When my daughter turned eight last year, I asked her what present she would like for her 8th birthday. She said let us visit the shrine of Rajyna (popularly known as Kheer Bhavani) when it snows in Kashmir. For a child born in exile, it isnt all too natural for her to ask her father to take her home. What surprised me was her urge to visit the shrine of our Isht Devi when it snows in Kashmir. I left the conversation at that and hoped that she would soon forget all about it. As winter approached she reminded me of her birthday present. Her winter holidays were scheduled from January 1 to 20. I asked her to sleep and promised her that we would go home during her vacations. I knew I had made her a promise that would be difficult to keep. It isn’t that I have not been to Kashmir since we were forced to leave; it was just that these dates bring me terrible memories. I somehow wanted to avoid being in Kashmir during exactly the same period, the events of which led to our being uprooted from the land of our forefathers. dailyo.in/opinion/the-day-kashmiri-pandits-lost-their-homeland/story/1/1551.html
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 04:03:17 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015