Has Kashmir’s Appetite for Luxury Outpaced its Reality? By Rafiq Dar In Kashmir, there is an old saying that cuts to the bone of the valley’s current economic temper: “If one rides a horse, the other one climbs the wall.” It is a proverb about envy, about the desperate need to match a neighbor’s stride, […]
Columns
The Canopy of Common Ground
When a towering newcomer threatens to uproot centuries of peace in the Kingdom of the Talking Trees, the inhabitants must choose between ego and empathy. This modern allegory explores how a community’s greatest strength lies not in its tallest members, but in the invisible roots that bind them together. By Aubaid Akhoon Deep in the […]
A Son’s Letter to His Mother
A son revisits the morning that changed his life forever, tracing grief, memory, and a mother’s love that refuses to fade. By Mool Raj Every time I left home for Jammu University to pursue my M.Sc. in Environmental Science, I wrote letters to my beloved mother, Smt. Nant Devi. Between 1997 and 1999, I entrusted […]
In a World of Endless Copies, Original Thought Is Fading
We are living in what can best be called the age of the photocopy. Like a page copied again and again from an already fading original, our ideas, words and expressions are losing sharpness By Abid Hussain Rather We like to believe that we are living in the smartest age humanity has ever known. We […]
The Universal Language
From the ancient epics of Mesopotamia to the modern classroom, poetry has always been the language of the human soul. By Sahil Sharifdin Bhat Every sane person carries a verse in their heart. Whether it is a fragment of a nursery rhyme, a line from a sacred text, or a couplet from a film song, […]
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 Green Machine Fighting Climate Change
From ancient oceans to modern farms, algae may hold the key to cutting carbon and methane while feeding the planet. By Mool Raj Algae are not just pond scum or seaweed washed up on the beach; they are among the most ancient and adaptable life forms on Earth and may hold the key to solving […]
The Siren Trap
The ancient tale of the sirens becomes a striking metaphor for the seductive distractions that steer us off course today. By Aubaid Ahmad Akhoon Long before modern navigation apps and digital maps, sailors traced their journeys by instinct, courage and the shimmer of a faraway horizon. Among the many stories carried by those who braved […]
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 […]