Dedicating this book to my grandmother Lakshmi Wattal, without whom this book wouldn't have been complete.Stories in this book have been passed down to generations and some are with a message, there is one thing for sure a reader would connect to, it is the small rituals, everyday house hold traditions in a typical Kashmir Hindu household and more! I hope I have done justice to it. This book also intends to bring back childhood memories for those who like me lost their homeland and are still waiting to return some day, and for some it may present a glimpse of what a Kashmiri pandit life looked like back then and still is, even though majority of KP's don't live there anymore but are still living their values, culture and heritage! Hope you all will enjoy reading it! Namaskar and Om Shanti

As darkness falls outside; and the chill sets in; Javed Khan pulls at his hookah and begins his stories... When Kamal and his friends gather at Javed Khan’s Kashmiri shop at Landour bazaar; he enthralls them with his stories—of princes and kings; fairies and magical animals; supermen and cunning traders. Come; sit around the fire with Kamal; Shashi; Anil; Madhu and Vijay while they listen to Javed Khan’s stories of the monkey bride; the man who got swallowed by a mosquito; the bent-up double beggar who angered a ghost; and many other tales from Kashmir and beyond. In this brilliantly illustrated collection; Ruskin Bond brings alive unforgettable folktales from the misty hills of Kashmir that will delight and enchant his followers both young and old

Do only Muslims live in Kashmir? Why do girls in Kashmir do stone pelting? Whom do they want freedom from? Can you imagine being confined to the four walls of your home with no internet, no social media? Are Kashmiris really invisible to the rest of the country? These are some of the questions two teenagers--Saumya in Delhi and Duaa in Kashmir--asked through letters they exchanged over almost three years. Framing these letters is the detailed history and commentary provided by Divya Arya, a BBC journalist who asked them to be pen pals, which places their conversations against the backdrop of the political history and turbulent present of Kashmir and India. Postbox Kashmir takes on the challenging task of attempting to portray life in Kashmir from the perspective of the young minds growing inside it and providing a context of understanding for the young generation watching it from the outside.

Set in the once-fabled land of Kashmir, Behold, I Shine moves beyond male voices and focuses, instead, on what the struggle means for the Valley's women and children-those whose husbands remain untraceable; whose mothers are half-widows; those who have confronted the wrath of 'Ikhwanis', or the scrutiny of men in uniform, and what it means to stand up to it all. This book also brings to focus the resilience of the Valley's women and children-of activists like Parveena Ahangar and Anjum Zamrud Habib, who, after debilitating losses, start human rights organizations; of ordinary homemakers like Munawara who have taken on the judiciary; and of a young generation of thinkers like Uzma Falak and Essar Batool who foreground the interaction of gender, politics and religion, and won't let Kashmir forget. Stitching together their narratives, Behold, I Shine not only memorializes women's voices-thus far forgotten, unwritten, suppressed or sidelined-but also celebrates the mighty spirit of the Valley.

Filled with serpent kings, long lost lovers, magical birds and seductive witches, The Legend of Himal and Nagrai is an enchanting collection of folk tales from a land as beautiful as it is misunderstood--Kashmir. In the title story, the serpent king Nagrai takes on human form to be with his one true love--the princess Himal. But despite Nagrai's warnings, when Himal doubts her lover's origins, all hell breaks loose. Will the star-crossed lovers ever be together? In 'Akanandun', having pined for a son for years, a couple is finally blessed with a beautiful boy--but on one diabolical condition. Will the couple be able to keep their word? In 'Shikaslad', a pauper goes on a quest to awaken his luck, which has been 'asleep' for years. Will he recognize good luck staring him in the face? These and twenty-six other delightful folk tales--painstakingly collected and retold by the author--bring to light the immensely rich, multicultural and largely undocumented tradition of storytelling in Kashmir. At a time when Kashmiri voices are being brutally silenced by an authoritarian state, this book is a vibrant tapestry celebrating Kashmiri life--in the words of its people.

A pioneering and comprehensive study of the historical imagination in Kashmir, this book explores the conversations between the ideas of Kashmir and the ideas of history taking place within Kashmir’s multilingual historical tradition. Analysing the deep linkages among Sanskrit, Persian, and Kashmiri narratives, Kashmir’s Contested Pasts contends that these traditions drew on and influenced each other to imagine Kashmir as far more than simply an unsettled territory or a tourist paradise. By offering a historically grounded reflection on the memories, narrative practices, and institutional contexts that have informed, and continue to inform, imaginings of Kashmir and its past, the book suggests new ways of understanding the debates over history, territory, identity, and sovereignty that shape contemporary South Asia.

Includes an overview of Indian telling; the basics of storytelling; stories from all the states and tips on how to tell; over 50 activities covering visual art, writing, craft and discussion; interesting and replicable black and white illustrations based on folk styles; unique story map; ways to find other stories to tell; discussion on storytelling in schools; and further resources, story sources and reading.