Made in Kashmir

This is a verse attributed to Mīr Sayyīd Alī Hamādanī, the Kubrāwiyyā saint from Hamadān who came to Kashmir during the 14th century. After fighting with the Turco-Mongol emperor Timur, he along with his followers visited the country three times and stayed for certain periods in which they not only spread the message of Islam but also established industries that continue to thrive to this day. These Persian verses are part of the Chahal Asrar (the forty secrets) which are written in the Ghazal form. It is believed that one night Hamādanī visited and recited these Ghazals in the houses of his followers. Later in the morning, his followers collected these Ghazals. Since that time, and until now, Chahal Asrar is recited by Kashmiris during Maulood - the day when the Prophet of Islam was born and in other religious occasions. This audio clip was provided by Mahoor Shaw and one of the people reciting in this clip is Molvi Muhammad Yasin Shah - the Muezzin of Kashmir's Grand Mosque Jamia Masjid for over 60 years.

This is one of most beautiful shruks - verses- written by Sheikh Noorudin Noorani (1377-1440). He was a preacher and a poet. His contributions and work towards Kashmir has accorded him a saintly status. He is known as Alamdar - the flag bearer of Kashmiris. I have had this recording in my phone since 2016 during a session at the Mirwaiz Manzil in Srinagar. I don't know who recited this beautiful kalaam but it's been in my head ever since. I tried really hard to fix my broken phone which has this recording. Thankfully, I was able to recover it. Hazrat Siddīqas tas durdānas Yus awwal hyot sāhiban pānas sạ̄t Umari Khattāb-as pahalwānasY em jang kor shaitānas sạ̄t Hazrat Usmānas ibni ‘Affānas Yem kath kạr furqānas sạ̄t Hazrat Shāhas sher-e yazdānas Yem tsọt kheyi mahmānas sạ̄t Rasūli khudāyas shāh-e sultānas Yus ‘ummat panin heyi pānas sạ̄t Nund Ryosh arz kari Shah-e Hamdānas Tatiy jannatas hẏetam pānas sạ̄t (This verse is not in the recording)

Magarmal Bagh is a small neighbourhood nestled between the busy city centre of Srinagar - Lal Chowk and Batamaloo. It's hidden behind the recently built flyover and the cacophony of the city centre. It has been a witness to some tumultuous events in Kashmir's history over the century. One of them being the Magarmal Bagh Massacre that occurred on 19th of January, 1991 when Indian forces fired upon civilians in its market. At least 16 people were killed and scores were injured. As part of our Red Square series, we speak to one of the survivors of the massacre. Music: Cello Duet No. 1by Chief Boima is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License. Cocaine Lovin' Orange County Kidsby Die Elektrischen is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Why is it important to document oral traditions in Kashmir? In this episode we are going to talk about history and importance of storytelling in the region. It also throws light on how storytelling is tied to our cultural identity. The guest this week is Onaiza Drabu who is an anthropologist, writer and an ethnographer.