By the river Jhelum I wept It was my hundredth call. I had not heard them since last five days. I couldn’t concentrate on anything. All the excitement about attending marriage ceremony of my brother on 10th September and sister’s on 13th got evaporated into the cloud of despair and worry-I was left alone. I wanted to fly to home and hug them all. There were three days to board a Go Air flight and expect my dad at Shaikh Ul Alam International Airport on 7th September ;then ask my dad about keys and drive through the wide bypass roads and cross the most traffic jam prone area of Kashmir-Pantha Chock- and along the Jhelum reach Islamabad(also known Anantnag).On reaching I would be seeing people thronging into our place ;my cousin Burhan giving his ever loving tight hug and briefing about the arrangements. Some card to distribute.Calling Tehleel,Faize baba and receiving those unending kisses from elders on forehead. My Mom asking me about the date of arrival of my friends and how she would pamper them. And then this famous old adage yet again got vindicated ‘Man proposes; God disposes’, this became as clearer as spring of Verinag to me. Dad called me on 5th and informed me about the incessant rains across vale. I packed my laptop into polythene and few cloths and went to my friend’s place at Delhi.They remained in touch till next morning. On 6th Sept as level of water had increased much at Islamabad they, as a cautionary step advised me not to board the flight in case of communication breakdown. I complied the next day. I couldn’t connect to anyone in Kashmir and returned to Aligarh. The place I love most after home looked very gloomy that day. It was grey;all Kashmiri students faces were canvassed with fear and despair.Everyone had lost the contact.Internet in Valley was down and PM Modi was on the visit which meant-it had to be down.I put a diary into my bag and went to class half hearted and started surfing for latest updates.Nothing was consoling but everything was worring.Till now as I write it remains worrying. As all of the Kashmiri students at JNMC assembled at Canteen everyone came up with one or two updated. One of us managed to establish contact to Baramulla which said water levels are fast climbing up in Srinagar and most of Anantnag is inundated. Everyone was becoming apprehensive for the safety of their families. I was making rounds of my room for all night .I knew if the if Jhelum turned wild much my place would surely be under water and my patients would get much more apprehensive about my safety. They would for sure be counting my landing at Srinagar.We had no connections. As each one of us started discussing Jhelum there came some flash images and memories associated with it; the paintings of mountains and labelling every river as Jhelum; every day crossing the bridge above Jhelum; watching those mysterious fisherman every summer; those old wooded dilapidated boats which always remained ashored;the beaking of my neck each time we went to Sha’har(Srinagar) and trying to map the course of Jhelum; the Sand extractors at Sangam bridge; the arguments with father at Verinag about the enormity of river and miniscule spring;the disappearance of river midway to Srinagar:the Pride of it being our strength; the happiness that it connect every Kashmiri Jhelum,which irrigates much of Pakistani Punjab;the Jhelum which is caged by Indus water treaty;the Jhelum which is the witness of my past;the Jhelum which is torch bearer of my generations to come has been raped all the while.It has been stripped of its colour and territory it had.The embankments which it had were made residential.The bunds around it too weak.And the channels that it had through Srinagar filled with cements holding big Hotels.The ‘Venice of East” left for deluge.Srinagar which has around 20 water channels from Jhelum criss crossing each and making out a city ‘was’ beautiful.The flood of 2014 ravaged the historical city unleashing terror never witnessed in the living history of Kashmir. Many historians make parallels of 2014 flood with 1902 .In 1902 there too was a devastating flood in Kashmir under the Dogra Rule where the subjects had to lose everthing they earned hard and had the most tumultuous times.Crops destroyed,cottages swayed away,mud houses washed and lives lost. Looking at the grim situation Dogra rulers sensed the danger summoned D.G Haris and commissioned him to report.Under his leadership British engineers in 1903 started work on flood spill channel.It remained the only safety valve for Srinagar to bypass the excess water. According to some expert Kashmir witnesses 55 year flood cycle after 1902 it was 1957 and now in 2014.But flood of 2014 is totally different from all those previous one. This one is a man made. On the back seat of the bus from Dehli to Aligarh as I was trying to contact everyone-from Grandfather to neighbours, I was taken aback to the Greater Kashmir reporting in somewhere 2011 cautioning a deluge in next five years-the reporter was Firdous Tak.It cautioned the state Government that a massive unprecedented flood is going to spill whole of Srinagar and adequate measure must be taken in order to reduce the damage.In the hindsight,I go and weep by the river Jhelum and ask those in power that had they ever ponder on these potentially ‘destroying issues’ today many among us would be alive and the ‘lost paradise’ could have been saved.Now what Srinagar is reduced to is a lake embebbed with ruined houses,dead bodies.A city without animals where no birds are to sing.The Nishat that overlooks Dal has closed its eyes and the Zabarvan on its back is carrying sobs as it looks to marooned people and defaced beauty.It is alike throwing acid on the face of a princess or incisive cut of face leaving scars and scars-hard to heal Around six million people of Kashmir have been affected by this inundation .From South Kashmir which has been most affected economically where the water level recorded at Sangam overwhemingly rossed the maximum 34ft have witnessed the water washing its fertile land and the many villages at the brink of obliteration but fortunately the human loss has been mimimal.The downtown areas of Islamabad (known as Anantnag) along with Mir Dantar ,Hanji Danar,Janglat mandi,Ashajipora remained indenated for 7 days without essentials and medicines .Many villages like Hillar,Chee and adjoining were witness worst of times.The increase in water levels and incessant rainfall forced the bursting of the chest of Jhelum, breaching the Bunds at Pampore and Srinagar.Water logged itself in posh colonies of Raj Bagh, Jawahar Nagar, Indra nagar ,Shiv Pora, where at places water touched second story.Kashmir diaspora elsewhere while reading and watching the grim situation sent SOS through twitter(#kashmirfloods) and many took flights to rescue their families. My cousin Burhan had been staying at his uncles place at Jawahar Nagar, Srinagar,I had been in constant touch with him till 6th.He was to receive me at Srinagar Airport.Late at night he said it might be difficult to come as the water levels near Airport had risen and the road has been closed down .This concerning News made me assure him that I would not fly tomorrow but you look after your safety. Six day after the talk as reconnected to him and learned the ordeal he went through it sent shivers down my spine. It was late at 12 when aunt of Burhan witnesses water spilling over plinth and in no time it entered in.They climbed up to first story with whatever they could hold onto and in matter of minute water had covered half of the ground story.As the water steeply climbed they witnesses cracks in the walls.In next five minutes the house had collapsed.Burhan and his relatives all deluged in water and debris of house. Some were bleeding and some unconscious. They were all submerged and none knew swimming.Gaining some strength Burhan threw away the log wood from his chest and searched for some air.As he regained some consciousness he went searching and took one by one all to the next neighbours. All were stranded on the rooptop-in pain,open air,wet cloths and with Kashmir’s agony.No one cried there.They knew this little of strength is their power and resilience to live. They stood there on the slanted roof battling wind and some drizzles and a day after jumping over roofs somehow managed to reach Baghat,which was somewhat safe. Two days returning home as he was busy helping in collecting relief he found a big scar on his scalp-he had been severely injured but didn’t know till then. In these grimmest of times that have befallen on us many things have been unfaced.Looking at our agony as their victory and deriving Sadistic pleasure from our grey faces many people under seething cauldron of bigotry disturbed the SOS lines .The seemed to be making their trolls viral and see everything in Kashmir through the lens of jingoism .The hyper nationalism they pursue when we are the cage couldn’t wait a minute.The bashing they do at our efforts. The selective rescue operations. we have seen all;and we will not forget.The beating of many relief collecting volunteer in Delhi.Bring in Maroof Raza and G.D Bakshi discussing the relief operations and praising the heroics on the first day.The propagandist efforts of Mr Arnab Goswami and his all-time favourite bashing of Kashmir sympathisers. None of his words showed any concern for the people but all his energy was lined ‘why did not the people marooned in houses not thank the Army’.Mr.Goswami, for everything there is a right time.If Army did a stellar job, only a fool will not thank them.But don’t expect us to forget Kunan Poshpora and Gaw Kadal .Also it’s constitutionally a duty of the Government and the agencies to coordinate and work out the relief work for the tax payers,which they are bound to do, which in this case are people of Jammu and Kashmir.At this times where issues like relief and rehabilitation should be discussed and heroics to be kept to debate some other time, the energies of sadist media houses like the other way around and feel nit national interest to ramp to embark on their propaganda. Now as the Eid is approaching and winter in the corner there is much to do. There is a much need to rise up from the pity politics and self-vendettas and rise to the occasion and help the suffering people.We the people of Kashmir-in Kashmir or anywhere in world,Hindu,Sikh,or Muslim have to come forward and take responsibilities and build the nation where ironically the opportunity has been provided by nature in the most dirty face.We have ask forgiveness. We have so share warmth. Reconcile with truth and thank those who helped irrespective the envy us or we envy them. There are grave issues coming up after the water will receding as epidemic diseases are waiting to be fought. In the great depression f 1929 Germany rose from the dirt to be world Power only because of will-we don’t have be a power, we need to stand on our own feet. I don’t know when the marriage will take place;when I shall listen good news about my land again;when I shall will celebrate Eid with all happiness;when I shall see Srinagar rise again till then on every visit to Kashmir I will stand by the river Jhelum and weep. Mohd Kashif Mir Aligarh Muslim University
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 13:25:38 +0000
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