Kashmir: New windows, fresh light
The year 2025 unfolded as a landscape of paradoxes, marked equally by contradictions and consequential actions. During this period, a number of writers and thinkers brought the history, culture, and past events of Kashmir to the forefront—seeking to illuminate rather than merely narrate the valley’s unheard and eventual happenings. The events narrated through these recent books mention not only anecdotes of the past, but also reflect cultural heritage and its roots, envisaged through historical engagements such as mercantile connections with China and Persia. Moreover, these works describe political navigations, whether under the Mughals or Kashmir-based leaderships. Several works published during the year enrich academic as well as cultural spirit of Kashmir.
One such book is “City of Kashmir: Srinagar, A Popular History” by Sameer Hamdani, which explores the city of Srinagar through the lens of an art historian, while reflecting its political and mercantile linkages. The work traces the city’s evolution and blends architecture, culture, poetry, and multilayered material culture. It challenges the knowledge of Kashmiri people by bringing forward works from the dynastic era, anecdotes crafted from the streets of the city, and relying upon profound local knowledge and archival research. Additionally, Hamdani traces the Valley’s Hindu period—from the rise of Vaishnavism to the Karkota dynasty—whose later military expansions eventually led to the collapse of the empire. He offers a clear understanding of Hindu rule, religious belief systems, and the role of Buddhist missionaries. This work remains a valuable contribution to Valley scholarship, focusing on clear representations of culture, empires, and heritage rather than manufactured narratives.
Another significant work is “Loal Kashmir: Love and Longing in a Torn Land” by Mehak Jamal. This book spotlights conflict-hit Kashmir and shows how, amid prolonged turmoil, people were often unable to communicate with their beloved. Jamal’s work, centered on the Kashmir Valley, collectively shares true-life stories of sixteen individuals, exploring themes of love and loss experienced by people over decades of conflict. The work recollects past experiences and offers a nostalgic exposure to its readers. It also highlights the role of Ladi Shah, a solo performer often dressed in a pheran and turban, who for decades conveyed social concerns through harmless humour and extemporaneous verse. The work reflects the true essence of the Valley’s past and the author’s experience from within, which has drawn public attention since its publication.
Ipsita Chakravarty’s “Dapaan: Tales from Kashmir’s Conflict” is another notable book released this year. Written by an award-winning journalist, it presents a fine account of the suffering of ordinary Kashmiris. Dapaan, a Kashmiri word meaning “it is said,” reflects a contextualised mode of storytelling layered with decades of conflict, viewed through local narratives, rumours, and oral histories. The book explores themes of trauma, memory, silence, displacement, and the complex interplay between myth and reality.
“The World with Its Mouth Open” by Zahid Rafiq, a collection of eleven short stories, explores the lives of people in Kashmir by recording their everyday struggles, loss, and grief. The book captures vignettes of the region, portraying the invisible wounds shaped by prolonged turmoil. Rafiq’s work reflects how conflict intertwines with memory and the enduring absence of vanished loved ones, giving voice to silent suffering through literary form.
Just a few lines cannot cannot encapsulate the essence of a book or the intense sacrifice and hard work of its writer; this piece aims to highlight the books published in the year 2025 and how their reading created a different impression. Collectively, these books reveal the history of the Kashmir Valley, reflecting its culture, memory, political journeys, and lived experiences, and offer readers a deeper understanding of the region.
Ayaan Saroori is a freelance writer.
