Not brave enough to know by Asif Sultan
Not brave enough to know By Asif Sultan Matta Published in Kashmir Reader: Thu, 15 August 2013 10:51 PM One day recently, during Ramadhan, I went to an Amira Kadal mosque for afternoon prayers. Stepping out after namaz, I found a long row of beggars near the entrance, asking for alms with loud voices and upraised arms. Beggars being a menace that plague the Valley, particularly during the month of fasting. Among this raucous lot, I spotted a young girl, a teenager, who was silent and motionless, sitting with her head bowed. Her tattered scarf was laid on the road, like a hand stretched in supplication, and there were tears in her eyes. Oblivious to the crowds and the noise of the streets, the girl seemed to be consumed by her agony, her condition, her fate. What was she thinking? Why was she condemned to this wretchedness? She did not look like someone who would take to begging out of choice. In terms of the cast of her face, she could easily beat an...