When Kashmir laughed again

With reports of terror outfits Lashkar threatening elected sarpanches, protests over child deaths and a recent quake, there is also news of possible opening of telephone links on either side of Kashmir for LOC trade.There are also many small signs of a sea change.TO HELL AND BACK is a Yahoo Original series that tracks these more gentle goalposts in a field of vast, serious issues.Today, when the guffaw replaces the gun, it can be a special moment. Especially for a people whose lives have been more singed by the latter. For over two decades. In the summer of 2012 a street theatre art form native to Kashmir returns. After a long angry silence.So long that there was nothing left to laugh about “Bhand Pather is the real face of Kashmir“, says Balwant Thakur, a man whose passion for theatre and peace saw him take to the remote villages of Kashmir to revive the traditional folk theatre art form in 2011. Here is a visual journey of the performers touring villages and bringing Bhand Pather back to those who will hopefully have the last laugh. Text: Pip McGrouther & Tisha Srivastav. Photos: Peace Direct & Balwant Thakur.

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But the political-militaristic climate in this area meant that the tradition and the laughter it brought to the villages in Kashmir had died out and no one dared to restart the tradition. .“Fear of the gun and being ostracized pushed the local performers and artists into deep silence,” says Thakur Balwant, who runs Natrang, a popular theatre group based in Jammu. Ten days of training were the first step to changing all that.
But the political-militaristic climate in this area meant that the tradition and the laughter it brought to the villages in Kashmir had died out and no one dared to restart the tradition. .“Fear of the gun and being ostracized pushed the local performers and artists into deep silence,” says Thakur Balwant, who runs Natrang, a popular theatre group based in Jammu. Ten days of training were the first step to changing all that.