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In Of Gardens and Graves Suvir Kaul examines the disruption of everyday life in Kashmir in the years following the region's pervasive militarization in 1990. Kaul's autobiographical and analytical essays, which were prompted by his yearly visits to Kashmir, are a combination of political analysis, literary criticism, memoir, and journalistic observation. In them he explores Kashmir's pre- and post-Partition history, the effects of militarization, state repression, the suspension of civil rights on Kashmiris, and the challenge Kashmir represents to the practice of democracy in India. The volume also features translations of Kashmiri poetry written in these years of conflict. These poems constitute an archive of heightened feelings and desires that affectively interrogate official accounts of Kashmir while telling us much about those who face extraordinary political turbulence and violence. Of Gardens and Graves also contains a photo essay by Javed Dar, whose photographs work together with Kaul's essays and the poems to represent the interweaving of ordinary life, civic strife, and spectacular violence in Kashmir.
List of contents
Illustrations ix
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xxv
Introduction 1
Poems
Arjan Dev "Majboor" 14
Ghulam Hassan "Taskeen" 20
Brij Nath "Betaab" 24
Ghulam Nabi Tak "Naazir" 28
Shabir "Azar" 33
Essay 1. Visiting Kashmir, Re-learning Kashmir 39
Poems
"Shahzadah" Rafiq 64
Bashir "Dada" 66
Naji Munawar 70
Rukhsana Jabeen 72
Arshad Mushtaq 74
Ayesha "Mastoor" 78
Maqbool "Sajid" 82
Essay 3. "My Paradise in Burnin' . . . " 87
Poems
Moti Lal "Saqi" 108
Mohiuddin "Massarat" 112
Mir Ghulam Nabi "Shaheen" 116
Jawahir Lal "Saroor" 120
Pyare "Hatash" 122
Ghulam Nabi "Khayal" 124
"Shahzada" Rafiq 126
Essay 3. The Witness of Poetry 129
Poems
Rashid "Kanispuri" 158
Pyare "Hatash" 160
Jawahir Lal "Saroor" 162
Fayaz Talgami 164
Bashir "Zair" 166
Ghulam Hassan "Ghamgeen" 168
Kashi Nath "Baghwan" 172
Essay 4. Indian Empire (and the Case of Kashmir) 177
Poems
Zahid Mukhtar 204
Som Nath Bhat "Veer" 208
Coda. A Time without Soldiers 213
Bibliography 217
Index 225
About the author
Suvir Kaul
Summary
Combining personal reflection, political analysis, and literary criticism with memoir and journalistic observation, Suvir Kaul examines the textures of everyday life in Kashmir in the years following the region's pervasive militarization in 1990. Of Gardens and Graves also includes contemporary Kashmiri poetry and a photo-essay by Javed Dar.
