At the launch of The Story of Kashmir Through Ages, written by the father-son duo of Arjan Nath Chaku and Inder K Chaku, actor Anupam Kher said that it is tragic that people are trying to erase the existence of Kashmiri Pandits. Arjita Mishra reports
The issue of the Kashmiri Pandits have been plaguing the nation for a long while now. It not only shames us as a country, claiming tall ideologies, but also weighs heavy on those teeming number Pandit families surviving in the Kashmir valley. A lot has been documented on thier plight and plenty said, too. But Inder K Chaku, along with his father Arjan Nath Chaku decided to go a step ahead and put the story of the Kashmiri Pandit community in the covers of a book.
But before the book could be finished Arjan Nath passed away but Inder, took over and made sure that The Story Of Kashmir Through Ages gets comlpleted. At the launch of the book at Nichelounge and Bistro, he said, “I am sure my father must be very happy that finally I have managed to fulfill his dream of releasing his book.”
He shared that Pandits were the ones who developed the culture in Kashmir and threw light on their present-day situation where they are in a constant state of being ignored by everyone in the state and how nobody spares them a thought. “There are very less number of Kashmiri pandits left in the state. They might have a house, money and everything but still there is something missing — people do not accept them as part of their own,” he said and added, “Our heart is in Kashmir and Kashmir is in our heart.”
The Kashmir Story, written and published in two parts, is a veritable encyclopeadia on the state. Part one of the book traces the history of Kashmir — beginning from the legends of Nilamatapurana to Kalhana’s Rajatarangini followed by Jonaraja’s, Srivara’s and Sukha’s historical accounts which give us a vivid account of Kings, their rule and misrule and an all-encompassing fabric of the existing political, administrative, economic and social life.
The chapter on Kashmir under the Mughals highlights the secular character of Akbar, Jahangir’s love for Kashmir and their contribution to the development of its beautiful lakes and gardens. The first book ends with the cultural highlights of the Medieval period with scholarly works of Abhinava Gupta, lall Ded and her famous vaakhs and poetry of songstress Habba Khatoon.
Anupam Kher who was also present at the launch of book, said, “It is a sad thing that we are releasing this book in Delhi and not in Kashmir because usually if we launch any book which is written on any particular state, then it is launched in that state only. But the tragedy with this book is that it can’t be launched in Kashmir.”
Recently, Kher was in news for the activism which he started few years ago and according to him, “People have started saying that from the past three to four years, my love has evolved for Kashmir but its not like that. I have always loved Kashmir and I don’t need to explain it to everyone.”
Kher shared his childhood memeory, “I was not born in Kashmir because my father had migrated to Shimla but during my vacations, I used to go Kashmir for two months, every year till the time I was 25.”
Kher and Chaku agreed to a point that the book is not only about the history but also tells the story of what people went through while migrating from their home town.
“The young leaders who took the charge in Kashmir had always said in their speech that Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits are bhai-bhai but the tragedy is wo hume accept nahi karna chahte (they don’t want to accept us),” Kher concluded.