Meri Mehbooba!
The valley reverberated with sporadic grenade explosions sending black morbid fumes up in the clear air. Fear written-writ on everyone’s face the anxiety of losing a loved one made the women huddle together comforting one another in the confines of their homes.
Kashmir…once a supernal place & engraved in gold in the history of the Mugal raj* by the famous Mugal Emperor Jahangir who said…
gar firdaus bar ru-e-zameeN ast
hamiasto, hamiasto, hamiast
If there is heaven on earth,
It’s here! it’s here! it’s here alone!
Shafiq was quite a sought after tourist guide. After all he was the only one who knew a little english & could thus take the gore nawabs* around who descended on Srinagar to catch the pristine beauty of the mountainous terrain & the valley beyond.
Off late, the jihadis had started propagating about Azad Kashmir. The need for a separate state. A state that would thrive under Islam disjoining itself from the kashmiri pundits* that were equally a part of the state & its culture. There was confusion in every mussalman’s* mind as they listened to the haughty speeches that spread its tentacles around gullible listeners.
Sunaina was Shafiq’s neighbour. An orphan who lived with her aunt, Mehrunisa, two boats away from Shafiq’s shikara*. Ever since kids…they had been inseparable. Shafiq had been the protective friend who shielded her in the street fights with other kids when there game would turn sour. Shafiq was that omnipresent shoulder that she leaned on whenever distressed. Her pillar of strength! Her confidence!
The terrorist’s kidnapping of the three foreigners who were in Shafiq’s group left all numb with fear. As news spread, Sunaina felt faint with anxiety. She rushed to the nearby dargah* to appease her saint to blanket Shafiq from any misfortune.
The group had been heading towards Pehelgaon when the terrorists had struck from the near-by forest. Everyone was taken hostage. Shafiq was the only one spared since he was fittest & the best bet to trek down to Srinagar with the terrorist’s message for the Indian Government.
When the situation had been grave, the only thought that crossed Shafiq’s mind was Sunaina. As he trekked back to Srinagar, he pondered about this sudden longing to see her as soon as possible. What was this feeling? Crap! How could he feel like a softie? But the truth was that he felt all those emotions that he looked down upon in the much-in-love couples who enjoyed the shikara rides in the Dal lake every evening.
Sunaina was going crazy with trepidation about the worst & the moment she saw him standing at the door-way, gasping to catch his breath from all the running he had done….she ran into his arms weeping in relief. They held on to each other for a long time & finally Shafiq asked Sunaina why she was crying. She asked him the same question which made him turn a beetroot red with embarrassment. He had never felt this weak all his life. His mehbooba* had made a poet out of him. He could now understand the nuances of poetry that he had sniggered upon in the past.
Mehrunisa bi was startled seeing the lovebirds snuggling & clearing her throat to announce her presence said….its time to bid you farewell bete jaan*. We shall have the nikah* this coming jumma* & until then your future shauhar* has to keep to his side of the shikara.
*raj – reign
*gore nawabs – white gentlemen
* pundits – hindu brahmins
*mussalman – muslim
*Shikara – house-boat
*dargah – tomb of a muslim saint where worshippers pledge devotion in kind or prayers if their supplication is heard by the holy saint.
*mehbooba – female lover
* bete jaan – loving daughter
*nikah – muslim wedding ceremony
*jumma – Friday
*Shauhar - husband
Copyright © BuntysBanter 2007
Kashmir…once a supernal place & engraved in gold in the history of the Mugal raj* by the famous Mugal Emperor Jahangir who said…
gar firdaus bar ru-e-zameeN ast
hamiasto, hamiasto, hamiast
If there is heaven on earth,
It’s here! it’s here! it’s here alone!
Shafiq was quite a sought after tourist guide. After all he was the only one who knew a little english & could thus take the gore nawabs* around who descended on Srinagar to catch the pristine beauty of the mountainous terrain & the valley beyond.
Off late, the jihadis had started propagating about Azad Kashmir. The need for a separate state. A state that would thrive under Islam disjoining itself from the kashmiri pundits* that were equally a part of the state & its culture. There was confusion in every mussalman’s* mind as they listened to the haughty speeches that spread its tentacles around gullible listeners.
Sunaina was Shafiq’s neighbour. An orphan who lived with her aunt, Mehrunisa, two boats away from Shafiq’s shikara*. Ever since kids…they had been inseparable. Shafiq had been the protective friend who shielded her in the street fights with other kids when there game would turn sour. Shafiq was that omnipresent shoulder that she leaned on whenever distressed. Her pillar of strength! Her confidence!
The terrorist’s kidnapping of the three foreigners who were in Shafiq’s group left all numb with fear. As news spread, Sunaina felt faint with anxiety. She rushed to the nearby dargah* to appease her saint to blanket Shafiq from any misfortune.
The group had been heading towards Pehelgaon when the terrorists had struck from the near-by forest. Everyone was taken hostage. Shafiq was the only one spared since he was fittest & the best bet to trek down to Srinagar with the terrorist’s message for the Indian Government.
When the situation had been grave, the only thought that crossed Shafiq’s mind was Sunaina. As he trekked back to Srinagar, he pondered about this sudden longing to see her as soon as possible. What was this feeling? Crap! How could he feel like a softie? But the truth was that he felt all those emotions that he looked down upon in the much-in-love couples who enjoyed the shikara rides in the Dal lake every evening.
Sunaina was going crazy with trepidation about the worst & the moment she saw him standing at the door-way, gasping to catch his breath from all the running he had done….she ran into his arms weeping in relief. They held on to each other for a long time & finally Shafiq asked Sunaina why she was crying. She asked him the same question which made him turn a beetroot red with embarrassment. He had never felt this weak all his life. His mehbooba* had made a poet out of him. He could now understand the nuances of poetry that he had sniggered upon in the past.
Mehrunisa bi was startled seeing the lovebirds snuggling & clearing her throat to announce her presence said….its time to bid you farewell bete jaan*. We shall have the nikah* this coming jumma* & until then your future shauhar* has to keep to his side of the shikara.
*raj – reign
*gore nawabs – white gentlemen
* pundits – hindu brahmins
*mussalman – muslim
*Shikara – house-boat
*dargah – tomb of a muslim saint where worshippers pledge devotion in kind or prayers if their supplication is heard by the holy saint.
*mehbooba – female lover
* bete jaan – loving daughter
*nikah – muslim wedding ceremony
*jumma – Friday
*Shauhar - husband
Copyright © BuntysBanter 2007
posted by Bunty's Banter at 10:02 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home