By Maleeha Zehra

I first noticed it in words.

Some Kashmiri words, ones you do not hear in daily conversation, came easily to me, even though I hardly spoke the language outside my home.

I wondered where this familiarity came from. Was it my grandmother? Those occasional talks with older family members?

Only later did I understand the source.

It came from years of attending majalis and listening to Kashmiri marsiya and nohay.

I did not always know the exact meanings of these words. But I understood how they were used, the feelings they carried, and the moments they belonged to.

As I grew up, I began to notice something else.

While Kashmiri is slowly giving way to Urdu and English in most social spaces in the valley, especially in cities like Srinagar, it still survives in one place.

That place is the azakhana.

This kind of preservation happens without planning.

Kashmiri Shi’as mourn the tragedy of Karbala........

© Kashmir Observer