By Sagar
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Dec 18: “The place where it snows.” That is the stock answer Md Ardish Bhat has for the curious customers who ask him where he is from.
A native of Kashmir, the 24-year-old Bhat has been camping at the Exhibition Ground for the last 11 days to sell embroidered shawls, which are the specialty of his state and have attracted many people.
Boyanika, the state-sponsored handloom fair, has provided a means of earning a livelihood to the group of Kashmir youth whose homes in Srinagar have been ravaged by floods a few months ago. With a paucity of job opportunities in the conflict zone, the youth have undertaken the long journey to Orissa to make a living.
“Our examinations were to be held in December. However, because of the floods, they have postponed this to March. As such, I thought I would make some money by selling handloom articles outside Kashmir before returning for the examinations as we can get no jobs there,” says Shah Abrar, a Class XI student from Lal Chowk, Srinagar.
The group of 10, which has three Kashmiri stalls at Boyanika, travel around the country for six months a year to make a living by selling handloom products at different fairs. “When tourists start pouring in after winter, we return to the Valley. Tourism is our only source of income there,” says Bhat, the oldest of the lot.
Bhat, for whom the fair has been good in terms of business, wishes that Kashmir turns as peaceful as Orissa. “Here anyone can get any job. However, in Kashmir even graduates have to take up labourers’ jobs. We are lucky that we have been able to make our living by moving out, but there are thousands of people stuck in the Valley,” he says.
None of the youth felt that the elections were a source of change. All of them expressed disillusionment with the government. “Whether it’s PDP or National Conference that comes to power, for us there will be no change. I never vote in the Kashmir’s elections,” says Abrar. “No one in our family has ever voted,” he says.
The youngsters, who are all from Srinagar, have grown up under the shadow of curfew. “On the one hand, the CRPF personnel beat us on the streets every day. On the other, terrorists forcibly enter our houses and beat us,” says Umar Bhat, who sports a beard.
“Ask us about the beauty of Kashmir. We will tell you everything. However, if you want to know what happens in Kashmir, come to Kashmir and you will know yourself,” says Manzoor.
