Memories and Cravings

(Kashmir Paradise called Dispute.

Published by O.M Publications, 2783 Bhagat Singh Lane, Pahar Gunj, New Delhi Price: Rs 600).

During the past fifteen years, creative writing in Jammu and Kashmir has branched out into a new realm, known now as 'literature of exile'.

It has its roots in the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from their land of birth, in the face of the onslaught of fundamentalist terrorism towards the close of 1980s.

This tragical development, which appears to have become a lasting feature of Kashmir, pro-mpted many writers, poets and other people with creative talent, in the displaced community, to give vent to their pain of displacement and exile.

Several books were written.

Later,as years of turmoil followed, one after another, many Kashmiri Muslim writers and poets, back in the militancy-torn valley, were haunted too by feelings of loss and remorse over the unhappy and unfortunate departure of Kashmiri Pandits from their land of ancestors.

The result was a number of books from the valley too.

All these writings fall in the category of the literature of exile, which is fairly voluminous now.

Shyam Kaul, who undoubtedly is among the exponents of this literature, has been writing profusely, with profound feeling and poetic sensitivity, on the diastrous impact of the scourge of terror and violence on Kashmir's age-old way of life and cultural heritage.

His book, Kashmir Paradise Called Dispute is a collection of articles, essays and writeups, written from time to time, on different aspects of the complex situation in Kashmir, created by the arrival of gun culture.

The beautiful valley, as he puts it, is now known more as a "dispute" rather than than the "heaven on earth." It has been reduced to a mere bone of contention between India and Pakistan, that has caused havoc to its political, economic and social life, its special identity and its exemplary inter-community relationships.

Kaul has touched and written on all these aspects with artistry and deep feeling.

Judged from literary angle, some of the articles, like Unknown Brothers, Tarawati, and Homecoming are true and touching short stories, written in lucid and gripping language and style.

But from the whole narrative one also gets a moving account of the happy relationships that once existed between Hindus and Muslims, and setback those bonds have suffered during the recent years.

The agony of displaced Pandits speaks out with a touch of pathos in such chapters in the book as Nowhere People, Homecoming 2000, New Year Thoughts, Uprootment 1947 and Unending Wait.

Kaul has taken up incidents from real life and then presented then in a literary style to focus attention on how Kashmir's soul has been mauled and lacerated in the recent years by the cursed appearance of the gun.

Going through the narrative, one is reminded of Dante's words, "There is no greater sorrow than to recall in misery the time when we were happy." Mr.

Kaul has also done great service by having written about some distinguished Kashmiris whose contribution in different walks of life had, more or less, gone unnoticed.

People like R.K Kak, NL Wattal, Mohan lal Aima, Somnath Sadhu and others fall in this category.

It is hoped that other writers will take a cue from Mr.

Kaul and write about such unsung Kashmiris.

Kashmir-Paradise Called Dispute, is indeed a valuable addition to the literature of exile, written purely from a human angle.

Going through the book, one gets a feeling of intimacy with what one reads, perhaps because every individual Pandit is going through the pathos of nostalgia for what he has lost and what, perhaps, he may never get again.

The book will indeed make highly informative and educative reading for the newer generation of Kashmiris.

In his foreword to the book, Ved Bhasin has aptly said that" it is a prized addition to existing literature on the hurt Kashmiri psyche and Kashmir tragedy and it would certainly be of interest to the readers."