Articles by Abid Bashir Wani

For Ghulam Ahmed Mir, owner of a provision store on Residency Road, Lal Chowk, pulling up the shutters of his shop on June 14th, was like a dream come true. But tears filled Mir’s eyes as soon as he stepped into his shop for the first time in 85 days. Rats and insects had wreaked havoc inside. Packets of biscuits, chocolates, coconut, atta, dry fruit and other grocery items were strewn on the floor. “The rats and insects have tasted everything and wasted everything for me,” said a tearful Mir. As the clock struck 9 on the morning on June…

Exactly a week before Srinagar reported its first COVID-19 case on March 19th, Junaid Azim Mattu, the flamboyant mayor of Srinagar chaired a high-level meeting with medical experts and senior officials of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC), to frame the strategy to fight the spread of the deadly pandemic. Immediately after the meeting, he announced his first decision: closure of all schools and colleges across Srinagar. The announcement triggered a hot debate in the J&K administration and was opposed by the then divisional commissioner of Kashmir Basser Khan. But the same evening, the mayor’s decision was formally accepted and extended…

“I am having to do things today I have never done earlier.Waking up  at 6 am in winters and 5 in summers has long been my habit. First thing I would do is offer morning prayers, earlier in masjid, but now at home. A 20-minute physicial workout has been a part of my morning schedule but I have never had to rush to the market in the wee hours. But since the COVID-19 enforced lockdown in Srinagar, I rush to the market soon after my morning exercise to buy vegetables, bread, milk and grocery items as the market remains open…

Srinagar was yet to get over the shock and losses suffered from the five-month political lockdown over abrogation of Article 370. Just as schools and colleges opened on March 1st, and hopes were picking up for the tourist season, came the Coronavirus lockdown. It began with a 65-year-old woman from Srinagar testing positive for the virus on March 18th. She had a travel history of pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia and had returned on March 16th, spent a day with family members and neighbours. The incident evoked strong criticism as the lady happened to be the mother-in-law of a senior police…

Modernity is yet to fully destroy the centuries old flavours of downtown Srinagar. It is still the place to go to, to sample the real taste of Kashmir, known for its traditional craft skills, its architecture, its spiritual sense from some of Kashmir’s most revered shrines sporting pagoda like roofs, especially the historic Jamia Masjid, the seat of power and religious authority of the Mirwaiz family, whose current head Umar Farooq, delivers the Friday sermons here. And, of course, its bazaars at Borhi Kadal, Zaina Kadal and Mahraj Gunj, named after the Maharajas that ruled Kashmir from 1846 to 1947. …

A houseboat stay, once a major attraction of Kashmir tourism, could soon become just a memory. For two reasons. One, the strict High Court guidelines that prohibit increasing the number of houseboats in Dal and Nigeen lake, the second famous lake in Srinagar city. Two, there are just three master craftsmen left, who can build houseboats. All the others have passed away in the last six decades, taking their knowledge with them. It takes these master craftsmen one to two years to build a normal house boat, called floating palace in local parlance. The houseboats are categorised in five groups—Deluxe…

The continued internet blockade in Kashmir region since August 3rd following the revocation of Article 370, has not only deprived the people of Srinagar and the rest of the valley of an essential means to connect with each other, it has also taken an unprecedented toll on business, education, tourism, health and entertainment. In essence, the internet blackout in Kashmir has not only led to job losses but also loss of confidence in doing business in the valley. Interestingly, a day after a communication blockade was imposed on Kashmir, Jio-fibre, a fibre cable internet service launched by the Reliance group, began operations…

When the Government of India issued an advisory on August 3rd, urging tourists and non-Kashmiris to leave the state, thousands of labourers who work in Srinagar and other areas decided to return home. However, around 150 non-Kashmiri waste pickers and their families decided to stay put in Srinagar. The city had provided them a home and livelihood for years and they believed they would be safe, despite subsequent reports of non-Kashmiri truck drivers and traders being killed Most of these waste-pickers and their families have lived in Srinagar since the 1960s, but their numbers increased in the 1990s. “A majority…

The leaves of the chinar trees were still green, signalling winter was yet to arrive. The chinar trees normally signal winter and snow when its leaves turn yellow and start falling. The people, and the administration, were thus totally unprepared for any unseasonal weather vagaries. But on November 5th, the weatherman in Srinagar issued an alert—possibility of heavy rain and widespread snow on November 7th across the region. The prediction was right on the nose. As the clock struck 9 am on November 7th, the crisp morning air was covered with thick snowflakes and within just two hours, Srinagar witnessed…

Television channels and newspapers could not stop talking about Kashmir. Every news bulletin, every panel discussion, every TV debate was about Kashmir and its people. Yet, what media did not, or could not, cover was the everyday ordeal in a city of close to two million, where municipal workers had not been able to report to duty for 10 days. Srinagar was stinking. All normal operations were suspended in Srinagar from August 5th, following abrogation of Article 370. Within a few days, residents started to complain of chest discomfort, frequent sneezing, mild cough and allergies due to the foul smell…