Kashmiris come together on Eid to celebrate ‘Insaniyat’

GURUGRAM: “Culture comes first, religion comes later,” maintained artist Veer Munshi, adding, “Religion is personal.” Munshi was one of those present on an overcast Eid morning at a city society, as the

Kashmiri Pandit

community welcomed Kashmiris of every denomination.


Serving steaming hot kahwa from a samovar, the

Kashmiri

Pandit Association greeted with open arms those who could not go back home due to the clampdown in the Valley. If the cloudy skies reflected the recent mood of the residents of India’s northernmost state, the Eid festivities helped bring some cheer, hope even, to the Kashmiris of Gurugram.

It wasn’t a huge gathering, with some 20-30 people coming together on a Monday morning, amid whispered conversations on the current political climate. The unease of the gathering, however, was soon quickly dissipated by a shared love of food.

“Our culture and blood are the same. We stand together with our brothers and will not let the festive spirit dampen,” assured Ajay K Pandita, one of the organisers. Over plates of mutton yakhni and dum aloo (and phirnis), and with ‘Eid Aayi Ras Ras’, a Kashmiri folk ditty, playing in the background, the community sought the comfort of common cultural bonds, insisting that Kashmiriyat and Insaniyat stand above everything else.

Saquib, a lawyer with the

Mumbai high court

who was visiting his brother in the city, appreciated the efforts of the organisers. He spoke about how his father’s sister, a Kashmiri Pandit, left during the 1990 insurgency, something which she regrets.

“I haven’t spoken to my mother in a week due to the circumstances there but the Kashmiri Pandit community here wished me Eid just like my family does back in Kashmir,” he told TOI.

The event’s chief guest, Dr Hanif Qureshi, IPS, who is administrator,

Haryana Waqf Board

, and IGP law & order police, Haryana, fondly recalled his posting in the Valley back in 1997, and the time he spent in Sopore with his father. “The strength of India lies in its pluralism. This (event) is a bold step, getting members of both communities under one roof and celebrating Eid together — it truly sums up the spirit of Kashmir,” he said.

Munshi came to know of the event after one of his close friends posted it on social media. He shared many memories of Eid in Kashmir. “We celebrated Eid with folk songs that they (the singers) have been reciting here, which reminded me of those years,” he reminisced.

“I have been brought up in Kashmir, especially in the cultural renaissance, so I know what Kashmir in those days was — the intellectual discourses, cinema, theatre, street theatre, art, poetry, radio. I carry all that with me.”

In many recollections, food was the common thread. Qureshi recalled enthusiastically the cuisine as well as the music of Kashmir, while Munshi remembered the mutton dishes on Qurban Eid, and was keen to point out the camaraderie between all Kashmiris, which the years of conflict could not dent.

The organisers faced a lot of flak from both sides but their efforts won the day. “Culturally, it’s always good to have composure. That is where the beauty is. You cannot have one kind of lover in the garden,” reflected Munshi in a poetic aside. “I request everyone to keep humanity above religion,” urged Saquib, summing up the spirit of this Eid celebration.


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