Class XI student’s book on Kashmiri women to be out in April

KOLKATA: A class XI student of La Martiniere for Boys, Kolkata — Vaibhav Giani— has penned down a first-of-its-kind book on implausible stories of some of the most indomitable women of Kashmir, who have broken the glass ceiling to enter the annals of history.

The book titled ‘The Kashmir Chromosome’ is an anthology of 25 incredible stories. It revolves around ‘the war-torn paradise on earth…eternally shrouded in horizon-kissing fog, a haze of unsorted half-truths and the sweet aroma of Kahwa in the wind.’ It is about ‘a picturesque valley of vast apple orchards and the finest Pashmina shawls, of colourful carpets and walnut carvings and of untold stories of incredible women.’ It is expected to hit the stands by the end of April.

The book contains the stories of the feisty footballer Afshan Ashiq, who is leading the state's sports mania among women; professor Nilofer Khan—the first woman Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kashmir—Naseem Shafaie, Kashmir's first poetess to receive the Sahitya Akademi Award and National Award winning basketball player Inshah Bashir who has been on a wheelchair since fifteen years of age, and many more.

Sixteen-year-old Giani, who has extensively travelled through the terrains of Kashmir to chronicle the stories of invincible women, excitedly said: “Kashmir, known to be India’s paradise for its insanely beautiful natural beauty has always been embroiled in geopolitical turmoil. In that maze, we have forgotten to celebrate the wonderful talent in this state. The common narrative that revolves around Kashmir is always around curfews, violence and terror attacks.”

The stories, punctuated by courage, determination and grit, are being pertinently complimented with detailed visual narrative – all of the women have been photographed in archetypal black and white, and these photographs will add a whole new dimension to the book.

Giani who finished his final examinations on March 3 has left for Kashmir the very next day to finish the last few stories of his book. He said: “The amount of talent and capability the people of Kashmir possess is unimaginable. It is therefore necessary to give these people, especially women, an opportunity and a platform to express themselves and this is what I hope to provide them with through this book. There are numerous people in Kashmir who have already achieved greatness but unfortunately, these stories have not been told to the world as they should and hence I have taken it upon myself to do so.”

So why did Vaibhav choose to write about women? “Modern society is expanding rapidly and evolving like never before. However, the women of our society are still in some places suppressed and are not given the wings to fly. Whatever said and done, there is still a gap between men and women today, and this needs to change at the earliest. The people of Kashmir, for instance, are largely conservative and orthodox, because of which the stories of these beautiful women have never come out. One would, infact, be surprised after reading the stories of these women,” he said.