Shahnaz opted for fiction to capture the essence of what had been happening in Kashmir
Shahnaz Bashir. (Photo: DC)
Hyderabad: In the 1990’s, there were around 8,000 registered custodial disappearances in Kashmir. Men, old and young, were picked up on their way to their workplace, market, home, almost never to be found again. This staggering piece of data was an ominous reality for Kashmiri author Shahnaz Bashir, who was a teenager at that time.
His book, The Half Mother, chronicles the story of Haleema, whose son Imran was taken in by the authorities only to disappear into the void of Kashmir’s missing people. She is a ‘half mother’ because she does not know whether Imran is dead or alive.
“My mother too was very apprehensive during that time, because once one was out of the house, there was no guarantee of return in the evening. So this idea was constantly at the back of my mind, waiting to be explored. And I began writing this book a couple of years back, soon after my own son was born,” says Shahnaz.
He opted for fiction to capture the essence of what had been happening in Kashmir. “The truth of the place is frequently distorted and thus people around the country are misinformed about what’s actually happening. I was born and brought up here, so I was in a position to write about what’s happening at ground zero,” he adds.
Shahnaz is currently a professor of Media Studies at the University of Kashmir. He admits that although he is not a consistent writer, when he starts writing, there is no stopping him.
“I write best from midnight to dawn, but because of my personal and professional commitments, I am often not permitted to do so. There are times when I write continuously for over 12 hours and during those times, even mealtimes are ignored,” he says.
He doesn’t mind juggling teaching with the time he invests in writing. The author who looks up to Kashmiri poet Rehman Rahi, and short story writer Akhtar Mohiuddin, adds, “Discussing my story ideas with students merely acts as a catalyst to help me understand my own ideas better.”
Shahnaz has recently completed working on a short story collection that narrates different stories through diverse voices.
( Source : amrita paul )
Next Story
