Aside: On Kashmir

  During a recent break from the relentless pace of work, I managed to get some long pending reading done. Two books that really gripped me were "A Teardrop on the Cheek of Time - The story of the Taj Mahal" by Diana and Michael Preston and the more contemporary treatise on Kashmir, "Curfewed Night", by Basharat Peer. Both books are amazingly well written in  a style that is both simple and direct. And though the two were seemingly unrelated, there was a historical context. For it was the Mughal emperor Akbar, grandfather of the main protagonist in the story of the Taj, who invaded Kashmir in December 1585 and overthrew the local ruler Yusuf Shah Chak, thereby ending a period after which Kashmir would never be 'truly' free again. Interestingly, Basharat also highlights Yusuf Shah's imprisonment and subsequent betrayal by Akbar as having become a metaphor for the relationship between Delhi and Srinagar. Basharat's book is much more and tells the story of the transformation of Kashmir and its people through its most trying period in history. Even after having spent some time in the valley and having followed the rise and ebb of its fortunes over time, I find the book an eye-opener. But if it of any consolation to Basharat, the sentiments and the stories in Curfewed Night could be of any one of millions of others all over India who have become frustrated by the incompetence of our elected representatives and the workings of a government that appears to be out of touch with reality and becoming increasingly self-serving by the day.