Saralnama
Loal Kashmir: Love and Longing in a Torn Land by Mehak Jamal is a 2025 book that explores the intimate and often unspoken experiences of love in Kashmir, a region marked by decades of conflict. The book presents sixteen true-life narratives that reveal how romantic relationships in Kashmir differ from typical portrayals, often characterized by longing, secrecy, and emotional restraint due to cultural conservatism and ongoing political turmoil. Jamal, a Kashmiri writer, collected stories from 2020 to 2021, highlighting the unique emotional vocabulary of love in the Valley, where public displays of affection are rare and relationships are often hidden. The book also includes a poignant story of a Kashmiri woman married to a Gazan, connecting two militarized regions. Contributors chose anonymity for safety, reflecting the challenges of sharing personal stories in a surveilled environment. Jamal emphasizes that despite societal constraints, love persists as an act of defiance and resilience. The book aims to document this emotional culture and preserve collective memory amid conflict and censorship. (Updated 23 Aug 2025, 09:15 IST; source: link)