Camus comes to Kashmir

ABSTRACT

Sometimes, it is difficult to explain simple things. Sometimes, a simple word like ‘normalcy’ forces you to (re)think about your own ways of approaching mundane and other activities marked as routine. In my case, rethinking about ‘the mundane’ started with a simple conversation with one of my friends about life during covid pandemic. The conversation triggered reflections reminiscent of my field notes from my doctoral dissertation and reading of Albert Camus’ novel The Plague. A synchronised reading of the novel and my field notes showed me that Camus's Oran echoed the idea of ordinary and everyday situations in contemporary Kashmir. In both settings, I looked at life's fragile nature and absurdity through a ‘taken for granted attitude’ towards everyday life. I understand that the timescale is important and needs context, and I, as an observer, was fixed in a different temporal dimension. However, I felt compelled to express my emotions triggered by reading The Plague and share my experiences from my fieldwork in Kashmir.

Acknowledgements

I am ever grateful to all the Kashmiri men and women who shared their stories, poured their hearts out to me, and also challenged my thought process in many ways. I thank the anonymous reviewer for their insightful comments that helped clarify my arguments. Thank you, Sara H. Smith and Dalia, for encouraging me to write this paper. I thank Anu Sabhlok for guiding me throughout my doctoral research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 I have anonymized the names of my respondents and other identifiers except for the names of cities and state. In this article, I am using Kashmir and the valley interchangeably, referring to places that fall within the Kashmir division of Jammu and Kashmir. Srinagar is the capital city of Jammu and Kashmir and a prominent center of social, cultural, and political activities.

2 I heard this expression in a conversation with one of my key respondents for the first time. Since then, I have heard and read about this feeling of entrapment in a prison-like situation many times on various occasions in different places.

3 One can approach the representation of Kashmir from a different perspective, looking beyond the image of a ‘heaven’ in the popular imagination. A few scholars have written about the history of this region, shedding light on its contested past/s and its varied dimensions (see Noorani 2013; Zutshi 2014; Rai 2019).

4 I don't know whether the word respondent is correct here. I generally call them my friends. It is sometimes difficult for me to think about how to use these terms. For an informative discussion on terms like respondents, informants, etc., (please see Zia 2019, 16–17).

5 In September 2022, Kashmir got its first-ever multiplex in Srinagar, bringing back cinema halls to Kashmiri people after a gap of three decades.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yogesh Mishra

Yogesh Mishra is an Assistant Professor in Jindal Global Law School at O.P Jindal Global University, Sonipat (India). He has an interdisciplinary background that includes studies in information technology, development studies, and sociology. His research interests include ethnographies of everyday life, performance studies, and feminist political geography.