Telling Tales: Koul, the Kashmiri Pandit in Kathmandu

This is the first in an occasional series ‘Telling Tales’ which are stories of people from my different journeys.

On a coarse sheet of paper Koul drew some lines and circles.

“Here,” he said pointing to the lines, “are electric posts with wires.”

“And these,” he said tapping the hurriedly-drawn circles, “are birds. They are sitting on the wire.”

Koul then put a bold mark across one of the circles / birds.

“If somebody shot one of these birds,” he asked looking me right in my eye, “can you expect the rest of the birds to remain on the wire?” Koul was one of the thousands of Pandits who fled from Kashmir following the mass murder which was nothing less than a modern day ethnic purging of these upper caste Hindus in the Valley.

Sauntering around the tourist den of Thamel in Kathmandu on the last night before my return to Delhi, I walked into his thangka art gallery. An affable man in his late 50s, Koul refused to talk about his experiences in front the camera. Instead, he said, he would share his experiences with me for my travel blog.

“I have come across your blog,” he told me. “It is very impressive.”

“Oh, thank you,” I was trying hard to conceal a gush. It was very fulfilling to know that the fruits of your labour are recognised in foreign lands.

“Wander link, right?” He asked. I didn’t know whether to sob or scream – this was not the first time.

“Wander ink,” I told him meekly.

“Yes, yes, the same thing.” It was settled.

In Thamel, almost every third shop deals in thangka paintings – it is what most of the tourists take back with them as a part of Nepal. Seeing me looking about, Koul had charmed me into his shop with a disarming ‘Looking is free’ promise. Soon over cups of tea he was drawing the electric poles and the birds to illustrate his flight from the Valley during the 90s – heartrending one as he was forced to leave overnight, leaving behind most of his immediate family. But he considers himself lucky to have got himself out alive – unlike tens of thousands across the Valley who met with gory ends.

Resources abound with horrifying tales of many other Kouls, Mujoos and Saprus, Bhats, Ganjoos and Tickoos. The women were invariably gangraped over several days before their bodies were disfigured or dismembered in the most grotesque manner possible. Salman Khurshid in his book ‘Beyond Terrorism: New Hope for Kashmir’ narrates one grim episode: ‘Girija Tickoo of Bandipora worked as a laboratory assistant at the Girls’ High School in Trehgam, Kupwara. She was abducted in June 1990, gangraped for several days and then shred into pieces on a bar and saw mill.’

As Koul recollects with a shudder: “The frenzy was such that it was just not enough to kill us, but they had to make us suffer before we died.”

The Pandits were not always at the receiving end – there was a period when they were favoured by even the Muslim rulers for their famed genius and envied literacy levels. Sultan Sikander Butshikan (1389 – 1413) was an intolerant feudal lord who destroyed non-Muslim structures and issued an ultimatum to Hindus to either convert to Islam or flee the land. Butshikan’s heir, Zain-ul-Abidin, though a devout Muslim himself, was tolerant of the Hindus to such an extent that he asked those who had fled to return not just to their land, but to their faith as well. Many Pandits were invited to constitute his inner circle which was vested with important decision-making powers. Some sources also allege that the Pandits who had taken flight meanwhile settled down buying large farmlands with their savings and imposed their religion on the locals which led to simmering tensions. Between 1985 and ’95, of the 200,000 Kashmiri Pandits in the Valley (approximately 5 per cent of the population), anywhere between 150,000 – 190,000 had fled. Some like Koul were fortunate enough to have had contacts abroad by dint of their famed handicraft trade – who in turn helped them open shop and start anew.

“You must feel really lucky that you weren’t the bird which was shot,” I was trying to brighten things up a little bit.

“Oh yes, I do,” he replied not very convincingly. “But we were birds of the same feather, we were family.”

The fateful night terrorists shot dead his brother, Koul took whatever possession he had and fled. So did the other abler ones in the family; the ailing elders stayed back, resigned to fate. Close to quarter of a century later, he still doesn’t know where the rest of his family are.

Or whether they were alive.

Thommen Jose

A filmmaker specialising in development sector communication, I am based out of New Delhi. My boutique outfit, Upwardbound Communications make films for government departments, ministries, NGOs and CSR. Some samples are available on Upbcomm.com. I am a compulsive traveller and an avid distance biker as well. Like minded? Buz me on 9312293190

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6 Discussion to this post

  1. Puneet Sidhu says:

    An oft-told tale of angst, yet, never fails to move…

  2. Richa Singh says:

    Thanks for bringing us the stories from far. We all know that kashmiri pandits suffered but their story still resonated a long distant gory incident. Will look out for more from you 🙂

    Richa

    • wanderadmin says:

      Thanks Richa… Gory incident, it was. This is a tale of re-build, triumph. How he picked the pieces and put it together. And made it.

  3. Amit Koul says:

    Dear Thommen Jose ,

    I am son of Mr. Koul( My Father which is in picture with you) Amit koul. In your blog i have come across certain things which are not accurate and i wanted to Pen down.

    Your words ” “I have come across your blog,” he told me. “It is very impressive.”

    My answer – Mr. Koul doesnt uses Internet, he even doesnt have email Address. He prefers phone.

    Your words : “The fateful night terrorists shot dead his brother,”

    My Answers : My uncles are all alive .

    Your Words:”Close to quarter of a century later, he still doesn’t know where the rest of his family are Or whether they were alive”

    My answer : We left kashmir all together and all the members are together .

    You may correct all the details .

    • wanderadmin says:

      Dear Amit Koul,
      Well, this is a first. Yeah, there’s always a first time. I understand your angst and let me assure you that they are well-founded indeed…after all, who would want their perfectly alive and kicking uncles dead? Just kidding.
      Allow me to answer your queries in the order you have raised them.
      Your dad (well..you have to prove that one, I will come to it later) telling me he found my blog impressive. Well buddy, you gotta really READ the blog post. He did NOT find MY blog impressive. As I have narrated, he goes on to say he found a blog, WANDERLINK, impressive. There’s a difference.. a none-too-subtle one.. LINK and INK. After Wander. Please note. I wouldn’t really blow my own trumpet. Cramps my style.
      The rest all follows a pattern… either one of misrepresentation (from his side) or misunderstanding (from my side). Now, the latter possibility is ruled out. I was shooting for a travel channel with my crew in Nepal when I met your father. I have my cameraman as well as the rest of my boys who will corroborate to what I said. I just spoke to a few of them and they all said that they remember very vividly what Mr Koul said. They remember him very well for he took the pain to draw out, illustrate, the plight he went through at the time of the progrom. And it was so vivid, so very TELLING. (Hence the title ‘Telling Tales’.. for the series.)
      Now, I will give it to you that old men (I got a father too) do tell tales. Or, maybe even it was misunderstood by SO MANY OF US. I will still give it to you. I really do not want to ‘kill’ people who are alive. Will make edit changes to suit the, well, changed circumstances.
      However I need some dope from you: I need to be sure that you are indeed Mr Koul’s own son. For that, do mail me a photograph of you with Mr Koul (the same one in the problem post) to my email – thommenjose@gmail.com. Then do also give me a number of the shop. I need this from you.
      Any further clarification I need I will get it done by my buddies in the media there.
      But whatever be the needful, shall be done.
      Thommen

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