By Pooja Dhar Menon via Facebook Notes:
This one is a pending note. Pending since some 20 years actually. I like to think of it as procrastination’s best friend, this note.
It has taken a lot out of me to write it. Writing it from a third perspective, that is. Not that of a Kashmiri’s. And ironically, not even that of an Indian’s.
My surname is misleading, and thankfully, so is my complexion. Biologically, a part of me is Kashmiri. Sometimes I wonder if that’s the sole reason for my unconditional love for it and its people. Sadly, it is a story of unrequited love, as most epics are.I don’t blame them for their immaturity. That is if I can call it that. They have no reason to care. I for them, am a Hindustani. And no matter how brilliant an affair you claim that to be for you, it is not one for me.
I cannot rejoice today knowing most people are upset that the national holiday has fallen on a Sunday. Or upon knowing that most Kashmiri’s are oblivious to it. One can read it as citizens of the same country dwelling on two different pages – if not four.
The country has clearly found new subjects to talk about. The mature speak about the Common Wealth Games and the not so mature, about BBMs. It is interesting. I mean, sort of. Don’t get me wrong, BBMs mustn’t stop. Terrorism on the other hand, who cares?
There are also a few who are yet to find their level of maturity.Some claim to be mature. So, they forcibly talk about things nobody cares about. Like Kalahandi, music from the Forties, or life in Pluto. They are too smart for issues like Kashmir. They’ll probably blame Nehru or Mehbooba Mufti. You may not know who she is. It’s okay. You then, fall into the next category.
‘The typically mature’ talk about the umm…well, the typical. They love Aamir because of Peepli and think Inception is the best movie of the age. Kashmir is an issue only because the news proclaims it to be.
Surprisingly, my problem is not with the level of maturity. It has got more to do with the ignorance. Nobody cares. Only they do. It is sad; they’re a part of our country.
People in Kashmir our age earn money because of stone pelting. Education isn’t worth it. And honestly, it really isn’t. Television channels are bought. And so are the people who make it run.
But no one cares, do they?
It is just another bomb, and just another life. BBMs however, are priceless. Happy Independence day.