Rooh (Hardcover, Manav Kaul)
When Manav Kaul first arrived in Kashmir to write, the landscape seemed barren and unyielding. Rocky terrain stretched endlessly, offering little promise for his work. Yet as he wandered those uneven paths, something shifted. Beneath each stone he overturned lay unexpected vitality: moisture, affection, remnants of human connection. He refused to shy away from what he encountered. Instead, he recorded everything as it was, capturing the world exactly as his heart needed to witness it. The project kept surprising him. Intent on exploring his relationship with his father, he discovered Kashmir speaking instead. Conversely, when he sat down to chronicle the region itself, paternal memories surfaced unbidden. His earliest recollections centre on an era when touch was still possible. He could feel his father's rough stubble, run his fingers across window frames, sense the sky through glass. Braziers and woven blankets fell under his hands. Now, in an accelerating world, those tactile anchors slip away relentlessly. As they vanish, so too does something essential within himself. When he encounters newer things, they arrive coated in unfamiliar dust. No amount of brushing restores the sense of belonging he craves. Those older objects alone hold that feeling. Yet when he attempts to write about them, doubt creeps in. Did they truly belong to this lifetime, or do they inhabit some other realm entirely?
- Author: Manav Kaul
- Publisher: Hind Yugm
- Genre: Travel Writing & Guides
- ISBN: 978-9392820502
- Pages: 176 pages