thehiatusproject:In this week’s story for the Museum of Material Memory, Saba Qizilbash writes about
thehiatusproject:In this week’s story for the Museum of Material Memory, Saba Qizilbash writes about how her grandfather bequeathed to her his cheque book from the Imperial Bank of India, Srinagar, Kashmir, upon learning that she wished to marry a young man from the same city; a cross-border marriage...“I could not contain myself as I ran my hands over the print. Imperial Bank of India – Srinagar, Kashmir. The last set of cheques were dated from October till November 1947. His eyes shone so bright as he expressed how thrilled he was that my Walima would be in Srinagar. That was the quickest display of trust from a man who usually took a lifetime in accepting outsiders.Wajid Ali Khan was born on 17th March, 1923 in Dalhousie, India. At the time of Partition he was based in Srinagar where he ran a successful Optician’s business. As the Pakistan movement began to gain momentum, Wajid participated actively in local politics in support of Muslim League. Meanwhile, Sir Radcliffe drew the fatal line and mayhem unfolded. Wajid’s immediate and extended family began to make their way across the border into Lahore. But many in Kashmir – him included – were confident that it would become part of Pakistan, given the Muslim majority of the Princely State, and remained.Four months later, roughly around November 1947, as Wajid sat sipping tea at a tea stall, an old acquaintance spotted him and reported him to the authorities. Wajid spent the next 10 months in a New Delhi jail. Many years later, during his evening visits to our home in Lahore, he would often recall how terrible the conditions were in which political prisoners were kept and chuckled at his own description of the thick cakey daal that was served in place of meals.”..Head over to the Museum of Material Memory to read more from ‘Aghajan’s Cheque Book’. I love this blog; I love your book @thehiatusproject <3 -- source link