megha k

Much before the word ‘lockdown’ became part of regular conversations around the globe in the last two years, it was part of the everyday life for the people of Kashmir. Long hailed as the jewel in India's crown, the tragedy, suffering, and loss experienced by the warm-hearted people has yet to be acknowledged by the citizens of this country who are eager to stake claim of the land but not of the people living in that land. Jewel it may be for the rest of the country, but for the people living there forever in perpetual fear, their lives stuck between the army and the militants, the place is no less than the Dante’s inferno. Rumours of Spring sheds a much needed light on this hellish life under curfew and trauma in the 1990s. A life filled with the dread of finding a loved one injured by a bullet or a grenade, the anxiety of random searches, the helplessness when one’s home is being ‘ransacked’ by the troops, the fear of sudden disappearances of dear ones, the uncertainty of not knowing whether to mourn your dear ones or stay hopeful of their return and the apprehension of being accused as a terrorist for owning nothing more than a mere tape recorder. The immediate instinct of worry, confusion, devastation, and destruction every time things deviate the slightest from the normal in a young girl's mind lays bare the commonality of such incidents. Despite filled with a painful period of the author’s childhood in Kashmir, Ms. Bashir’s plain and simple style pulls you into the story. With each chapter, you realize that she is after all just a young girl, trying to find some solace in the chaos around her. All she is looking for a one string of hope to hold on to, some bit of normalcy and routine in her life. Though the writing is not as poetic as I expected and is more a factual narration of feelings and events than a delicate flow of words, you still feel for young Farah and the tough life under near-perennial siege. There isn’t a lot of literature in English out there of such deeply personal firsthand experiences, especially by a woman, during the turbulent years in the valley, and that in itself makes this book an eye-opener and a must read for everyone.