Thread by @MonaADhar

#thekashmirfiles - Life in Jammu in 90s part 5
Happier times.
-> Post 96-97, things slowly started getting better. Elders made peace with the situation and started feeling disgusted by Kashmir. Every day someone was shot dead, their bad karma was taking over...1

->Mom will cry a lot if any Army men were killed by these morons, she still feels gloomy if our Army brothers die protecting Kashmir. Few Pandit & Sikh families who stayed back were mass massacred from 1993-2005 ..2

->We felt safe in our new homes, but never missed any news on Kashmir, my dad was still posted in Kashmir. We were always worried about him...3

->Mummy started maintaining a beautiful rose & marigold flower garden and grew a lot of vegetables haakh, baingan, lauki, bhindi, Turnip, and radishes.
She lived just for us.
On the insistence of my dad, she started teaching at a local school & finally started socialising...4

-> Every year on the 2nd day of Shivratri all elder male members would play cards whole day in our garden.
Ladies will make elaborate Kashmiri dishes.
We would relive our good old days...5

-> There were Gadh Battas (Fish & Rice ) lunches in our garden, yayje teas get-togethers (special Kashmiri dish) on mama jis terrace.
In our own weird way, we felt migration felt like a blessing in disguise...6

-> Since the 14th century Pandit identity was a threat to Muslim invaders in Kashmir, Over centuries Pandits had stopped the grand celebration of their Hindu identity & most festivals were restricted to just simple pooja & prasad confined only to homes...7

-> In Jammu we were among our Dogri Hindu brothers. We could play Bajhans, participate in ramleela , Ram navmi processions, celebrate Indian victory in cricket, burst crackers on Diwali & play with colours on Holi.
Even parents felt liberated for the first time in their lives.