Tanuja Shankar Khan’s debut novel is the story of a woman trapped in Kashmir. She tells D Mago about her intensive research in the region
Set in the backdrop of Kashmir, it is a story of a documentary filmmaker who is held hostage while making a film on the Valley. The tale progresses to reveal the emotional journey the female protagonist goes through. Unlike many other novels based on Kashmir, Tanuja Shankar Khan’s Flames of Paradise, delves deep into the psyche of people living in the region. It is not just about terrorism, darkness and bloodshed.
A passionate filmmaker bags a project in Kashmir. Through her film, she aims to bring out the realities in the state. Says the author, “The book is an adventure romance and has lots of shades from the life of a modern woman, who wants to live a free life. Snigdha, the protagonist of my book, has gone through a lot of trials and tribulations in life. She is a woman of substance, who even after facing lots of hardships emerges out as a winner. After a good share of experiences, she decides to not run after love.”
While in Kashmir, Snigdha plans to interview terrorists in order to understand their lives, but in turn is taken a hostage.
She escapes from the captivity and falls in love with a man who she thinks is part of the terrorist group. “My book has instances of Stockholm Syndrome or capture-bonding, a psychological phenomenon where hostages feel empathy and show positive feelings towards their captors to a point of defending them. At such situations, a lack of abuse from their captors is generally taken as an act of kindness. The woman isn’t able to accept the fact that she has fallen for a terrorist. The entire film revolves around the feelings of love, hate and distrust.”
Tanuja visited a lot of places in Jammu and Kashmir, like Baramullah and Kathua, to carry out research for her book.
“I went to villages and spoke to the women there. I came across stories of refugees and widows who have suffered in Kashmir. These are the people we should talk about. And I always wonder that why do we constantly harp about terrorists and military but never pay due attention to the plight of common people. The book holds my experiences of meeting women of the region, who are living in constant fear and also the ones whose families had been taken as hostage by terrorists in the past.”
Tanuja belongs to the family of great laureates and the famous Hindi poet Nagarjun is her maternal grandfather. Her mother, Usha Kiran Khan, is also a popular Hindi writer and has won the Sahitya Akademi Award for her work in literature. Sharing memories from her childhood, Tanuja says, “I used to call my nana (maternal grandfather), the Naga Baba. He had a salt and pepper beard and I grew up seeing him visit our place. During those days he was the biggest poets in the country. He used to write sarcastic poems on Indira Gandhi and always came home in a khadi kurta pyjama. We often jumped on his lap and pulled his hair.”