Award-winning and best-selling author Farhana Qazi brings you poems on love, loss and survival in the valley of Kashmir.
This deeply moving collection of poetry explores the beauty and tragedy of the Kashmir valley that is straddled between India and Pakistan. Farhana Qazi takes a first-hand look at women's experiences, shedding light on their courage, resilience, and unwavering spirit in poems.
In this debut collection, Qazi bares her soul as she touches on a complex history of Kashmir with love and empathy. These autobiographical poems explore what it means to be a feminist writer in search for truth in an endless conflict. She witnesses pained hearts, trauma, and raw emotions from the women and men of the valley, including her own experiences with love.Readers will discover:
Paradise on Earth:
Discover one of the world's most beautiful places set in the backdrop of conflict. Kashmir is known for its lush green mountains and forests, blue-green lakes, tulip gardens, ancient castles, and much more.
The Quiet Strength of Women:
Explore the resilience of Kashmiri women as they navigate the challenges of conflict, displacement, and loss with grace and determination.
Navigating Identity:
Women grapple with identity and belonging through the lens of tradition, culture, and modern warfare in an active conflict.
The Power of Love:
Witness love that transcend boundaries of ethnicity, religion, and ideology, offering solace, support, and solidarity in times of adversity.
Hope Amidst Despair:
Experience moments of hope, love, and beauty amidst the chaos and violence of conflict, as Kashmiri women strive to carve out a better future for themselves and their loved ones.
In one poem, Qazi writes: "On the map is a wrinkled valley, hills in vertical zigzags, mountains in an unbroken swell and sketches of trees racked by the wind. Nights too cold for sleeping is a quiet renaissance...Kashmir is heaven enough."
Note: These poems have been updated and new illustrations are included to reflect the beauty of Kashmir.