Blurb:
Srinagar, 1986. A Kashmiri Pandit family has just moved into their new home. The patriarch Papaji is a clerk in a food cooperative and his wife Byenji is a homemaker. The narrator is their eight-year-old grandson who spends his days playing cricket and climbing the tang kul in the garden. Everything is rosy till 1989. But then, propelled by ISI and the Jamaat, a secessionist movement rises and changes everything.
Lolab valley, 1968. After years of prayers, a boy named Shahid is born to Zun and her husband. He grows up in a society where corruption and unemployment are rife. The trajectory of his life changes when he meets Syed Sahab — an Islamic theologian and rabble-rouser, who wants to overthrow the Indian state.
The stories of both families intertwine tragically. In both cases, the boys are at the mercy of forces much larger than them. Both lose their Kashmir, in different ways.
My Review:
“This Our Paradise” by Karan Mujoo is a story set in India’s paradise—Kashmir—where the idea of “paradise” means different things to different people. For some, it represents home, stability, and the comfort of a life once known. For others, it is the pursuit of independence: a life free from political tug-of-war and from elements that don’t align with their beliefs.
The writing is restrained and descriptive. Rather than provoking nationalism or anger, the author calmly presents the multiple realities of the conflict in Kashmir. Reading it feels like listening to a grandparent recount stories of war—distant in tone, yet deeply personal. These stories don’t demand emotional reactions; instead, they just quietly remind you of loss.
The book offers a rare opportunity to understand the lives of Kashmiris without political noise, excessive dramatisation, or unnecessary commercialisation.
Highly recommended for readers seeking a quieter, more reflective perspective on conflict-heavy narratives that dominate the world today.
Suitable for age: 16+