After reading this book, I was left with the one haunting thought? The futility of the hostility between India and Pakistan. The bone of contention that the two nations have fought wars on is none other than Sudha Koul's lovely valley of Kashmir that she so elegantly presents in her memoir. Born in a Kashmiri Brahmin family also known as the Pandits she draws a wonderful and descriptive portrayal of four generations in her family and in doing so introduces us to their lives,their rituals,their concerns and their attitudes. This book is not only a memoir. It makes us think on how prejudice,hate,and political wrangles and uninspired leaders can destroy something as beautiful as Kashmir.

Sudha Kaul succintly puts this and I quote from an excerpt from the book "Most Kashmiris want a promise to be kept. They want their opinions on their political future to be polled. On the other hand, India has decided that since so many elections have taken place in the valley,it confirms the people's decision to be part of India. These two ways of looking at the same factor is to fester and grow in the belly of Kashmir and finally end up in a volcanic eruption that no one's prayers can evert."

Besides the political turmoil and trauma of the Kashmiris we are also introduced to the tales of the Tiger Lady, in this case her grandmother Dhanna who is introduced to us early in the book. Sudha recalls her early childhood growing up in the valley, intermingling freely with Muslims and the sights and sounds and food of this culture wafts before our eyes and senses.

Essentially, 'Tiger Ladies' tells the story of Kashmir from the point of view of the four generations and its people faith and culture. The book is interspersed with the mention of the Hindu God Shiva and the goddess Durga that rides a tiger and who has her temple in Jammu, just outside the valley. It also affords a peep into culture of Kashmir through the extraordinarily rich folk traditions of a region that is unique in South Asia. There are mentions of the typical Kashmiri Kangris,the soft pashmina shawls,Kashmiri opera called bombur yemberzal and various other traditions peculiar to this valley.

A book worth reading and enjoying !

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