‘Kashmir Just Went Back By 20 Years’

‘Tourism
will
get
hit. Thousands
of
lives
will
suffer. Businesses
will
shut
down.’

Jigra
Actor

Vedang
Raina
takes
the


terror
attack
in
Pahalgam
personally.

A
Kashmiri
Pandit,
the
actor
had
visited
his
beautiful
hometown
just
last
year,
promising
himself
he
would
return
more
often.

He
tells

Subhash
K
Jha,
“Kashmir
is
already
a
sensitive
topic
for
me
as
a
Kashmiri
Pandit
and
this
is
just
the
saddest
thing
that
could
have
happened. It
can’t
get
any
worse…
or
can
it? Every
time
we
say
this
is
as
inhuman
as
it
can
get,
they
surprise
us
again.”

As
a
Kashmiri
Pandit,
how
do
you
react
to
the
Pahalgam
tragedy?

I
take
it
very
personally.
I
can’t
explain
how
upsetting
this
is;
how
angry
it
makes
me.

Kashmir
is
already
a
sensitive
topic
for
me
as
a
Kashmiri
Pandit
and
this
is
just
the
saddest
thing
that
could
have
happened.

It
can’t
get
any
worse…
or
can
it?

Every
time
we
say
this
is
as
inhuman
as
it
can
get,
they
surprise
us
again.

Do
you
visit
Kashmir
often?

My
parents
are
Kashmiris
but
I
have
been
to
Kashmir
only
once
in
my
life
and
that
was
last
year.

I
visited
Srinagar,
Pahalgam
and
Gulmarg.

Kashmir
is
the
most
beautiful
place
I’ve
ever
been
to. During
my
visit,
I
thought
it
was
finally
back
on
track;
there’s
so
much
progress;
it
feels
safe
to
visit.

I
thought
everyone
should
visit
this
place
and
experience
what
I
have
experienced.
I
decided
to
come
back
every
year
because
it
felt
like
home. 

And
now?

Now,
it’s
out
of
the
window.
I
can’t
even
imagine
how
the
locals
must
be
feeling.

The
victims,
their
families… It’s
heart-wrenching. My
blood
boils.

Kashmir
just
went
back
by
20
years
because
of
a
handful
of
low
lives.

Tourism
will
get
hit. Thousands
of
lives
will
suffer. Businesses
will
shut
down.

How
deep
is
your
connection
with
Kashmir?

My
grandfather’s
generation
left
Kashmir.

My
parents
visited
Srinagar
often
as
they
had
many
relatives…
before
the
exodus,
of
course.

All
my
life
I
had
only
heard
stories
about
Kashmir
until
my


visit
last
year.

The
family
showed
me
around,
all
the
places
they
visited
in
their
childhood. It
was
bittersweet.

We
lost
our
homes.
But
it
was
also
so
satisfying
to
be
back.

Would
you
go
back
now?

Of
course
I
would!
I
won’t
let
a
bunch
of
cowards
scare
me.

Kashmir
is
and
will
remain
paradise.

Photographs
curated
by
Satish
Bodas/Rediff