The only surviving video interview of great Kashmiri Poet Dinanath Nadim (1916–1988) . Produced by Bashir Ahmed (?) for Doordarshan Kendra Kashmir and broadcast in 1987. This is a VHS copy made available by Ahinsa Kaul, son of Dinanath Nadim. Special thanks to Pratush Koul for reaching out to poet’s family. The family had asked their Muslim neighbour to record the interview at the time of broadcast as they had a VCR. Nadim never saw the video and the family kept the recording, digitalising it more than a decade back, but revisited and shared now.
Nadim remembers his childhood, his Bhagat Singh days, his early political and ideological influences, him finding his voice, he recites some of his famous works that enriched Kashmiri language with a verve that was uniquely Nadim.
It is 87. He has just been given a life time reward. There is an undercurrent of violence brimming in society. Maybe he knows what is coming. He breaks down reciting “peace”.
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