Golden Shades of Literature

In the English literary history of Jammu and Kashmir the subject matter of the contemporary Kashmiri English writing is replete with the themes like violence political discrimination horrors of the gun-culture deaths and disappearances and trauma and torture. The post 1990's Kashmiri English writings mostly highlight the political imbroglio between India and Pakistan over Kashmir and its impact on everyday life of a common man. Likewise Basharat Peer in his memoir documents many unheard stories from the Kashmir valley which are unique in that these are stories of the Kashmiri common folk whose lives are dictated by the violence. The present paper attempts to study Basharat Peer's celebrated memoir Curfewed Night which is a brave and remarkable piece of literary reporting that reveals the personal stories behind one of the most brutal and festering conflicts in modern times.