CULTURE

March 09 Waris Shah To encourage the local youth to take up handicrafts manufacturing as a profession, Handicrafts Department Saturday organized an awareness cum sale camp at Town Hall Achabal. Additional District Development Commissioner Islamabad,was the Chief Guest on the occasion.The awareness programme was also attended by A D Handicrafts,besides number of artisans and local people. Speaking on the occasion, Additional District Development Commissioner stressed on a collaborative approach for the linking of flagship livelihood schemes like Hunnar and UMEED with the handicraft department. He said that concerned departments should take full advantage of schemes and provide livelihood opportunities to the artisans. He said that the provision of SHGs in UMEED scheme provides girls ...

March 04 Like other parts of the country, Maha Shivratri was celebrated across Jammu Kashmir with religious fervour and enthusiasm. The auspicious occasion, which is celebrated to mark mythological marriage of Lord Shiva with Goddess Parvati, witnessed prayers in temples with devotees offering water on Shiv lingam, taking out religious processions and organizing of Langars etc.  There was heavy rush of devotees in all the prominent Shiv temples. People from different age groups, including children, young and elders, thronged the Shiv temples for paying obeisance and offering water mixed with milk on the holy Shivlingam. The devotees especially offered Bael and Bael Patri (Golden Apple and its leaves) to Lord Shiva while chanting ‘Om Namah Shivaya’. All the Shiv temples were well decora...

February 27 Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, a hotel in Srinagar has come up with a message of Love, offering free accommodation to anyone stuck in Srinagar. Hotel Kaisar, located in Srinagar has offered free accommodation to tourists in the Kashmir valley who are stuck due to the closure of airports in the region. The Kashmir valley is also observing a complete shutdown on Wednesday to protest against the attempts to tinker article 35A, that guarantees special status to Jammu Kashmir. The post is being widely circulated on Social media and tourists are being widely invited to stay at the hotel. This message of love comes as India and Pakistan continue to make claims and counter claims of attacking each other and also claiming to have conducted air strike...

February 11 The residents of Qazigund belt in South Kashmir's Islamabad (Anantnag) district set up community kitchens for drivers stranded on the Kashmir highway as it remained blocked for the sixth consecutive day. Locals from Qazigund told The Kashmiriyat that they arranged food for the drivers from jammu and other Indian states and provided them free food and other essential supplies. They said, "We kashmiris have always been supportive of communal harmony and Kashmir over the years has stood for love and compassion." Hundreds of drivers and passengers stranded due to blockade of Srinagar- Jammu highway were provided food by the Locals of Qazigund area. ALSO READ: Dozens of Stranded Kashmir Passengers Thrashed in Jammu, Stones Pelted on Them The Locals established comm...

February 11 We often hear from our parents, especially from our mothers about their Pandit friends, who were separated from them in early 90's after the eruption of Militancy. Showcasing similar kind of a friendship, artists in Jammu performed 'Ek Mulakat'- a story highlighting the plea of Kashmiri Muslims and Pandits, who have suffered equally in the past three decades. ‘Ek Mulakaat’ a play, highlighting the plight of women in conflict bound Jammu and Kashmir, was performed under Restaurant Theatre at Hotel Premier, Jammu on Sunday. Written and directed by Neha Lahotra, a member of Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) ‘Ek Mulakaat’ is a story of two women who meet after three decades in a restaurant in Jammu after the migration of Kashmiri Pandits from Valley in 1...

January 12 Murtaza Gull Though famous for Wazwaan, there's a mind-boggling variety of traditional bakery products available in Kashmir. Very few outsiders would know that the Valley bakes products, known for their unique taste, prepared in a traditional tandoor by bakers called "kandur". These professional bakers are in the trade for generations. While the modern culture has touched and changed almost every aspect of life in Kashmir, The Kashmiriyat takes a look on how the traditional bakeries have withstood the onslaught of modernity. A whole culture of socialising has evolved around these breads, which form an intrinsic part of the Kashmiri way of life. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EXGto0KtEM[/embedyt] While all of Kashmir still sleeps, the lights flicker on...

January 06 Rayees Shah The Annual Urs of Sheikh Jamal U Din (RA)  celebrated at Sehipora Wayil In Central Kashmir’s Ganderbal District with religious fervor and enthusiasm. A large number of devotees including men,women and children from different faiths and communities from different villages of district and the  adjoining areas participated in this grand religious congregation. The urs mubarak is being observed on 29th Rubil Sani as per Islamic calendar every year. The devotees during the Urs prayed for  long-lasting peace in Kashmir and sought peace, blessings and mercy from Almighty Also Dua e Majlis and Fateh khawani for 'Kashmir martyrs' was offered by the devotees.

January 06 Tawseef Nazir “No, they won’t let me out of winter, and I’ve promised myself, even if I’m the last snowman, that I’ll ride into spring, on their melting shoulders.” – Agha Shahid Ali It all gets covered with the colour of winter, the colour of dusk. Shades of grey start to dominate. Temperature starts dipping, air breeze gets cooler, people add more layers to raise their body temperatures. Winter in Kashmir is a five months season but the real winter is experienced in the forty days of Chilai kalan, starting from December 21 to January 31, and if it snows in these forty days, the experiences get worst.  Old aged and children are forced to sit inside as the snow in Chilai kalan. Snow blanketed mountains, plains and white outlined trees especially Chinar...