“Conflict is now a part of Kashmir’s collective psyche.”

Behold I Shine by Freny Manecksha reflects the relentless courage of women to seek the dawn of their struggles when  oppression is their only dark reality. It’s more of a journalistic approach towards the grief-stricken stories lived by women of conflict, & children robbed of the colors of childhood, mostly around 1990s yet till date only the characters have changed & the pain is passed on as heirloom. Through stories weaved with sighs & silences, you feel your heart moving to the rhythm of melancholy for you couldn’t feel yourself living in their skin wrapped in agonized shades of conflict. The stories, the perceptions, the words uttered by each women are different yet what unites them is that they put up the costumes of wordless loss & enforced disappearances everyday. Even children living in conflict zones know of home as a bruised memory, painted in scars. “Muneer was the collateral damage of 1990s.”

This book does add multiple dimensions to the lives of Kashmiris & introduces many poems, excerpts written by different Kashmiris from their shattered experiences. What I felt though was that the author has mainly done the work of keenly seeking, asking & assembling voices that have been massacred by the brutal weapons of oppression. Also, according to me, the voice of author is overshadowed by the voices dripping with traumatic experiences.

Moreover, this was the first book of author published back in 2017 & the efforts are noteable for it makes you feel for women you haven’t known but who aren’t so unknown to you. It makes you feel for children whom you have never come across but you can picture them vividly in your mind for you’ve seen the likes of them right in your neighborhood or maybe you’re one of them.

Behold I shine is a hopeful title & the cover reflects wait. I’d say that these two reflect a hope that demands patience & waiting.