Avtar Mota’s stories offer a peep into the slice of life in Kashmir pre &post-1990 / Rashmi Talwar / 31st May 2024

Book Review

Publication: The Tulips and the Snowstorm (Stories from Kashmir)

Author: Avtar Mota

Avtar Mota’s stories offer a peep into the slice of life in Kashmir pre &post-1990

Rashmi Talwar

There is an ancient saying that when lovers fall out, stories emerge!  Avtar Mota is surely a lover of the land of Rishi Kashyap, and his book of short stories –The Tulips and the Snowstorm- is a rare gem from Kashmir, like its unique sapphires! Avtar’s collection of tales is an honest yet subtle account of short stories that peep deep down into the life of Kashmir and resonate about a fascinating strand of people, their relationships, and lifestyles.

For those who ever loved Kashmir, drank its purest waters & felt its spirited air, for those born, those left, those who moved, or plainly those curious about the Himalayan beauty and its mesmerizing inner lanes, the book is a singular link to varied true-to-life characters of Kashmir, quite akin to the character sketch outlined by Christian Missionary and Educationist Cecil Tyndale Biscoe in his book –“Kashmir in Sunlight and Shade”. Biscoe established six Tyndale Biscoe Schools in Kashmir from 1890 onwards. Mota’s stories offer a slice of life in Kashmir with its peculiar twitches, tickles, and twirls. The author, a man of few words, engages, ebbs, and flows, leaving the reader in a snow of wonderment, of a Kashmiri’s typical satire, humour, sorrows, or pops out surprise.  His stories emanate from touching personal accounts of social, political, environmental, and cultural spheres. Endearing, innocent, at times woeful, cunning, and funny, Mota’s keen observatory mind and peculiar surroundings spin stories from the air-  with skilful use of language, with no trace of the dripping malice, despite arrows of adverse narratives. It is a true reflection on pre and post-year 1990 a period of Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits- driven from their ancestral beloved lands, in tears. Leading undreamt lives of woe and extreme hardships in shelters and elsewhere. Tales from the verdant valley’s rise and fall, from Mota’s ancestral space, his book holds a rare scent of subtlety bordering on shyness interspersed with local dialect and poetry. The stories, of childhood innocence, gradually slip into a grown world of manipulations, human cunning, and torn fabric of once harmonious and lively communities of Kashmir.

Ashok Ogra, a noted writer, observes-“The stories reveal happy living, nostalgia, empathy, helplessness, pretence, and sorrows of exile. The shift in our value system, whereby utility and practicality replace every other old value, is also visible in some stories. There are no villains; even the satire is never cruel or derisory. The stories do not swell to a climax. However, there is a ring of familiarity. One effortlessly identifies with the stories’ characters, which are individuals and types belonging to us all.”

Some takeaways from the book –

The book ‘The Tulips…’ begins with enchanting memories of a childhood in Kashmir — ‘Mother’ – is an endearing opening story about an affection-seeking Kashmiri child.  Set in a time when Kashmir’s beauty was untouched by violence, though dissent was present, albeit in a minuscule measure. Close on its heels is ‘Flowers of Innocence’– a story of post exodus of 1990 when the fallout of both communities comes to the fore from the innocent lips of their children. Each had demonized the other, using fairy-tale sketches of a villain. Stories like – ‘Book Release’ and ‘Award Winners’ strike a note of humour and satire.

In a poignant story, Tarawati is tempted to buy Kohalrabi (Kadam/Kashmiri greens) in the scorching heat of Jammu’s Sabzi Mandi. At the sight of Kohalrabi’s arrival in the hot plains of Jammu, she finds her lost identity and connects it with the salubrious clime of her lost Kashmir. A gleaming hope of survival takes over her heart, and ironically, it is the unbearable heat that kills her. She dies of heatstroke! THE TULIPS AND THE SNOWSTORM is a multidimensional book about the political, cultural and societal life of the Kashmiri society in general and Pandits in particular. It should interest all those who continue to long for their homeland or once entitled to a homeland there just as –‘Aanya Mota,  Avtar’s grandchild, to whom the book is dedicated – ‘Who is sure to read this book when she grows up’ ..signed Dadu’.

The tales give you a real-time glimpse into The Kashmiris’s typical and timeless flavour and their unique humour!’ Each of Mota’s stories has a gripping narrative, and identifiable characters found in Kashmir’s daily life trapped in peculiar situations. If they smile, you smile; their pensive mood could strike a thought. The stories reveal happy living, nostalgia, empathy, helplessness, pretence and sorrows of exile. The shift in the value system carried on from ancient times. is also visible in some stories. The arrival of deep freezers in Kashmiri households, to enable children to join in is the focus of the story ‘The Final Samaskara’ (Final funeral prayers) of their parents, is one such story.

The “Unforgettable Nazir Ahmed” depicts a brave, innocent and honest footpath vendor. “Do Not Say Bangaluru Again” is a clash of perspectives between the youth and senior generation of Kashmiris. ‘The Afghan Dry Fruit Seller’ is packed with gripping humour. So are the stories ‘Shoe theft in Kashmiri society’, ‘Dudda or the Uninvited Guest in Kashmiri Marriage Feast’, ‘Gossip Shops of Rainawari’ and ‘Kashmiris and Humour’. ‘Book Release’ and ‘Award Winners’ fall in the humour and satire category. ‘A Day Inside Lalla Ded Maternity Hospital, Srinagar’, and ‘Qazigund: Anda, Chai, Parantha and Bathroom’ is a hilarity.

 ‘Shastar’ or made of iron- appears secular, and so was the choice for a candidate during elections, in a story searching for an impactful pseudonym for a candidate heading for polls, in the story “Book Release”.‘Terminal Dues’ and ‘Bank Loan Guarantor’ are moving stories where ‘Loneliness hangs on doors and windows’. It deals with the present complex matters that the exiled Kashmiri Pandit community faced post-1990. ‘Curd Lassi 1983’ –“Pandit Ji, your vote has been cast! Please tell your neighbour Dina Nath Ji not to trouble himself by coming to this polling booth. His vote has also been cast. You Ismaala (Ismail), give the special Curd Lassi to Pandit Ji. he looks exhausted,” is a political satire about the times in Kashmir when governments cowed down to the writ and blackmail of terror-stirrers.

“Khan was not born out of a crack in some rock. Khan has a mother. Khan has a wife. Khan has his children. Khan lives in a family. Khan is a family man. Khan will cure every ailment. Many men and many women may have ailments not worth mentioning here openly. But don’t hide such ailments. Get these ailments treated. Khan will specifically treat such ailments. My Kashmiri brothers can talk to Khan privately about such ailments. After selling the medicine, Khan will attend to these secret ailments. God will grant the desired cure. First, second and then third day, you will notice the effect of Khan’s medicine. At this moment, you may curse Khan but later on, all your good wishes will be for Khan.” From the Story ‘’The Herbal Tonic Seller from Afghanistan’

Excerpt from story -“Award Winners”

“Yes, apart from me, five persons were given the prestigious SSCD Literary Award for the year 2019. Poet Sham Lal Talvaas, writer Som Nath, Parvez Muscle (owner of Muscle Gym), Aziz Lipton (Assam tea trader) and upcoming singer Surbaaz Pahalwan (from Langot Akhara). SSCD is the NGO of Shri Samir Samar. All six awardees had donated five thousand each to SSCD. The awards were presented by ex-minister Dil Nawaz Bedil at Tehzeeb Theatre. Our names appeared in the newspapers.”

“What is SSCD?”

“Society for Stopping Cruelty to Dogs!”

Avtar Mota’s stories surely unfold the Speckled Colors of the Chinar, the exquisiteness of Tulips, and the slice of Snowstorms, bringing tears and cheer, by turns.

My Kashmir…Sure one day ..

Aey Jaan teri yaad ke benaam parindhe ,

Shaakhon pe meri dard Ki uttarenge kissi din..

Jaati hai kissi Jheel ke geharaayi kahaan tak,

Aankhon me teri doob Ke dekhenge Kissi Din…

~Avtar Mota,

Avtar Mota, is an author, an art and literary critic, a photographer, an ace translator, and a noted poet, leaves a photo memory of enigmatic, funny, and puzzling incidents in the minds of readers.

PS BOX

His books trigger some personal reflections in me :

~ Kashmir Musings~

Kheer Bhawani, Temple bells and milky waters;

Secret Winds and Boulevards;

Smokey huts and happy hammams;

Fancy scissors and glib chatter;

Bobbing waters below alpine lakes;

Languorous Europeans, speeding ski-boats;

Hugging Chinars wipes my tears

Watery streets and Gliding Shikaras;

Feigned headaches and pampering mothers,

Fathers, sisters, and brothers

Then.

Watery nights and shrieking temples;

Dappled shadows, gazing Houseboats;

Sheltering buds and arctic snows;

Ripped Petals and ghost streets;

Glassy gazes peeping ‘Dubbs’;

Haze of smoke and Tommy guns;

Lonely searches and silent temples;

Hushed nooks and window seats;

Trails of crimson and bloodied moon;

Pampering pains and heartaches;

Only me, and lonely me

~ Copyright Rashmi Talwar 2024.05.20

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