O Kashmiri Bilal failed. Again. It was the twenty-eighth time in ninety-two days. I He loved football. Growing up, Bilal idolised the great footballers of the time and styled his play on a tall Portuguese goal-scoring machine. He became the most sought-after footballer in his village by … Read more →
Ripening of Apples
Shabir Ahmed Mir “I am only taking these from you so that you don’t think you haven’t tried everything.” Parable of Law (The Trial, Franz Kafka.) When the Law changed Karim Nanwoar was relieved that he remained on the right side of it that is, until, he was told about … Read more →
The Coalman
Gulam Mohammad Khan Barely weeks before the arrival of long winters - when the reaping and binding and threshing is done, when the barns are full, when flocks of swallows migrate to warmer places, when the green foliage slowly wears on a yellowish hue, when the rivers flow low and … Read more →
Slap
Shabir Ahmed “Come on. We must leave. Now,” Tariq heard his father say in a voice that was all too familiar. Commanding. Demanding. Used to obeyance. Arms akimbo Tariq’s father filled the doorway with his immense frame. How could one not obey him! … Read more →
The Doomed Gravedigger
Munawar Hussain “Meesum, see! A deluge of ‘likes’ is hitting my facebook post. Hold this cigarette, I will show you a trick to gain more likes.” “Are you nuts, what if someone would spot me while holding the cigarette?” “Oh man! Oh man! See I have re-liked my own status. … Read more →
Saffron
“These infidels cannot insult us like this. If you have the courage, come and face us out in the open. You cannot tie down a speechless animal and think you have beaten us…” By Mirza Waheed She did not make much noise. But I knew, even in my sleep, something … Read more →
Jesus Without A Head!
Naveed Showkat The story is from my childhood. When the only thing that worried me was my hair; it didn’t stay at its place to my liking!..Too silky, my friends used to say. When heaven was the little playground of my village, where we played cricket all the time, it … Read more →
Magic of Words
Muhammad Nadeem His breath was heavy. He was climbing the Mount Solomon from past one hour. He just had to climb for five more minutes to reach his favourite spot. It was very cold. He was rubbing his hands and blowing puffs of hot breaths into them. He sat on … Read more →
Azadpur’s Children
Saima Rashid Kashmir, 2030… “We will get it, today or tomorrow. Azadi is our birthright and we shall have it.” These lines are engraved on a wall of Sariya’s school. She remembers her mother talking about the graffiti on the walls of her school, which would read: “Enter to learn, … Read more →
The Shadow
Shafi Ahmad As she walked on the road she suddenly felt that some one was following her, or at least, walking side by side. She was petrified by the very thought as to why someone followed her. She stopped, glowered around with hatred in her eyes. She found none. ‘Is … Read more →
That Language Of The Gun
Tariq Mehmood I came to Srinagar, Kashmir, for the wedding of my friend’s daughter. After the wedding, along with a couple who had come from Malaysia, we decided to visit Pahalgam. We started our journey from the Dal lake. It was a bright warm summer’s day. The reflection of the snow … Read more →
Tea with Chilai Kalaan
Dr. Shabir Mir For generations winter has been a season of indolence and gossip for us. As the mercury dips down not only does the water freeze but so does the time as well. There is no more work to be done in apple orchards or in paddy fields. The … Read more →
Poverty
Showkat Ahmad Bhat ‘’ Congratulations! Gul Kaakh’’, Asad , his neighbor’s son said to him. Gul Chaan who was feeding his goat which was tied to a peg in the compound of his mud house grinned at Asad. He got confused for being congratulated and was desperate to know the … Read more →
The Cankered Rose
Ghulam Mohammad Khan On a small grassy mound in the midst of the paddy fields, under the deep sky that hung like a large inverted bowl, with stars like a sheet of dazzling diamonds artistically patched over it, we sat hopelessly whispering our distress. It was midnight, the dew had … Read more →
You Never Let Gods Die
Will Newman Each page is turned to enter grief’s accounts. Mother I see a hand. Tell me it’s not God’s. Let it die. I see it. It’s filling with diamonds. Please let it die. Are you somewhere, alive, somewhere alive, Mother? Do you hear what I once held back: in … Read more →
And her eyes had never cried before… – a true story
Ta-Ha Mughal 20th May 2013 10:30 a.m. Jammu- Srinagar Highway NH-1 She could not bear the loss of a father as her car traversed mile after mile through the coiled mountain passes. With each turn the vehicle took in the mighty Himalayan range, her heart sank more and more in … Read more →
She
A short story by Shafi Ahmed She mopped up the kitchen floor, rubbed her forehead with the back of her palm and looked towards the moonlit sky. The light emanating from the moon entered the room through the ventilator and clock struck 12 in the second storey room, above the … Read more →
Jesus was a son
A short story by Faruq Masudi His name was Tufail Matto. His name is Tufail Matto. He will always be Tufail Matto. Or, is it Tufail Bhat.Or Tufail Lone…or Ahangar…or Zargar; Khan, Darzi, Shahdad, Naqashbandi, Hamadani , Nengroo, Hanji, or…Does it matter what his family name was? Do you mind? … Read more →
Midnight Guests
Certain voices don’t require words A Short Story by Mushtaque B Barq The fourteenth moon was up in the calm sky with numerous guests celebrating the heavenly milieu, luring the lovers to do away with the curtains. The moonlight was bathing every nook and corner, even the graveyard in the … Read more →
A Nightmare
A short story by Qadri Inzamam In spring, when all the farmers of the village tilled their lands and sowed crops, Hameed would do all the work himself. His wife helped him at some occasions but not when the work would be heavy and apt for men only. Hameed felt … Read more →