THE ODDS OF A KASHMIRI

Why is it funny to live in Kashmir.

Every morning I wake up, I think of my life and how I am still lazy and still a winner in all my failures. Apart from criticization of myself I think of Kashmir. Has anything changed of Kashmir since my existence? 

Well to be precise it has and it hasn't. What I mean is that the way Kashmir was, it still is. It has surely changed the ways but the problem of Kashmir is still the same. Kashmir has been the biggest political issue since ages but beyond that there are issues much more dangerous that one neglects. We deal up with many issues than any person around the globe could ever deal with (and then we still manage to have red cheeks).We are people who sustain political anarchy and blasphemy. We have political parties who don’t know what they are doing. They can comment on topics related to toffee to qabr ka azaab. They are best in the world who have great talents of action, romance and comedy. They act to defame opposition, romanticize fiction and are people full of comedy of errors. Their agenda is 'kursi’ baaki jayay baad may. 

Our days are always interesting; from nagging of errors of others to seeking the report on embezzlement we have our officers always on duty and always in headlines. In near future we can watch them fight live on TV provided snow gets cleared which they claim was cleared by their shovel.Our roads are mess yet we drive amidst odds. We know how to survive without electricity, our modern-day usage still remains kangri and pheran. We still check our neighbors for blessing called electricity. Other states have endangered species, we have endangered necessities. We have survived floods and earthquakes and snow with no arrangements and we have survived hartals and curfews. We have lived amidst bomb blast, teargas firings and pellets. While the rest of the people ask others of their cultural background and living, we are constantly asked of article 370, 35a. Well this means "Our land is our land, none of your land". Even with this land, I feel we are deprived of basic right of living. 

Our timetables work on JRL calendar and our studies are mostly negligible. Sometimes I feel we are intellectually great but lack of resources makes us wander to unemployment. I wonder why we have no great achievements but then I realize while the 60 percent of our youth are busy in shopping and marriages, the rest are busy playing pubG and tick tok. 

The question still remains if Kashmiri's face unemployment how come we survive?

Well we have makeup by rubeena, jabeena ,haleena and for guys we have boutique by fayaz, ayaz, niyaz and for wealthy people we have Grandeur marriage halls , Splendid  marriage halls. Our source of income is wedding and our life revolves around this majaal hae ki hum waqt zaya karay on invention or discovery jaisi pagal cheezo pai.

While the youth is busy in this, some of our elders are busy nagging and gossiping about others without realizing that by back-biting the deeds are just given to the one we gossiped about. We Kashmiris are just good at jibes. 

Being a Kashmiri is fun because even with these vices we still have a great heart. We love our guests and we try to be the best host we could be. We love our family, we love our Kashmir. We have seen terror to the closest, yet choose to live with pride and smile.

Amidst all these odds if we smile, then know that we have endured much and accepted the ill fate with the greatest positivity.

For others they sell commodities, and we

We sell blood,

Our mothers have eyes dried up for

Crying all night for the loss of their sons

We have pens lifted more to encounter deaths
that next sentence, always in arrival
Meanwhile Ashfaq is no more. Maqbool has gone. Asiya and Neelofar, raped then killed. Afzal hanged. Tufail, buried in two graves. The Ittar seller in Lal chowk disappeared. They found bones and they found skull
For all we wait is freedom, every Friday is for our hope of Azadi.

Jhelum washes so many evils every day, every Friday amidst bunkers

In downtown and New City we search life.

In Kashmir love is unending wait of the disappeared
Every Friday is for hope that he returns
she leaning against rusted fence looking

Aimlesslessly at the stars, wondering her fate.

And every other day,
the Jhelum splashes as if crying.

Every day fresh blood soaks women’s nested veils

and men's scrawling silences.
Every day we cry in silence , we cry for our Azaadi

We cry for our loved ones to be able to live.

We cry for our life.

Well long story short I wrote this without electricity around and for the one who said I don’t write anymore. Hope he finds it interesting 😊. 

Image Courtesy : __alif 

“Our Land is Our land None Of Your Land” courtesy : Rizwan Rasheed