Editor: Murtaza Shibli
contact@kashmiraffairs.org
“Political delirium turns people insane, and man, being unpredictable, becomes the enemy of man. When peace bores him he destroys; when destruction tires him he reconstructs. Hatred and love go hand in hand.
Few people stick to their convictions when uncomfortable circumstances happen. Beliefs and commitments crumble to dust. The talks of values and ideals sound fine in peace. In troubled times the hollowness, stupidity and ugliness of man come to the fore. A liberal man proves irrational and dangerous, and an illiterate underdog or a goon performs a heroic or a noble deed. Man is an interesting paradox.”
AG
Still
I still am; I am not still.
Strength
Divided we stand; united we fall.
A Hindu
“Are you a Kashmir Pandit?”
“No, I am a Kashmiri Hindu.”
The Apple
Adam and Eve fell in love with Paradise out of it.
The Kill
We salute this man for he is a martyr,
We kill this man for he is a traitor,
We nail this man for he is an informer.
Conversion
I
“I was a Kashmiri. I have become an Indian.”
“Converts are fanatics.”
Conversion
II
“I was for Pakistan. I have become a Kashmiri.”
“Converts are liberal.”
Conversion
III
“I was an Indian. I have become a Kashmiri.”
“Conversion is the mother of repentance.”
Dilemma
Soldier: “Shave off your beard.”
Son: “Grow beard.”
The Catch
Sir, kindly transfer me to Kashmir. I will cash ... I mean ...
I will catch them and save my country.
Body and Mind
There my mind was here,
Here my mind is there.
Emancipation
“Listen! How can I talk about the plight of
Kashmiri Pandits? I am a secularist.”
Hospitality
Summer of 1982
“Dear soldier, have this Kashmir tea for you are a guest.”
Winter of 1990
“You bloody soldier, take this bullet for you are a dog.”
The Cause
“Those who chose to stay there have betrayed our cause.”
“What is your cause?”
“The effect is the cause.”
Windfall
This shouldn’t end. I have become rich.
The Dirty Stream
We are happy that this misguided youth has joined the national
mainstream now.
Alive
Abdul Jabbar: “Why did you Pandits leave? Amarnath is still
there. Nobody has killed him.”
Uncomfortable Comfort
I don’t know why I still love those hateful Muslims and hate these
fellow Hindus.
Incognito
I dress up like a Muslim woman. I don’t apply the tilak on my forehead.
Yet they know that I am a Pandit woman. They must be intelligent.
The Sympathizer
“My dear Nila Kanth, Indian soldiers have looted the house of all
Pandits. Why don’t you sell your house to me?”
Tourism
Permanent tourists! What luck!
The Loss
Your loss is bigger than mine. You lost your house, your land and your
property. I lost only my only son.
Words
Dear sirs, only in my writings do I say that we must return.
In fact, I am better here.
Lingo
“Mere bete, hamesha Kashmiri zabaan mein baat karo. Apne culture
ko nahin bhulo.”
“O.K., dad.”
Dirty
“Dirty Kashmiris! But why do I feel smallish before them?”
Covenant
I
“Am I your leader?”
“Yes.”
“Am I your leader?”
“Yes.”
“Am I your leader?”
“Yes.”
Covenant
II
“Am I your leader?”
“No.”
“Am I your leader?”
“Yes.”
“Am I your leader?”
“Don’t know.”
Covenant
III
“Am I not your leader?”
“No.”
“Am I your leader?”
“No.”
“Don’t you trust me as your leader?”
“No.”
Chameleon
From Pakistan to plebiscite to India to Pakistan to independence to
anything and anywhere in one breath.
The Author
“Who is the author of these cameos?”
“An anti-Kashmiri Pandit.”
The Ugly Kashmiri (Cameos in Exile)
Arvind Gigoo
These cameos are extracts from Arvind Gigoo’s book ‘The Ugly Kashmiri’ (Allied Publishers Pvt. Limited, 2006) which depict his reflections of the happenings in Kashmir. The basic theme of the cameos is the need for change from ugliness to beauty.