Loal, Kashmir by Mehak Jamal; The World with its Mouth Open by Zahid Rafiq

Just finished reading two books from Kashmir.

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Mehak Jamal`s beautiful ode to Kashmir, LOAL KASHMIR, 4^th /HarperCollins Books. Loal in Kashmiri means love, longing,  and Jamal has transcribed 16 accounts of love in a torn land. It makes for heart-breaking reading. We know the path of true love has never been smooth but here  those who love are dealing with protests, crackdowns, curfews, the snapping of the internet, search and cordon operations.

The insights are plentiful: that Kashmiris were viewed primarily as Kashmiris, only then as Muslims and Hindus; that cross-religion marriages were not exactly common even before the troubles; how even significant events like weddings became relatively insignificant when the valley was under a lockdown and people just didn’t know how their kin was faring; that outsiders marrying into Kashmiri families felt the force of a denial of human rights hit hard, something they had hitherto taken for granted all along; how people invented, ways to get in touch with family outside Kashmir when all communications were snapped and mobile phones became dabbas; how peoples` futures were often at a standstill,  when exam centres changed with messages sent on email, only there was no email access for the students; how the turbulence  stopped not only `normal` life but moments of celebrations, too.

The main leitmotif is that a curfew is a curfew on love, which is immediately and effectively caged. Yet romances continue to be conducted mostly clandestinely, with whispered late-night phone conversations, walks alongside the Jhelum, walks in the Mughal gardens, shikara rides.  And yes, ultimately love triumphs.

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Zahid Rafiq`s short stories titled THE WORLD WITH ITS MOUTH OPEN, Penguin Books. Eleven stories detailing the precarious lives of Kashmiris as they scrabble for some semblance of normalcy. Eleven stories infused with melancholia, affording the reader a glimpse into the clouded hearts of those who live with, live alongside conflict.  Eleven stories that moved the reader but could have done with better editing.