AFTER NEARLY A DECADE away from Kashmir, I found myself choking on Delhi’s muggy air and late-night fatigue. A cabbie asked, “Where are you from?” “From the mountains,” I said. That night, I couldn’t sleep. In my mind, I walked again through the narrow lanes of my hometown. A few days later, I packed my bags, caught a flight to Srinagar, and finally set out on my long-awaited return to Gurez.
The Heart of Gurez
Gurez is a beautiful place adorned with the charming aspects of the God of nature. It is home to the Dard-Shin tribe, an Indo-Aryan ethnic group who speak Shina, a Dardic language with cultural roots stretching back to ancient Dardistan. For centuries, the Dards of Kashmir’s highlands have lived in isolation, cut off in winter,…
