RNI Registration No. MAHMUL/2004/13413 Price: Rs. 20/- Website: www.milchar.com ~ E.Mail: [email protected] Vol. IV, No. 4 Official Organ of KPA, Mumbai July-August 2007 60 years Of Indepen- dence - 17 Years of Exile d d d d Roots in Kashmir (RIK) at India Gate on 15th August 2007 (Photo courtesy: Aditya Raj Kaul) Project ZAAN: Website : www.zaan.net E-mail: [email protected] feyp+kjò cdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdc MILCHAR MILCHAR In this issue Official organ of g Message from the President Kashmiri Pandits' Association, Mumbai v Between Ourselves (Regd. Charitable Trust. Regn. No: A-2815-BOM) - M. L. Mattoo Page 3 E.Mail: [email protected] g Editorial [[ v 'här-van' - A New Star - P.N.Wali Page 4 Editorial Board g Reaching Out v Track & Truth Editor-in-Chief : P. N. Wali - S.P.Kachru Page 6 Executive Editor : J. L. Manwati g Poetry Coordinating Editor : M. K. Raina v Pious Pilgrimage Members : T.N.Bhan - Dr. Roshan Saraf Page 7 g Book Review Basanti Raina v Pt. Vidya Lal Kaul's Kuliyaat-e-Raaz S. P. Kachru - Prof. R.N.Bhat Page 8 Consulting Editor : J.N.Raina (Pune) g From the Pages of History Sp. Correspondent : Vivek Raina, Jammu v Kashmir & Central Asia - 2 - Dr. Satish Ganjoo Page 10 Webmaster : Sunil Fotedar, USA g A Peep into the Past v Return of the Brahmin - 5 - P.L.Zutshi Page 13 Milchar Development Committee g A Peep into the Past Surinder Wazir, Basanti Raina, v Revisiting Kashmir - 2 - P.L.Raina Page 15 S.P.Kachru, Sunil Kher, Neena Kher, g Know the Facts Vinod Razdan v Shankaracharya Hill - Pawan Durani Page 17 Yearly Subscription Rs. 200 g Viewpoint Life-time Subscription Rs. 2000 v Pandits: A Moment of Introspection - Dr. K.N.Pandita Page 19 Advertisement Tariff g Short Story v Who Cares? Matrimonial (upto 50 words)Rs. 100 - T.N.Dhar 'Kundan' Page 23 Each Extra word Rs. 5 g Arjan Div - An Unknown Hero Back Cover Rs. 1500 - Kamal Hak Page 27 Back Inside Cover Rs. 1000 g Book Review v The Ugly Kashmiri Inside Page Rs. 750 - Ravinder K. Mattoo Page 29 Inside Half Page Rs. 500 g HçámlçkçÀ mçcççÇ#çç v çÆyçcçuçç jÌCçç kç=Àlç `uçuç Ðço cçíjçÇ vç]pçj cçW' Views expressed in the signed - jncççvç jçnçÇ Page 31 articles are not necessarily those of the g kçÀçJ³ç Kashmiri Pandits' Association v Mçyçvç@c³ç Mçônpççj or Milchar. - ìçÇ.Svç.oj `kçáÀvovç' Page 34 v Articles can also be e-mailed to: kçw³çç sámç yçò æsçb[çvç? - [ç. yççÇ.kçíÀ.cççí]pçç Page 35 [email protected] g Biradari News Page 36 July-August 2007 dcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcddc Page 02 feyp+kjò cdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdc MILCHAR Message from the President - M.L.Mattoo N Between Ourselves amaskar, which requires lot of care AIKS - The agenda for Jammu: at the time of water N KPA could not be represented proofing procedure. at AIKS executive & general meetings at Some more donors Jammu between 17th and 19th August as have come forward and I was down with a fractured leg. our sincere thanks to all However at Jammu, one of the major of them. events was relaunch of Martand of 1. Swami Laxmanjoo yesteryear organized by All State Trust (Rs.50000-1st installment). Kashmiri Pandits Conference, Jammu, 2. Smt. Ratan Rani Fotedar (Rs.2000) through the hands of Shri M K Kaw, I humbly request you all to come forward President AIKS. KPA has already with your donations and help us realize conveyed their good this great dream. wishes to Shri Amar Nath Kharghar Project Term of present Board of Vaishnavi and Shri Hira is calling you. Trustees is already over on Lal Chatta for this long Please send your 1st April 2007 and fresh awaited newspaper. election for new BOT Another major point for donation cheques members will be held in discussion was the immediately the month of October, floating of a new political 2007. Due intimations will party. This suggestion has been hanging follow and my earnest appeal to Biradari fire since Kolkata meeting. Some members would be to come forward as individuals were thinking that talking to voluntary successors to complete the a few individuals would have been stupendous task of Khargar Project enough to meet their ends, ignoring some which is in hand today. of the oldest and important affiliates of AIKS. In this regard, KPA Mumbai sent Launch of ‘härvan’ - the net-journal their views through e-mails including the of Project ZAAN : last one on 10.08.2007 to President & KPA congratulates Shri Maharaj Krishen Gen. Secretary AIKS disagreeing with the Raina, our Editor ‘Milchar’ for launching whole issue. This note is separately Project Zaan’s net journal ‘härvan’ on published in this issue. 15th August, 2007. It is a trilingual magazine dedicated to Kashmir and Khargar Project: Kashmiris. The journal is edited by Shri As on today our activity has been to M.K.Raina along with Shri T.N.Dhar as see how this project comes up. By the its Consulting Editor. It may be noted time you receive this issue, we would that 'här-van' is the first KP net-journal have reached laying of 1st floor slab and to be launched to reach KP readers also proceeded to casting of Lift Well, internationally. dd July-August 2007 dcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcddc Page 03 feyp+kjò cdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdc MILCHAR Editorial - P.N.Wali N ‘härvan’ - A New Star his independence day, a new of AIKS has also been star ‘härvan’ has appeared in around intermittently T the journalistic horizon of The most successful Kashmiri Pundits. Question in circulation and arises as to what is new about it. Much. financial standing has Kasmiri Pundits have already a been Koshur Samachar. number of journals being published from In the early days of various centers. I suppose the wilderness of earliest was published from Project Zaan a displaced community Lukhnow more than a century people started looking for cue back (Bahar-e-Kashmir). In was meant as to what is happening. They Kashmir, we lived with to bring out looked to Samachar. Its Martand for decades. To what matrimonial became a big compete with it Joyti was draw when the traditional published in sixties and Kashmir is channels of seeking alliances seventies. The KP Diaspora and what it where lost. At one stage even immediately after its content tended towards independence created sizable meant to be excellence till sycophancy pockets of KPs in places like a Kashmiri. took away some of its Jammu, Delhi, Mumbai etc. glamour. These pockets of the 'här-van' will Running a journal is time community felt the need to do it on consuming and a costly communicate with each other, proposition. Very few are able also relate themselves to their bigger to generate fund enough origin. Thus came publications canvas. sustain themselves like like Milchar from Mumbai, Koshur Samachar does. Most Koshur Samachar from Delhi, Vitasta often issuing periodical is a labour of love from Kolkata, Khirbhawani Times from of some devoted guys and obviously there Jammu, etc. Post exodus, many more is no monitory compensation. When have come from places like Chandigarh, such persons are overtaken by their own Faridabad and others, as the problems and preoccupations, the concentration of the community reached publication gets effected. Thy are not able a critical mass at such places. The most to maintain schedules. The quality notable and perhaps also successful of suffers. Then there is the problems of these have been Aalav from Bangalore logistics like composing, proof reading, for the last few years. A super journalist printing, address labeling, franking and –Shri R K Mattoo, who is its editor and dispatch. These make sustaining a also the president of association in publication a daunting task. Banglore, blesses it. The official organ In light of the above 'här-van' is new July-August 2007 dcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcddc Page 04 feyp+kjò cdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdcdc MILCHAR in concept and design. It is an E- magazine. It comes to you through your They Left Us E-mail, provided you have registered your mail address with them. There are no charges for registration. It employs Shri Babuji Jialal Kaul, father of the latest information technology in Shri D.B.Kaul, originally resident of Bana Mohalla, Narpirastan, reaching you irrespective of what part of Srinagar, Kashmir, and resident of the globe you happen to be, as long as A3/6/1, Millennium Towers, Sector- you have access to a computer. When 9, Sanpada, Navi Mumbai, left for issuing a normal magazine we are not his heavenly abode on 12th July sure what interests a particular reader, 2007. if any. In an E-magazine the reader has the choice in downloading only that, Shri Pearey Lal Mathu, Retired Dy. which interests him. He can choose the Director of Industries, J&K State type size that suits him (Son of Late Pt. Anand Joo Mathu) Conceptually, 'här-van' is an originally resident of Tankipora, extension of the Project Zaan earlier Srinagar left for his heavenly abode undertaken. Project Zaan was meant to at 166-H, Durga Nagar, Talab Tillo, bring out what Kashmir is and what it Jammu on 25th July, 2007. meant to be a Kashmiri. 'här-van' will Arun Kaul, the noted Kashmiri film do it on bigger canvas. It will therefore maker and screenplay writer and deal with all aspects of our culture KPA life member, left for his viewed through geography, history, heavenly abode in New Delhi on 21st traditions, customs, literature (poetry, July 2007 after prolonged illness.