of Short Stories in Hindi)
by Maharaj Krishen Santoshi
Published by Antika Prakashan,Ghaziabad
Price Rs300/= ( Available on Amazon India )
Year of Publication 2024
Presently living in exile,
Maharaj Krishen Santoshi is a noted Hindi writer from Kashmir. He has published
more than eight books, be they poetic collections or short stories centred on Kashmir that he has lived, loved, and missed. His books have been translated into English, Punjabi, Telugu, Gujarati, Kashmiri, and Dogri. He has been honoured and awarded by the Central Hindi Directorate (GOI), J&K Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, and the UP Hindi Society.
It requires the skill of Anton
Chekhov to talk about something that gives nothing but pain yet remains unforgettable and is intensely missed . Santoshi comes close to this art
in stories covered in the book under review. At places in some stories, one
finds him close to Manto’s style
that leaves nothing unsaid while exploring themes of loss, displacement, and
the dehumanizing effects of violence. In the stories covered in the book the
reader also comes across vivid imagery,
some dark humour, and a good understanding of human psychology.
In this compilation, 15 short
stories and a write-up based on pages from the diary of the author are spread
over 96 pages.The short stories have been titled as Darashikoh Ki maut ,Pandit Kashi
Nath MA ( History ),Mitti Ki Gawahi ,Chinar ,Teen Kisse ,Kashmir:Eik Prem
Katha, Saanp Aur Boodi Aurat, Antaratma, Bhaand Aur Bhagwan, Pahalwan Ki
Moonchh,Poshmaal Ka Bageecha,Vrishabh, Jannat Ki Sair, Rinn-mukt, Eik Tha Comrade and Hum Kahin Bhool Na
Jaayein ( pages from the diary of a displaced Kashmiri ).
Set in Kashmir, the stories
narrated by Santoshi are full of nostalgia, human displacement, longing, and
issues of exile. A reader of these stories gets the feeling of a phoney life
that the characters of these stories lived in Kashmir. This is visible through
their conduct and behaviour and Santoshi's art of presentation. These stories
also open a window to look at the historical perspective of the tragic
displacement of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir valley in the 1990s after the
arrival of Pakistan-supported terrorism.
In the story Dara Shikoh Ki
Maut, Santoshi uses the technique of contrasts by knitting his story on two
opposing beliefs; religious bigotism and humanism represented by Aurangzeb and
Dara Shikoh respectively. The tragic death of ‘Kashi Nath MA (History )’ in
Jammu camp after his displacement from Kashmir moves the reader. Kashi Nath had
planned to live a peaceful retired life when terrorism uprooted him and his
family from their native place. In the story Chinar, a Kashmiri Pandit family tries to plant a Chinar tree in
their compound to remain mentally close to their roots. The tree doesn't grow
as magnificent as a Chinar tree seen in Kashmir and it starts silently
extending its roots to the foundation of their small newly built house in
Jammu. The tree had to be cut and uprooted painfully. The story ‘Bhaand Aur Bhagwan’ is woven around the
practice of performing Puja of their Devi by the Muslim Bhaands in the Kashmir
Valley. This practice comes into clash with religious fanaticism brought into
the peaceful valley by Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Rinn-mukt ( free from the )loan is a story about the life of a Kashmiri Pandit cut off from his roots and living a lonely life after settling his
children in places within or outside the country. Through the story Poshmaal ka Bagicha, Santoshi conveys how deeply the Kashmiri
Pandits were attached to Jaffur or
marigold flowers. This flower was put to use daily in the morning Puja, apart from being used in other events and rituals like Homa, marriage, Yagneopavit (sacred thread ceremony ), death, and birthdays. Poshmaal, a Kashmiri Pandit woman
grows these flowers in pots in her tented accommodation in Jammu and breathes
her last looking at these growing flowers.
Some stories reveal sharp observations of Santoshi and an equally engrossing style to present crisp
and brief stories on issues other than displacement from the Kashmir valley.
These stories are based on mixed themes like corruption, selfishness, struggle
for existence and other topics with a
sprinkling of humour. In this category,
one can include stories like Pahalwan
Ki Moonchh,, Saanp Aur Boodi Aurat, Jannat Ji Sair, Vrishabh and Mitti Ki Gawaahi.
Eik Tha Comrade is another story that paints a picture of communism as it was practised in the Kashmir valley. On Friday, the communist party meeting has been rescheduled as
comrades have to attend Friday prayers.
In the chapter ‘Hum Kahin Bhool Na Jaayein’( lest we
forget), the author truthfully presents the events that unfolded in the valley
after the arrival of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism that brought nothing but pain and suffering to innocents in
general and Kashmiri Pandits in particular. Tearing apart the centuries-old
spirit of tolerance and composite culture, it made religious minorities leave Kashmir to save their lives and honour after a campaign of hate and
killings was unleashed upon them. The events and incidents reported in this
chapter are from the author's diary. Every incident is a truthful depiction of the pain
and misery that Pandits faced in their day-to-day life; both while living in
Kashmir during those dark and agonising days and then in the heat and dust of the plains to establish themselves once
again.
This book is history. It is a
compilation of varied perspectives on pain and suffering. It is a documentation
of what befell the exiles. Call it anything, it is worth possessing, reading and
discussing. A note of optimism comes through many stories that make the reader
believe Jalaluddin din Rumi's lines;
‘hamchoo sabzeh bar baarha roedha-em’
(Like green turf, we shall
appear again and again in every spring)
( Avtar Mota)
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