A couple of weeks ago I moved to a new room. And it just so happens that the landlords, an old couple, are Kashmiri Pandits. Last night they were kind enough to invite me over to their place for the ‘after-pooza‘ feast. So even though I wasn’t home this Shivratri, I got to have some great home made Kashmiri food.
Tem chui gurut ki na? Toi chui Razdan, as meat ma chu khevan herat dohoy!
Haha! Seriously, I never expected to ever having to answer this question online and that too when the question is asked in Kashmiri. Tem cha na khyewaan nyane Herat doh ti aasti che na khyewaan, halaki ays che ne gurut Razdan.
Mr. Razdan, I always appreciated your blogs and articles on this website. One thing I would like to say; I can see a lot of mentioning or articles about Pandit festivals, Like Herat, Mela Khirbhawani, etc. which is good, but I was not able to find even a single instance of Eid celebrations in Kashmir on this website. Although you know how Eid is being celebrated in the valley. It gave me a bit of disappointment. Hope you will work on it.
Syed Amir,
the disappointment is all mine. The last time I celebrated Eid, it was around five years ago with a family of Muslim immigrants from U.P. and at a place called Nagpur in center of India. The last time I celebrated Eid with Kashmir Muslims, it was around 15 years ago and at a place called Jammu. The one memory of Eid in Kashmir that I do have, I have written about it here in a piece I did last year around some eid. I try to write about things that I know. If i were to write about eid I would have to borrow memories from lot of people. I can't honestly write about something that I haven't experienced. Anyway, Eid Mubarak! And if somebody wants to share his eid experience here, he/she is more than welcome.
Eid Mubarak to you too. Talking about "Herat", I still remember how my father used to get overloaded by lot of dry fruits and walnuts by "Pandit baradari" when he used visit them on the Eve of Herat. I also remember how My Grand Mother was getting visits by several Panditani's for getting Taveez & stuff as she was a Spiritual Peer and very much respected by locals there, whether being Muslims or Pandits. I still remember when one of a Pandit Lady came to her to get a taveez for her husband's good health and my Grand Mother said to her "give me your 'Dej Hoar'. Within 4 or 5 days her (Panditani's) husband passed away. I am not a superstitious but this is one of the facts.