Javed Dar was born in Anantnag, Kashmir, some 55 kilometers south of capital city, Srinagar, where he is currently based. He has covered the extended conflict in all its layers – from gun fights and mass protests to the more subtle, intimate rhythms of daily life amid chronic conflict.
“When Srinagar is seen from a distance, it is a city with an impressive landscape - tucked on the Himalayan foothills, its misty lakes dotted with romantic boathouse hotels, shikaras roving the placid waters. It gives the place a heavenly look!” Dar says. “However, this is not ‘paradise on earth.’ Though there has been a decrease in violent incidents, the 22-year-old conflict weighs heavily, its presence marked by sandbag bunkers and concertina wire that have curtailed the city and life here. The barbed wire laid across roads by government forces in anticipation of any public protest – to keep the people of Kashmir at bay – has transformed the iconography of the city’s open spaces.”
