Here is Gawri Shri sitting in her room as she cannot work anymore. The chill of the winter is unbearable now. So, she covers herself with blankets and hardly ever goes out.
Gawri Shri’s old house in which she had spent most of her life, during the 90s and after, until her younger son returned to Kashmir.
Haidaynath Pandith, the elder son of Gawri Shri, is a Sufi saint. He was the reason she had to stay in Kashmir as he was reluctant to leave.
Bita is the younger son of Gawri Shri. He returned with his wife and son from Jammu in 2000 and now works in the forest department in Kashmir.
Bita’s family – his wife and son, in the courtyard with a neighbour who is a devotee of Haidaynath.
Devotees throng village Zaloora of north Kashmir for his Haidaynath’s divine help to get cured.
Says Gowri,“The government has been sleeping over the issue of rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits. If the Muslim community had not been there to help us, we would have not existed.”
Haidaynath doesn’t talk and mostly stares at things around him. His life changed when a saint, a Muslim from Kupwara, told Gawri Shri that her son was meant to help people, like doctors do.
Haidaynath is a chain-smoker. His devotees, aware of the fact, bring him cigarettes whenever they visit.
Gawri sits with her grandson, talking about his naughtiness, how much she loves him and is glad that he is there, close to her. “I wasn’t there when he was born but, now, at least, I can hold him and play with him.”
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