I grew up among Kashmiri Pandits and Shadi Lal among Kashmiri Muslims, we were soul brothers – Dr. Ayash Arif reminiscences

The belt around Purshyar , Habba kadal, Chinkral Mohalla till Fateh Kadal was the center point of all the Culture, Literature and Arts in our times. All the greats from visual and performing arts in that era lived in this area. I was fortunate to have been born there and grow up in that culturally thriving environment. One of my teachers in the school Sh. JL Wanchoo asked me to perform in a school program and that is how I got initiated into this field.  Later I got to know that Sh. JL Wanchoo was founder of Rangmanch theatre & Sh. Om Prakash Dhar, Navrang theatre both of them were icons in the field of theatre. Moti Lal Kemmu ji was my neighbor. Infact, it was a golden period of theatre in Kashmir. There was one more theatre group Sangam theatre which had the great Virender Razdan ji as part of it. So, I started getting besotted with theatre gradually. But my life changed completely when I met my soul brother Shadi lal ji at the age of 14 and we started Kalidas theatre started together and performed our first play in April 1976 named Tasrup”, recounted Dr. Ayash Arif in an interview with Rohit Bhat on TRN

“Shadi Lal was very popular among Kashmiri Muslims too and not just Pandits.  Even at peak of militancy he was stopped and hugged by people. They  called him Amitabh Bacchan of Kashmir. On his death every household in Kashmir mourned. He has left a big void in my life and I remember him every day. I am writing a biography currently which will talk about our bond and times together in detail”, he said while recollecting his association with Shadi Lal

Dr. Ayash Arif also emphasized that the role of government is going to be critical to support art and culture in Kashmir. Without the support of government in Kashmir, culture cannot sustain and thrive.

Watch the full interview

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