Farah Bashir’s memoir of growing up in Kashmir in the 1990s is, predictably, what it is supposed to be – a riveting, poignant and visceral ...
Farah Bashir’s memoir of growing up in Kashmir in the 1990s is, predictably, what it is supposed to be – a riveting, poignant and visceral account of life in a militarised zone. But it is much more than that.
For Rumours of Spring is not only a narrative of living in the neighbourhood of gunfights, protests, military patrols and crackdowns and the consequent violence, loss and destruction. It is also about how this violence interacts with and impacts the routine daily lives of ordinary humans and how the latter respond to it – what their seasons are like, their days and nights, the food they eat and the conversations they have.
It is the story of a teenaged girl – of her family, friends, neighbours, teachers, acquaintances and people unknown. It is a story of how the conflict casts its shadows on their lives in ways that vary from subtle to horrifying. It is about humans and human relations amidst conflict. It is about women – their daily rituals, traumas and courageous resilience in the face of perpetual anxiety and fear.
End of childhood
The author’s carefree world of girlhood comes crashing down in the summer of 1989 when she and her sister, a decade older, are...
