FRAGRANCE OF IDEAS
The displaced Kashmiri Pandit community completed thirty five years of their exile from their homeland and entered the 36th year of the current displacement. The community three decades back introduced the “Kashmiri Pandit Nirvasan Samvat” in this context in order to record their current displacement and it starts on Ist of Baisakh every year. Traditionally, the Kashmiri Pandits observe ‘Navreh’ as the New Year day throughout.
‘Navreh’ is the indigenous New Year day of Kashmir which people of the valley used/use to celebrate for the last thousands of years. After the Mahabharata war, the Saptrishis assembled on the Hari-Parbat in Srinagar exactly beneath the famous and prestigious seat of Mata Chakreshwari Sharika Devi; and discussed the time cycle there. They introduced a new almanac and it was named as “Saptarishi-Samvat”. On this Navreh (which literally means the new flame) -the New Year day- “Saptarishi Samvat-5101” began.
Saptarishi-Samvat is a contemporary almanac of Yugabda-Samvat which is considered as one of the oldest almanacs of the world (26 years ahead of Saptarishi-Samvat). The rich heritage of Kashmir is reflected in the functionality of the Saptarishi-Samvat even after 5101 years of the existence of the almanac. The Kashmiri Pandits are the real and proud inheritors of the age old culture, history and civilization of Kashmir. The kingdoms, governments and their administration adopted different almanacs as per their convenience and choice and in this context the Vikrami Samvat was in vogue in Jammu & Kashmir during the Dogra rule at the level of administration. However, it was changed to the Gregorian calendar in 1957 by the J&K government.
On this occasion, it becomes important to mention here about a very important and beautiful tradition of Kashmir connected to Navreh that has been kept alive by the Hindu community of Kashmir in spite of all the odds of exile. Kashmir has a very distinct tradition of Navreh and it is celebrated with the pious sight (darshan) of “Thaal” early in the morning. The Hindus of Kashmir (Kashmiri Pandits) and Sikhs of Kashmir have a unique and wonderful tradition of thousands of years of “Thaal-Barun” that they observe on the last day of the year (both Solar as well as the Lunar year). The next morning, that is the first day of the new year (both solar as well as lunar), the first thing that they do is to have the ‘Darshan’ of the ‘THAAL’. It is not only considered auspicious but is also deeply connected with our day to day life requirements and obligations.
The preparation for this “Thaal” is called “Thaalbarun” which is done one day prior to Navreh in the late evening so that it is ready for ‘darshan’ the next morning. All important things that are used in daily life are symbolically decorated on a ‘thali’ filled with rice. In fact, this “Thaalbarun” is done on two occasions, so it is important to understand the correlation of Thaalbarun on these two occasions i.e., “Navreh” & “Sonth”.
Sonth is the first day of the New Year (Hindu calendar-Solar) which starts from Ist of Chaitra month. It used to be the first day of the New Year officially and administratively as well up to the Maharaja’s regime in the Jammu and Kashmir state and even after that up to 1957 as explained earlier. The first day of the month of the solar calendar is also known as Sankrant (Sankranti). Navreh is the first day of the New Year (Hindu calendar-Lunar) which starts from Ist of Shuklapaksh fortnight of Chaitra.
For the first time in the last more than thirty five years, this time, the displaced community of Kashmiri Pandits celebrated their living civilizational symbol ‘Navreh’ in the most befitting manner throughout the globe. The day was observed at all the places with great enthusiasm wherever the Kashmiri Pandits made their temporary homes both within the country and abroad. It was observed in a big way in Jammu, Udhampur, NCR Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Lucknow, US, Europe, UAE, Australia, Japan and New Zealand. The social media and the regular media are abuzz with the news stories in this regard.
This author was in Mumbai during the month of March 2025 and was invited as the chief guest in the Navreh function by the Kashmiri Pandit Association, Mumbai that was held on 30th March, 2025 (Sunday). This premier and the oldest organisation of Kashmiri Pandits in Maharashtra (KPA-Mumbai) organised a well-attended and well-organised Navreh & Zangtrei function, the enthusiasm of which had surely an inspiring impact. The function was held in the Association Hall in Andheri East, Mumbai. The jam-packed hall was full of enthusiastic crowds comprising young and old from the displaced Kashmiri Pandit community living in Mumbai and its suburbs.
The programme was presided over by the dynamic youthful President of the KPA-Mumbai, Ashwani Bhat. The past presidents of the Association Moti Kaul and Rajan Kaul also graced the function with their presence along with Ajay Dhar, General Secretary. The programme was inaugurated with the lighting of the traditional lamp before the big portrait of Mata Sharika with the chanting of ‘mantras’ by all present in the function. The grand function was a part of the series of the programmes conducted at different places throughout the globe by the displaced community with the theme of “Navreh Mahotsva celebrations” this year.
It was declared in the function that Navreh (New-Year day) has a great significance in the civilizational ethos of Kashmir and Kashmiri Pandits. To the delight of everyone, the lady activists of the KPA led by the senior activists Meena Kher, Vice president and Kamini Kaul contributed hugely to the success of the programme and made all necessary arrangements of the function. The other prominent people who participated in the programme included among others Vijay Raina, Suresh Kaul, Dr. Sanjay Dhar, Rajesh Shah, Chand ji Bhat, Vimla Chrungoo, Sirhans Peshin, Rajiv Mattoo, Rakhee Bhat, Sumeeta Peshin, Sharika Kaul, Sonal Kaul and Sarojini Kuchroo.
While opening the inaugural session, the KPA-Mumbai President gave a brief introduction of the Chief Guest and spoke about his various contributions to the society. The current president along with the past presidents and the other important office bearers of the historic organisation, KPA-Mumbai, felicitated and honoured the Chief Guest on the occasion in recognition of his invaluable services to the society and the nation. The booklet titled “Dev Vardutt Shalaan Kautasya” written by this author was also released on the occasion. Some cultural activities were also performed by the versatile activists of the Association during the programme.
This author in the capacity of the Chief Guest on the occasion spoke about the significance of the “Navreh Mahotsva celebrations” and the importance of the oldest almanac of the Kashmir valley called ‘Saptarishi-Samvat’ which completed 5101 years on date. Kashmir and Kashmiri Pandits are integral to each other and the Kashmiri Pandit community has made an unabated and immense contribution to the history, culture and civilization of Kashmir for the last thousands of years. These contributions are unparalleled and have a lasting effect in context of the functional historicity of Kashmir. No fake narratives about Kashmir are able to withstand the aura of these sacred and time tested contributions.
The genocide and ethnic cleansing of the community in Kashmir is a horrible story of our history in Kashmir. While we are in our struggle to regain what we lost, it is important to keep the flame alive through the hard struggle for existence. While we are near out of the fight for survival now, the fight of existence continues. This existential fight will deliver the results at an appropriate time and the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A are a divine fruit of our sacrifices and struggle in exile. It has strengthened the national narrative on Kashmir and has taken the real story of Kashmir to the world in its true spirit.
The Kashmiri Pandits will continue to raise their issues and nationalism is at the core of their struggle. However, the Kashmiri Pandits won’t now get sacrificed in Kashmir for fake secularism or fake Kashmiriyat; Enough is enough..! The government of India has failed the Kashmiri Pandit community all along right from 1947 and should take necessary steps to redress the long pending issues of the displaced KP community; and the government in Jammu and Kashmir shouldn’t become a hurdle in the solution of the issues. Our struggle will continue and all our community organs will be playing a historic and positive role in this direction guiding the younger generations to take the struggle forward.
(The author is a senior BJP & KP leader, Human Rights defender, author & columnist and can be reached at [email protected])
