FATEFUL DAY OF PALHALLAN WE EVER CAN FORGET... #SHAB#I#QADAR 2010 Baramulla’s Palhallan: On SHAB I QADAR year, 2010 Srinagar,, 2010..., in Palhalan, in Baramulla district, four people lost their lives and one among the injured passed away a week later. A year later, Uzma Falak traces their stories in the labyrinths of a village, where 41-days of unrelenting curfew gave it name- ‘The Gaza of Kashmir’. The stories of the dead bring to fore the irony of fate, how destinies crossed path and their kin harbour tragedies in silence. WAIT AT THE WINDOW The window, where Sarva Begum, covered in a mauve headgear, is standing in the picture, means closure to her. With a forlorn gaze she remembers and longs. It was at this widow she had last glimpse of her son, Feroz Malik, alive a year ago. “We are powerless, helpless. How can a gun equal a hand”: Sarva He had come home after a half day’s work and was looking forward to the nightlong prayers of Qadr during the month of Ramadan. “He came and asked me if arrangements for Shab-e-Qadr were made,” says Sarva. His father, whom he fondly called Thotha, was not home and the supplies for dinner had not be brought. “So he went to the market. Came back and handed over a chicken to me through this window,” remembers Sarva. At about same time, when Feroz had returned from the market, gunshots echoed across the village. He according to Sarva grew worried about his father and went out to search him. She stood at the window and watched him leave never to return again alive. Haunting memories of the day scurry across her mind, “It was like Karbala that day. Innocents were slaughtered,” she says as furrows in her face deepen. Feroz’s met his Totha- Abdul Aziz Malik, amidst a crowd rushing for safety. Wrapping his arms around his father’s shoulders, Feroz pushed him through towards home. “As we were trying to make our way, a man Ashraf Mir was shot at, says Aziz. Feroz withdrew his arm from his Thothas shoulders. He went to rescue Mir. Aziz said that the government forces pointed the barrel towards his son and shot at him. “I saw him collapse,” he says. An injured Feroz wrapped his arms around his Thotha for the last time as he had rushed to help his son. “In his last moments, he was trying to say something, but shut his eyes before he could utter a word,” an inconsolable Aziz says. The bullets had ruptured his heart. The doctors at nearby Pattan hospital declared him brought dead. “We are powerless, helpless. How can a gun equal a hand?” Sarva says as she looks out through the window longing and remembering her son. DRESSING UP FOR DEATH While locals were preparing for Feroz’s funeral, Mudasir Ahmed Mir, 20, was getting ready too. “He left some morsels in the plate and insisted me to eat from the same plate. It was strange but I did it”: Fatima Poised, he had a relaxed air about him. “He dressed himself like a groom and wore new clothes. He combed his hair and asked me: ‘So how do I look?” recalls Shaista, his sister. The casual question was followed by a ‘strange’ one. “After a pause he asked me how he would look if he was martyred,” that left her perturbed. In moments, he left the house and came across his mother, Fatima, who stood at a lane outside waiting to see her nephews back. She remembers her son asking her to go inside the house, saying, “The young boy who was killed today also left behind a mother, a family. Stop worrying about your nephews. Go home.” Her nephews returned, but her son did not. A relative called on her nephew’s cellular phone informing that Mudasir was injured as forces had allegedly opened fire on Feroz’s funeral. She along with her nephew rushed to the hospital, but as the duo was on way the phone rang again. “I was told that my son was hit by a bullet in ankle. I was sure that he will be alright. I prayed all the way but he couldn’t make it,” she says and breaks down. Among many memories of her son that she treasures, some leave her wondering. “That day while eating his meals, he left some morsels in the plate
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 22:38:59 +0000