‘A Kashmiri Century: Portrait of A Society In Flux’ review: The disappearance of a way of life in the Valley

All that is quintessentially Kashmir, from culture and history past and present, is woven into a story of the Pandit community

November 20, 2021 04:26 pm | Updated 04:26 pm IST

The narratives of ‘rosy introspection’ in the form of personal memoirs or historical documentation, though sometimes belied, create a feeling of optimism for the future especially in times of gloom. Travelling down memory lane, Khem Lata Wakhlu evocatively narrates moments of the past from the end of the 19th century in the Kashmir Valley, giving readers a sense of a world of charm, innocence and leisure which has now withered away.

Everyday gloom

We are presented with everyday lives of people, their tales of joy and sorrow in the background of a changing political environment, perhaps not as contentious and full of bloodshed that have become synonymous with Kashmir today. Though a personal memoir based on happenings over four generations in Wakhlu’s Kashmiri Pandit family — the Dhars and their ancestral home, Rishi Vihar — the narrative also tells a story about Kashmir’s enduring legacy of culture. The bonhomie and conviviality during festivals and marriages, the embroidered pherans (a long tunic) and jewellery, the bucolic environment with unique flaura, fauna and waterways, the snow covered landscape, and flowing cups of hot kehava (Kashmiri tea) — all that is quintessentially Kashmir are woven into a story of the Kashmiri Pandit community.

Although readers are treated to a somewhat stereotypical characterisation in terms of their bonding, movement to and from the Valley, their erudition and positions of influence, there is an emphasis on the notion of a shared space. The camaraderie between the Dhars and their Muslim neighbours, the Peers, the intervention of a Muslim friend in resolving a family crisis of the Dhars, the participation of Kashmiris irrespective of their religion in mourning the loss of a Muslim religious relic, syncretism and several other instances highlight the vibrant cosmopolitanism in the Valley.

The most enjoyable parts of the book are the tales of family reminiscences replete with subtle tensions and a pervasive amiability to which a reader can easily relate because of their universal appeal. Despite placing the Kashmiri Pandit community at the centre of her narrative, Wakhlu does not lose sight of the diverse demographics of the Kashmir Valley.

Sensitive portrayal

Though the book is primarily on the lifestyle and politics of the elites and does not reflect much upon the hardships of ordinary people, it tries to delineate the Kashmiri ethos. Wakhlu documents the interconnected histories of Kashmir with the rest of the sub-continent and Central Asia marking out a geographical and cultural continuum with the circulation of people.

The political details are sensitively presented and care has been taken not to reduce the complexities into simplistic binaries. We are told that the travails the Valley has braved have affected everybody in Kashmir, irrespective of his or her religious affiliations and social status. However, the tenacious will to survive against all odds and move on in life has been the survival strategy and essentially the Kashmiri spirit. The memoir represents a realistic interface between history and memory that does not attempt to whitewash the unpleasantness of the past.

Being a native Kashmiri who has been residing there since her birth, Khem Lata Wakhlu has been a social worker and held important positions in various political organisations. She can be credited with a first-hand account due to her direct personal experiences and in her own words has ‘delved deeply into the sociological and human sides of living in the Valley.’ For a reader who does not belong to the region, this coping mechanism and constant reorientation against challenging circumstances on the part of entire Kashmir collectively or individually is a story that cannot be forgotten.

A Kashmiri Century: Portrait of A Society In Flux ; Khem Lata Wakhlu, HarperCollins, ₹599.

The reviewer teaches medieval and early modern history at the Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

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