www.freepresskashmir.news VOL 10 ISSUE 27 JULY 05, 2021 PAGES 16 15.00 FREEPRESS JKENG/2011/36414 : REGISTERED

BEAST IN BUSH WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE JULY 05-11, 2021 WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE JULY 05-11, 2021

/Coverstory LOSING DIGNITY By Farheen Qureshi

MANUFACTURING ANIMOSITY? By Mehak Ayaz

BEAST IN BUSH B Y M A R I L A L A T I F

CREATIVE CUT

By Sanika Athavale

Owned, Printed and Published by: Qazi Zaid | Published from: Second Floor, Aqsa Mall, Jehangir Chowk, Srinagar | Printed at: Khidmat Offset Printing Press, The Bund, Srinagar Registered: JKENG/2011/36414 | Features Editor: Bilal Handoo | Layout & Graphics: Suhail Sultan | Contact at: +0194-2475633 | E-Mails: [email protected] | [email protected] WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE JULY 05-11, 2021

LosingB Y F A R H E E N Q U R E S H I Dignity WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE JULY 05-11, 2021

decade of deprivation has forced dentists to Apersistently press for their demands on the streets of Srinagar. But even then they face the finance ministry’s repeated rebuff: “there’s no budget to absorb dental surgeons”. WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE JULY 05-11, 2021

ver since Sana Altaf Unable to pay back her clinic loan, load at their clinics making them more to absorb the unemployed dental doc- completed her 5-year- she works late till evening in another vulnerable to unemployment in the tors in the public health sector as well long dentistry degree, clinic where she’s being paid Rs 3000 private sector as well. under other health schemes and pro- she has been suffering a month. Notably, not even a single post has grams. We’ve been listening to their from a “professional But while Sana struggles to earn been created since 2008 when J&K excuse of ‘no finance’ for years now.” toothache”. between the two clinics, she says, quacks Public Service Commission (PSC) ad- In 2014, J&K Dental Surgeon Asso- EForced to take a loan to start her own are multiplying and calling shots on vertised 360 posts for dental doctors. ciation held months’ long protest against clinic, this dental doctor from south lesser pay in public health sector in Left in the lurch, dental doctors are the government’s failure to recruit Kashmir’s Anantnag district saw her place of well-qualified dental doctors. currently running their own clinics dental doctors in the public health venture closing as Covid hit Kashmir “People are bound to get a treatment — mostly founded on bank loans. sector leading to the unemployment and messed up the already disrupted from quacks in the hospitals without “I get calls from the bank every day of almost 7000 dentists in the erstwhile things. knowing the oral health consequences because I haven’t paid my installments state. Struggling to earn for her family, the because it’s inexpensive,” she says. for the last four months now,” Dr. Among these 7000 unemployed den- doctor would teach at a private school Jammu and Kashmir government’s Shahnawaz, a dental doctor running tal doctors, almost 700 dentists have in the morning and come back to run failure in creating posts for dentists a clinic in Qazigund, said. crossed the age-limit without applying her clinic in the evening. But the school has led to the rise in private clinics “We’re stuck in a very difficult situ- even once due to the government’s where she taught became shut and today forcing them to charge at increased ation. Government should come up failure in post creation. stopped her salary. costs resulting in the decrease in patient with a proper policy and framework As dentists were often assured with WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE JULY 05-11, 2021

587 posts to be created for the dentists schemes, like Ayushman Bharat or missioner, Health and Medical Educa- in two phases — 250 posts in one finan- National Health Mission. tion, didn’t respond to Free Press cial year, and 337 in another. And yet, every year, hundreds of Kashmir’s media queries regarding The dispatch number of the file even- students from Government as well as the plight of the dental doctors. tually changed to HD/PLAN/68/2018 Private Dental Colleges in J&K and “I’m not meant to answer this ques- in 2018. outside complete their degrees adding tion,” Raj Kumar Katoch, Secretary Post abrogation of Article 370 when to the numbers resulting in thousands PSC, however, responded, when asked J&K was downgraded into two union of already unemployed dentists creat- about the recruitment body’s failure territories, the ray of hope for dental ing human burden instead of human in advertising posts. “What do I have doctors that they had just started to resource in J&K. to do about it?” see, disappeared. “We’re ashamed of how our parents Amid this apathy, Dr. Sana Altaf “The government has been repeat- are still feeding us,” said Dr. Rukhsana keeps shuttling between two clinics edly saying they cannot provide jobs Akram, 35, who along with her dental for survival in her hometown, Anant- to dental doctors due to the budget doctor husband is still unemployed. nag. issues,” Dr. Imtiyaz, spokesperson of “My father-in-law spent every penny “I had never imagined that despite J&K Dental Surgeon Association, said. on his son to see him settled as a doctor studying so hard, I would be struggling “When other professional posts are but it’s very unfortunate that my hus- for living like this,” Sana rued. being created every year, why only band isn’t able to give him back what “Why are dental doctors being given dental doctors face these budget con- his parents deserve. All we want is our education if they’re not going to rec- straints? If they can’t recruit us, then dignity back.” ognize us as doctors in the first place? what’s the point of investing crores of Dental doctors of Kashmir, she said, I would have preferred being a dental money in constructing dental colleges have lost their identity by being “par- technician than working hard all these and increasing college admissions? asites” for the last so many years. years just to end up being a Government’s treatment makes it cer- “We’ve lost all the respect in soci- dental doctor tain that there’s no future for dental ety as well as in our own eyes. We’re who has no doctors in Kashmir.” not looked upon as doctors anymore value.” FP K This deprivation has been created because we’ve been sitting at home when there’s a dearth of dental man- for a decade now after doing so power in Kashmir, the spokesperson much hard work for years to get said. the degree. “Common masses are not able to get Today, we’re left with nothing the treatment from a well-trained den- except with the piece of paper tal doctor because there has not been that says we’re doctors. It’s very a dentist available in the public health disgusting how dental doctors are sector for years now. Government is being treated in J&K.” befooling people by letting these un- But as these unemployed den- authorized dental technicians work tal doctors once again hit in hospitals and run clinics. I mean, the streets lately, LG what’s the point of our 5-year-long Manoj Sinha offered degree when the government is will- them a loan of Rs 8 ingly taking quacks only after doing lakh. an eighteen-month course?” Turning it down, According to World Health Organiza- J&K Dental Sur- tion, the ideal dentist-to-population geon Association ratio is 1:7500. said they’re even But while has the second high- being deprived est number of dentists in the world of a single with the ratio 1:5000, J&K stands at chance to apply 1:30,000. for the posts. This means the region requires 2026 LG Sinha’s dental doctors in the health sector of- for the population of 1.52 crores, as “hollow promises” by the former min- of year 2021. isters, politicians and governors, the But, the total number of dentists directorate of health services, Kashmir, recruited through the PSC in the eventually came up with a proposal in erstwhile state of Jammu and Kash- 2014 for the creation of posts of dental mir (including Ladakh) is only 543 surgeons and consultants. till date. Since 2014, the file bearing dispatch Presently, J&K is facing the short- number—HD/PLAN/68/2014—has fall of 1483 dental doctors. ended up getting rejected in the J&K Among others, National Conference finance department time and again patron, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, recent- because of the “budget constraints” ly petitioned Raj Bhavan to work out being given as a reason. a mechanism to absorb unemployed It was only in 2018, the file was taken dental surgeons in the Health Depart- into some sort of consideration and ment and under other National Health directorate of health services was asked Flagship programmes. to project a new file with bare minimum But let alone in the public health fice number of dentists to be required. sector, these dental doctors find no and Atal Dul- The directorate then requested for scope for employment even in the loo, Financial Com- WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE JULY 05-11, 2021

BEAST IN

B Y M A R I L A L A T I F At a time when an uptownBUSH city pocket dwellers are claiming a beast sighting in their neighbourhood, the man-wild conflict which earlier devoured a five-year-old Kashmiri girl is only growing menacing in the valley.

efore trepidation came a pixelated pic- city, the black bear was even spotted “We found that many villages includ- ture of a leopard prowling in Srinagar’s running parallel with the early-morn- ing Ompora where recently a minor was posh residential colony. The shot of the ing joggers. mauled to death by a leopard have dense- ‘ready to pounce’ beast taken from a “These surged wild sightings in urban ly populated orchards in and around the balcony was followed by a rattling pockets are unnerving,” says Showkat peripheries of the forest which attract roaring, enough to end the sleep of Mir, an activist based in Srinagar. “It’s animals to come out of their dens,” a residents. The sense of fear is such that playing exactly like a movie plot where senior wildlife officer said. a compulsive indoor activity is being these animals are now intruding the “We also found that there’re no prop- practiced as wildlife watch and the urban pockets with a vengeful huff er roads for wildlife range officers to warden is trying to get the wild catch. after humans messed up their habitats travel via vehicle and vigil the forest But as the beast remains at large and by building homes there.” area. This is only becoming a practical makes its roaring presence felt every Besides habitat loss, experts attribute hitch in the watch and warden process.” now and then, many people feel that these growing wild attacks to search Over the years, he said, the wildlife the wild infiltrations have made the for food, climate change and defor- department has taken many initiatives growing man-wild conflict in Kashmir estation. to implant fruits and berries inside the quite urban in nature. Deconstructing the urban moves, a dense forests so that particularly the Before shocking Kashmir by snatch- six-year-old survey lays bare the very black bears don’t come out. ing a five-year-old Ompora girl, leopards dynamics of these cases. “Having said that, the wildlife doesn’t had surfaced in Srinagar’s Baghi Me- In 2015, the wildlife department con- live in a particular periphery and it’s htab area early this year and given a ducted a survey in Budgam district impossible to bind an animal. All a wild- hard time to the locals and the wildlife from Rangreth airport to Humhama life department can do is to rush the spot B department. In the hilly terrains of the area covering over 750 villages. and put a cage or inject tranquillizer.” WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE JULY 05-11, 2021

hether or not this explains the current man-wild conflict, especially in the urban pockets of the val- ley, at least 67 people have already lost their lives in these wild encounters, leaving 940 others injured in the last 5 years in Kashmir. Experts say 80 per cent of these man-wild conflicts happen with Him- Walayan black bears and leopards. According to SaminaCharoo, food is the main reason why these wild animals are now coming towards urban pockets. “Different animals eat different food,” Samina, a research officer in Kashmir’s wildlife department, said. “For example, carnivorous leopard eats Himalayan Grey Langoor and the omnivore Himalayan black bear [also called Asiatic black bear whose tribe is densely populated in Kashmir forests] eat berries, fruits, wild walnuts from the Oaktree and small animals.” Due to habitat fragmentation, climate change and deforesta- tion, the wilderness heritage has reduced over time, the wildlife official said. “The richness our animals want in the forests is not there anymore. Moreover, human intervention has added challenges to it. Since orchardists never dump the rotten fruits properly, a strong smell attracts these animals towards the human habitat. In new incidents, we’re surprised to see brown bears coming down to urban pockets from very high altitudes now.” However, the wild animals, Samina added, don’t attack humans till they feel a threat. “For example, common leopard is a shy animal and it doesn’t come out so usually. I can tell this from my personal experience. Sometimes before, when I saw a leopard in the forest, it fled away before making eye contact. Their prey species is declining so they turning towards domestic prey like dogs.” Psychologically, said a wildlife expert officer, Kashmir is a sad society which“enjoys troubling” an animal and is now fac- ing a backlash. “A few months ago,” he said, “I was on my duty in Bagh-e- Mehtab area of Srinagar when a black bear was spotted in the area. Thousands of people were chasing him with stones. The bear got so angry that even the tranquillizer didn’t work on him. He was uncontrollable.” People need to understand that a wildlife animal is a friend of the forests and not an enemy, the official added. “When a black bear finds food on the upper branches of the trees, it breaks its fragile branches creating a pathway for the light to penetrate towards the lower growth of the forests. They’re there for a reason.” In the backdrop of these growing urban incursions, experts suggest that human behaviour must change towards nature and wildlife. “The other day, a man from Harwan called and told me that some Hanguls have eaten his haakh. I told him how can we stop Hanguls from eating his food. He shouldn’t have grown crops near the forests in the first place. But sadly, people are not ready to accept that they’ve barged into the wild habitat.” In the last 15 years, experts say, human habitation has shift- ed towards the upper belt disturbing the entire habitat of wild species. “When I was a range officer in Dachigam belt, a group of 8 dogs, like a pack of wolves, used to eat at least four Himalayan grey Langoors daily, thus diminishing the prey for other car- nivorous animals,” said Suhail Wagay, Wildlife Technical Warden J&K. “We do have protected areas for wildlife in J&K like sanctu- aries but the area is so huge that interventions become inevi- table and there’s no proper fencing.” Also, due to climate change, as Kashmir is now witnessing snowfall in May, animals struggle in dearth for food and find orchards on a nearby belt and approach it swiftly. “This perhaps explains why we’re witnessing these growing man-wild conflicts in urban pockets today.” FP K WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE JULY 05-11, 2021

Manufacturing Animosity?

B Y M E H A K A Y A Z WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE JULY 05-11, 2021

The then home minister of India who also visited Kashmir along with other leaders. I remember the talks when he was asked of sending the girl back to her family. But Sadiq didn’t budge, he instead boasted of Indian secularism and democracy which allowed citizens individuality.

t the present hour welcoming involvement of Muslim massacre in Reasi in 1947 summer, the old city and its was the man behind starting the party in Kashmir”. allays come tuning with us The red square, and it’s liveliness were overshad- about the histories which have owed by the massive protests which would take caught the dust of time. In place occasionally, each time someone would come this episode, I dig deep, and to hatch another conspiracy and disturb the equi- enquire about the forgotten librium. elements of the past intertwined Not far from it, Sheetal Nath became the meeting with love and politics. point where protests were put together. It was here, AIt is 1960’s, an enamoured couple, witnessed their Madhok’s inflammatory speech triggered a response union being publicized and politicized for months from the Muslim community, as he spoke along on stretch. religious lines. Now stationed in their red bricked house which Zareef adds, “in order to save the city from uncalled stands tall among other oldies somewhere within protests, curfews were put in place. I used to work in the shelter and divine shadow of Astaans in the old the information department then, I vividly remember city of Srinagar, what locals call chesti kocha, their the announcements of Curfew being made across the love sustained the project of communalism and city from Sonwar to Safa Kadal.” hatred. Amidst this disgruntled chaos, love awaited Octogenarian today, Ghulam rasool and Parveen freedom. akhter, fell in love in summer of 1967 while they Kashmir Hindu action committee (KHAC) was worked together as sales executives at a newly given shape to spearhead the agitation thus required established Apna bazaar. to “restore” the girl back to her family. KHAC for Kanth belonged to a Muslim family, while Parveen months under the presidency of one Prem Nath Akhter was a Pandit Hindu girl, who was known Gasi , and under the aegis of Jan Sangh prodded by her near and dear ones as Parmeshwari Handoo. the hate narrative. In a candid conversation with Free Press Kashmir, Love couldn’t be contaminated, or suppressed by noted poet and historian from the valley Zareef ideologies, it surpassed barriers of religion and Ahmad Zareef details us about the event to which caste way before 1960’s. he himself was an eyewitness: Adding to this Zareef mentions, “Prior to this “Around 1960’s, a cooperative store, Apna bazaar wedding, Kashmir had already witnessed inter- was established near Lal Chowk below Lala Rukh faith marriages, even among the high ranked hotel. That store held everything needful for people. Muslim elites of the city including the Nasqsh- From accessories to eatables, everything could be bandis. I recall Salam Shahi Naqsbandi, a eru- sought there. In the same store, Ghulam rasool and dite man who served as a commissioner during Parmeshwari Handoo worked . These two fell in love Hari Singh’s reign. Among his two daughters, and married each other.” one married a Sikh manager who served at the What and who ignited the communal flames, and Palladium cinema. That marriage didn’t create tried painting love into animosity, Zareef answers: any ruckus, apart from the many interfaith mar- “Jan Sangh’s president, Balraj Madhok who was riages which would take place in villages and also an assembly member visited Kashmir and ad- other areas of the city. However, they wouldn’t dressed Kashmiri Pandits in view of the matter” become a matter of worry.” The old city, devoid of the old character which Interfaith marriages though uncommon, and came about to one as a charming retreat, Pandits sparse weren’t atypical to Kashmir’s setting. and Muslims, suddenly turned against each other, While their marriage wasn’t the first of its kind, making the sky and soil miss the warm conversa- nor was it the last, their wed-lock which was sol- tions. emnized by the Mufti Azam of Kashmir, silenced The conspirators programmed their agenda using the streets which were otherwise busied by the a marriage troupe, when they could find nothing typical downtown chit-chat between members of else to rely upon. the two communities. A private affair was thus used to further com- In his seminal book, Kashmir: exposing the myth munal divide. behind the narrative, Khalid Bashir records that Author Khalid Bashir records in his book, Kash- two years prior to Parmeshwari, a marriage, a high mir: exposing the myth behind the narrative, “Rishi profile wedlock between Kashmir’s noted physi- Kumar Koshal, the secretary, All Jammu cian, Dr Syed Naseer and Dr Geerja Dhar had and Kashmir Jan Sangh who was accused of active taken place which did not raise eyebrows. WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE JULY 05-11, 2021

ashmiri Pandits set them- selves against the Muslims who they claimed had “kid- Knapped” their minor daugh- ter. Her mother Dhanvati, a widow, also moved to the court in order to seek nullification of her wedding. An emotional mother’s appeal couldn’t break Parweshwari’s resolve, nor could the rallies/slogans weaken her emotive strength. Today a grandmother, Parmeshwari fought the forces by not surrendering. Khalid Bashir writes, “on august 4, the newly converted Parveen Akhter appeared in Sringar’s Jamia Masjid, and announced her conversion to Islam and nikah with Ghulam Rasool. She also offered Friday prayers in the mosque and appealed the congregation for moral support.” Such was the gravity of the unwel- coming protests, that student bodies were caught in the grip of these com- munal confusions, their minds were conditioned to see their Muslim breth- ren as the “other”, so much so, that on 16 August, 250 young Pandit women took out a procession through Ganpat- yar, Habba Kadal, raising slogans, “hum goli khayege, behan ko wapaas layege”. To them, Parmeshwari was the sister who was in need of a saving. Suddenly a love affair turned the valley into a hotbed of communally scribes of the day interviewed her for affairs prevalent in the state, by YC mentators say: charged sloganeering. The attempt of his weekly Ayeena”. Chwan, the then home minister of India Bakshi’s men were behind the agita- infantilizing a mature Handoo’s deci- Zareef’s literary manoeuvre, as he who also visited Kashmir along with tion in order to topple Sadiq’s govern- sion of an inter-faith love marriage recalls, was strengthened by Shameem’s other leaders. I remember the talks when ment, while a lot other go by the belief was a marker of the masculinist con- rich crituique, “I was lucly to have he was asked of sending the girl back that a post 1947 Kashmir also meant spirators who many years later have assisted him during the interview, the to her family. But Sadiq didn’t budge, “democratization” of opportunities come to accomplish their goals through story was later published under the he instead boasted of Indian secularism which for decades had been the mo- the spell of Love Jihad which seeks to title ‘Parmeshwari ki kahani, Parveen and democracy which allowed citizens nopoly of Kashmiri Pandits. In disbe- criminalize inter-faith marriages of akhter ki zubaani’. I poetically recon- individuality,” Zareef recalls. lief, a few men from the Pandit com- Hindu women with Muslim men. structed the interview, fictionalizing The jingoism of Indian media on the munity were motivated to spread hatred Zareef comments, “love-jihad is the the reality of the occasion.” other hand brushed off fact checking, and fear. new new normal today, seeking to cause How did the man who chaired the and televised a sensationalised version A nostalgic Zareef remembers with division among masses, it ideologically government under such volatile condi- of the marriage. The quandary cre- rapt clarity the days gone by, when carves out hatred and attempts at dis- tions respond? ated out of marriage and politics ran some peace was felt in the corridors of integrating peace among people who Delhi’s favourite man who chaired high and loud for months, claiming 10 the valley which now hosts unnatural are otherwise socially and culturally the first cheif-ministership of the val- precious lives. silence. connected”. ley, after allowing parliamentary The slogans were a binary of “Behan Parveen Akhter had seen in Mr. Kanth For a few days, their marriage was resolutions in the state’s constitution, ko wapas karo” from the Pandit end, a man of character, someone who still a hush-hush affair, until the man-hunt Sadiq sang the “secular” tunes, posit- while the Muslims would respond with continues his unwavering love despite for them began, these newlyweds hid ing himself pure from communal “Mahraz ko phirsaal karo”. the hurdles they had to come across. in order to save themselves from the touches, and declaring in the state Eventually, after running through It is this love alone which fights and spear bearing rioters who were nowhere assembly his stance on the situation. the court proceedings for months, the continues fighting the cataclysmic close to see or understand the power He called the matter sub-judice, and case was consigned to the records. The hatred. It is love which conquers after of love. preferred a non-interventionist role in intricacy of the matter concerned the all. In his sanctum, Zareef talks of the In the backdrop of the events which its politics. “policy-makers” miles away perturbed universality of love, how it knows of unfolded, Zareef reminisces moments Back in Delhi, the ripples created by its sensitivity which was also being no boundaries- how it`s the healer. when the newly married were se- from the waters in Kashmir reached felt in parts of India. The defence and “Hearts’ universe stands aloof from cretly interviewed, “as the search for Indira Gandhi’s office. Her closest aides prosecution both settled the scores. the customs of society, it doesn’t see the couple was initiated, they obvi- conveyed that never before was Miss. The Pandit agitation was thus with- colour, status or looks of the beloved. ously took a secret shelter which I recall Gandhi seen so disappointed with the drawn marking an “end” to the volatil- Majnoon’s love for Laila made him a was the house of Abdul Rahim Dalal role played by Pandits. Delhi sent it’s ity which had engulfed the valley for stranger in his own little world. In his at Mahrajgunj, who was a known office man to Kashmir to look into the months. eyes, Laila was all the beauty he knew businessman then. Shameem Ahmad state of affairs: How many thoughts went into engi- of. No worldly power can diminish Shameem, a known figure among the “Sadiq was asked about the state of neering hateful months, some com- that.” FP K WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE JULY 05-11, 2021

Extolled for getting Onassis AIR Emergency Creative Fellowship at the moment, Suhail Naqshbandi swears to deliver his mastery through the sheet that is already replete with a quality of endurance to the trained and untrained set of eyes. Cut B Y S A N I K A A T H A V A L E

sharp-witted observer he is. Thus, in Suhail Naqshbandi’s formative years, watercolours became his saving grace and the Jamia Masjid his muse, as he grew up seeing his vale chained to a land where death was an occasion for celebration and songs of ‘valour’. Being the last out of five sons, he was brought up in a home where every second person was a serious artist. With a poet, calligrapher, and painter for a father and abstract artists as elder brothers, he took to art like a duck to water. It was a way of life and it was everywhere he looked, for every waking hen children of his age, minute. cocooned in privilege, were As we live in a world that wakes up to inspirational quotes, Wdiscovering Pink Floyd, we have all heard the paraphrased Buddisht adage, ‘we are he was trying to make sense our thoughts’. of the pandemic of death Hence for a man whose creative streak has borne the brunt and grey weather that of four wars and has survived the strife so far, it was fascinat- continues to besiege his ing to hear what he thought he’d lived to be. homeland till this date. “Conflict did affect my psyche, growing up,” Suhail said. At 16 and impressionable, “For a student in the 8th grade, the sudden pervasive sight the screams of violence of guns was beyond perplexing.” that resonated within But Suhail would process the ‘awful’ in his art every time the encircling moun- he was hassled by the strangers in camo. tains – muted beyond Mid-sentence he quoted Faiz’s ‘arz-e-watan’ and turned to its peaks – pushed pull out a stack of papers containing his unpublished work. him closer to In it held the drawing of a quintessentially dressed Kash- being the miri woman, flaunting her sinister look, and committing sins one may visualise in the darkness of their bloodiest dreams. “This is Mother Kashmir,” he said, holding up the picture of the woman of his nightmares. As his first audience to ‘Mother Kashmir’, I enjoyed a brief moment of awe before Jibreel, his 8-year-old son, broke the appreciatory silence and asked his father what was the thing he had painted. “Honey, no one’s seen this yet, this is your first time too,” Suhail said to pacify his little one. It was by the patent transparency that WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE JULY 05-11, 2021

I could guess in the Naqshbandi house, the as my editor wouldn’t publish a cartoon if he sweet boy inspired grand ideas in the mind of found it to be too harsh but such behaviour the grown artist. increased when the 2019 general elections came Jibreel, bemused by his father’s skill with closer. Things became stricter after that,” he colours, had always taken a solemn interest said. in his work and features. He was always open to suggestions but would “I preserve my son’s drawings and study rather have his cartoons remain unpublished them from time to time,” Suhail mentioned. It than altered for appeasement. was a practice he had inculcated after the “I would submit my cartoon by the end of the words of Pablo Picasso who had once confessed day and on some occasions they’d ask me to his inability to create as brilliantly as a child. change certain elements. But I was uncompro- “They are the best artists, unaffected by any mising. Later, the occasional event of keeping outwardly influence. They represent their my cartoons unpublished became frequent feelings in the most pure and unadulterated and I couldn’t undervalue my work beyond a form,” he elucidated. point,” he asserted. He further annotated the role of his wife and Regardless of whether his cartoon was get- child in his artistic evolution. “Zeeshan [Su- ting printed in the daily, he would post it on hail’s wife] chides me every time I go without social media – a platform that’s been a real painting for long. An intense look and a ques- boon to his work. tion about the last time I picked my brush is Currently not associated with any name in enough to spur me into action. If you have a the press, Suhail is grateful for his diversified partner like that, what more can you ask for?” set of skills that has kept him busy ever since he stated delightedly. he temporarily resigned from political cartoon- Soon, Jibreel and he escorted me into his ing. studio: a glowing orange against countless A freelance illustrator, graphic designer, books and a staggering view. Under his shelf consulting creative director, guest lecturer at bearing an eclectic book collection, rested his NIFT Srinagar, he has his fingers in many treasure trunk of art materials, sketches, and pies. paintings. What was peculiar about the trunk “I have had a chequered career path but all was the image enamelled on it. of them are interrelated and influence each As an admirer of Nature and a Kashmiri in other. In today’s world, you need to be a jack love with Spring, Suhail had adorned the face of all trades and a master of few. These are the of his rusty trunk with an image of a tree in economic realities we need to come to terms full bloom and an anonymous couplet that with,” he reasoned. made him chuckle every time he read it. “Generally speaking, cartoonists, especial- “Tangmarg ki lakdi, Gulmarg ki ghaas ly political cartoonists are going through a Agar hai mohabbat to aaja mere paas” bad time,” he lamented citing the examples of He read it aloud smiling ear to ear. “My wife Turkey’s imprisoned Musa Kart, New York was amused when I told her of my plan to write Times’ downsized art department, and Cana- this. Many visitors love it. Mirza Waheed, the da’s Michael de Adder. writer, wants me to make one for him,” he said. If Kashmir’s Suhail used his art to fight the From the back of a speeding auto rickshaw, anomalies of the conflict, what does he use to Suhail had memorized the words within sec- overcome the undemocratic suppression of his onds by the virtue of vigilance learnt in his art? career of political cartooning. “Such street- “Listening to and understanding music,” he humour gets me,” he giggled. confessed and reluctantly admitted to being a Opening that magnificent trunk, out he bathroom singer as well. pulled made-in-France charcoals (that he hides “I listen to all sorts. My son enjoys listening from his son), portraits of a beggar who fre- to Guru Randhawa, and so do I. From Kishori quently visits and his palette of colours. Amonkar’s Hindustani classical to Chris Sta- “I have solid reasons behind choosing the pleton’s country music, there is almost every colours in my paintings or cartoons,” he in- language and type in my playlist.” To put it in formed. “But my 8-year-old is my biggest crit- a nutshell, his choice of music extends to any ic.” sound that he deems euphonic. His son, I was told, often comes into his stu- As we discussed more about his interests dio and freely expresses his joy or qualm over apart from his most dominant passion, he Suhail’s colour choices. “Even my wife ques- surprised me by telling me he’s a compulsive tions me. I might fight with her, but I take it in tea-collector. It isn’t necessary that he would my stride. She isn’t an artist but has the acumen drink his assortments but would merely stack to know what may sink or float,” he added. them up to appreciate how lovely they looked As we touched the topic of criticism, he began in his kitchen’s cabinet. to talk about the censorship he’s faced as a The soft-spoken Suhail is also enamoured political cartoonist. by architecture, design, history, poetry He had worked for a long time with a big and pretty river stones. Showing off a few recent name in the Kashmir news business but had additions to his stone collection, he told me put his papers down after facing relentless how natural symmetry mesmerizes him. “We censorship. got these from our last trip to Sonmarg. My Commenting on its blatant prevalence he son picked some out,” he said, picking up a few said, “There was always a level of censorship glazed pebbles. Some of them were painted on WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE JULY 05-11, 2021

by his son. Even though he wasn’t in his homeland, the The stones were placed on a windowsill, in a image and sound were enough to fill him with room singled out for his son’s personal and fright and anxiety. artistic development. The room was filled with “I caught my breath after a few seconds. I toys, random objects, and its walls were coloured realised that I’m not in Kashmir and had to with scribbles, confusing spirals, and crayon- remind myself that things are ‘normal’ here.” drawings of cars, wheels, and every reflection There are countless stories and ideas about of his mental imagery. “Having a painter for a ‘Kashmiri agency’ in Suhail’s mind which he parent has its advantages,” I remarked. ardently believes need to be told and retold Even if the cartoons are scathing, the mind until the real conversation starts. that conceptualises them comforts you. “People in India are fed their daily dose of “Every visit to Jamia is humbling and no propaganda and jingoism. It’s not their fault, matter how many times I attempt to recreate but still their fault for not trying to know bet- its beauty on my canvas, I always feel something’s ter,” he regretted. missing,” Suhail said. Just as he mentioned propaganda, my eyes A believer in the universality of pain, he says fell on the copy of Mein Kampf placed on the top that ‘pain’ for an artist is no different or special rack of his book shelf. than the pain of another. Pointing at the ironical timing of my observa- “Everyone has their own reactions to it,” he tion, he chortled over the fact that his wife was maintained. “If anything is to happen to an reading it while she was pregnant with Jibreel. artist they will respond in the language known “I asked her not to read it,” he joked, “telling to them. It is a phenomenon as simple as that.” her that our son would be born a dictator.” Since the Kashmir conflict and the word ‘pain’ However, quickly transitioning back to the are almost synonymous, the discussion about main conversations he said, “There is a lot of an artist’s perception of the same, brought us talent in Kashmir. There are so many people back to addressing the elephant in the room. but we lack teachers and infrastructure. We Suhail detailed about a day when he was need to remodel our education urgently.” stopped on his way from tuitions and threatened He spoke about Malik Sajad – a senior in the for simply existing. “I’ll hit you on your head field, but a junior to him, and remarked how so hard that your brain will bulge out of your his greatest contribution to ‘Kashmiri agency’ nostrils,” was whispered into a school-going was his graphic novel, ‘Munnu’. Suhail’s ears. “Mir Suhail Qadri is an excellent cartoonist. “He didn’t touch me but the verbal abuse and Anjum, based in Dubai, is brilliant and techni- his body language petrified me. The construc- cally sound. Ghazal Qadri’s creation of Kash- tion of the sentence and the violence it promised miri emojis is exceptional. And Kashmir is to deliver, scarred me as a boy. I stopped using overflowing with talent amid a programme of that route for several months. Imagine how military-led obfuscation of indigenous agency,” traumatizing it must have been for me to still he opined. be able to picture it with clarity,” Suhail said Kashmir, as per him, is brewing with enthu- in a heavy tone. siastic and creative youngsters but there are Recalling another incident of pointless abuse, hardly any spaces to nurture their natural he described how he was slapped by a uniform- talents. This has left a ‘vacuum’ in the valley, wearer who felt insulted at Suhail’s response the way he sees it. when he was asked what he was doing there. “I “When existing artists are being heckled into told him I was on my way home and for some silence how and why will young aspirants try reason that agitated him. He picked his hand to join them? There is little pay in this field but and gave me a hard one across my face. It was we do it for the art. But, when there is no space extremely insulting.” for art, where will the artist go?” he questioned He also remembered how broken he felt when fiercely. he entered his classroom one day to find his However, despite the bothersome obstacles, ‘pandit’ friends gone. As a young child, strug- Suhail Naqsbandi sees a bright future for Kash- gling to cope with the political pandemonium, mir’s artistic scene. this migration was unfathomable for him. “It’s all part of a cycle. The period of violence “All of this is still in my mind. They were a will subdue as every empire falls. When we part of Kashmir and suddenly they were nowhere come out of this limbo, we will be inundated in to be seen. I couldn’t draw anymore. The violence an overwhelming sea of creative output in the had been internalised by us. As a defence mech- form of films, theatre, music, and hopefully anism, acts of oppression would become jokes political cartooning survives to see that day.” and conversation starters,” he stated with a Concluding the long interview on that note, short scoff. he rose with his son and shut the lid of his trunk. He spoke at length about CASO (cordon and As we walked out of his workshop, I turned to search operation) and how it had affected his catch the last glimpse of the beauty that room family. The ‘cats’ as informers were called, were was. dreaded and despised. White jeeps, a harmless It is safe to say that in the years left to mani- vehicle, had become the symbol of brute and fest, Suhail Naqshbandi will put his brush to ruthless force to the Kashmiri mind. He remem- rest in the same room where he had spent his bered almost choking on his food in Punjab adolescence studying for medical entrance when he spotted a white jeep on the road ac- examinations, unaware about the ‘star’ he was companied by the sound of bursting crackers. destined to be. FP K WEEKLY NEWS MAGAZINE JULY 05-11, 2021