Artist Book

I came across the works of poet Agha Shahid Ali during my readings on Kashmir. In his poetry collection The Country without a Post Office written in 1997 Ali laments the loss of his homeland and questions if the return journey is an idea or even a real possibility. He writes as both an observer and commentator. In his collection, Half an Inch of Himalayas, Ali responds to the longing for a homeland where he once lived and has memories. Lamenting with nostalgia, he says in the poem Postcard from Kashmir:

Kashmir shrinks into my mailbox My home a neat four by six inches I always loved neatness Now I hold the half inch Himalayas in my hand This is home. (Ali)

Many of the Kashmiri Hindu families have visited their homeland in recent years as tourists or for pilgrimage to holy sites such as Kheer Bhavani temple or the Shankaracharya temple. I explore the ideas of displacement and longing for homeland through my artist book The Addresses without Homes. This artist book contains addresses of four Hindu families who had left and lost their homes in the 1990 Exodus. After collecting personal stories and physical addresses from community members in Srinagar, Kashmir, I have reimagined their homes and locations. This includes a conversation with my cousin in India who sent me a note along with her address saying ghar toh raha nahi bas ghar ka pata reh gaya [There is no home, now only the address is left] (Annie Sadhu). To her the ownership of a home is now reduced to carrying an address in the memory.