Kashmiri novel 'Khwaban Khayalan Manz' casts a spell

Srinagar: Young Kashmiri writer Asif Tariq Bhat's first novel "Khwaban Khayalan Manz" is winning laurels among literary circles and is a hit among book lovers from across the region.

Twenty-two-year-old Asif hailing from village Daderhama in Ganderbal district is currently pursuing his Masters in Kashmiri Literature from the Central University.

He is a poet who has contributed to local Kashmiri language newspaper “Sangarmal”.

"The novel "Khwaban Khayalan Manz" has been published by Ali Mohammad and Sons and priced at Rs 299 and has been released recently and its first edition of 300 copies have been a hit while a second edition is in progress’, Asif told UNI.

He said “I have made a small attempt to review the deteriorating condition of Kashmiri literature through this novel and it encompasses a lot of modern elements in writing such as magical realism, fantasy, self-discovery through an omnipresent narration.”

He said he has worked on the story for years as he hoped writers start writing their books in native languages and mother tongue.

Asif said: “Initially I was associated with poetry and I wrote for a cultural academy. Later on I decided to write prose as in my opinion there were less number of people turning to prose and that is what finally enabled me to write my novel.”

“Being a Kashmiri, I really wanted to break-free creating a novel in Kashmiri that will be recognized, we don't have many popular ones so far. With this thought I launched my novel,” Asif said.

"From my early years when I started writing poetry and short stories, it never brought me the satisfaction I was looking for... but finally am on the right path.”

He said there are few novels written in Kashmiri language so far. He said the theme of my novel “Khaban Khayalan Manz” is magic realism.

It is about dreams and fantasies and literally an imaginary world. "Leading writer of Kashmir Mohamma Shafi Shauq has written the foreword on the last page of the book which is an honor for a budding writer like me," Asif added.

He said his novel is set between the reality and imaginary world that exists in everyone's thought as they return home after spending day out.

Asif attributed the success of his novel to few such books written in the past and availability of poetry books aplenty. "There are only about a dozen novels available," he said. (UNI)