By Syed Majid Gilani When I reflect on the people who shaped and influenced my early life, one person stands foremost in my heart and mind. That person is Syeda Sakina Gilani, my late grandmother. Born in 1930 at Yarkand House in Malaratta, Srinagar, she was the daughter of S. Syed Ahmad Gilani. Her father […]
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Sundays at Badamwari
Outside the gates of Badamwari, the six-day silence finally gives way to a fleeting window of hope. For a separated father waiting in the Srinagar heat, these precious hours are the only currency that matters. By Syed Majid Gilani The merciless heat of late June 2025 hung heavily over Srinagar. Sitting inside a modest Alto […]
1996: A Diagnostic Pilgrimage
In 1996, a family’s desperate search for a diagnosis took them from the diagnostic vacuum of Srinagar to the busy clinics of Amritsar. What they found wasn’t just a medical answer, but a sobering look at the hidden commercial interests that shape the world of healthcare. By Syed Majid Gilani In the mid-1990s, the healthcare […]
A Grandfather’s Grace
Syed Abdul Rashid Gilani (1927–2016) left behind a legacy that transcends the written word. In the wake of his son’s passing, he became the architect of a new future for his grandchildren, proving that true happiness is found in simple living, honest work, and a heart devoted to the Divine. By Syed Majid Gilani The […]
The Srinagar I Carry Within
A heartfelt journey back to a time when exam results were announced over the radio and success was celebrated with the scent of burning isband and the taste of sheermal. A look at the Srinagar where joy was a shared currency. By Syed Majid Gilani This is the Srinagar I carry within me, a city […]
An Inheritance of Values
How the Light of a Late Father Still Guides Three Generations By Syed Majid Gilani In the quiet labyrinth of Srinagar’s old city, where the scent of history clings to the timbered eaves of Khanqah-e-Mualla, certain lives are lived not with the roar of a storm, but with the steady, unwavering glow of a sanctuary […]
Beyond Women’s Rights
After decades of service to her family, Saabirah finds herself battling not poverty, but rejection. Her story raises uncomfortable questions about justice, dignity, and the limits of women’s rights discourse. By Syed Majid Gilani When a woman chooses silence, the world often mistakes it for weakness. Saabirah’s life tells a different story. Her silence was […]
The Two-Rupee Note and the White Fiat
From the gleam of the Principal’s white Fiat to the taste of a two-rupee samosa: A personal journey back to Greenland High School and the gentle, unhurried rhythm of 1980s Srinagar By Syed Majid Gilani To understand what we have lost, we must sometimes travel back. Not just across the years, but into a different […]
The Brick Trap
In the busy lanes of Lal Chowk, a quiet mystery unfolded for months—until one clever trap exposed the truth. By Syed Majid Gilani In the late 1980s, Court Road in Srinagar’s bustling Lal Chowk was at its vibrant best. Lines of shoppers threaded through the narrow lanes, vendors shouted over the hum of traffic, and […]
A Decade of Silence
How One Man’s Marriage Unravelled Into Accusations, Courts, and a Fight for Dignity By Syed Majid Gilani When Arman’s family chose Rukhsar as his bride, their expectation was modest: a peaceful home, a kind partner, and a future built on trust. Wealth and social standing never entered the equation. What they noticed in her was […]