The Tiger Ladies: A Memoir of Kashmir

I visited Kashmir in 1975, stayed in a house boat on Lake Dal, bought some lacquerware in Srinigar which I still have, visited the Mughal Gardens, and thought the place was fabulous.

But simmering under the surface were the forces that divided India during the Partition in 1947, that would eventually break Kashmir apart.

Sudha Koul tells the story of four generations of women in her family: her grandmother, her mother, herself and her daughters. Born into the Brahmin class which lay atop the social order of Kashmir, Sudha Koul was raised in a priveleged lifestyle, that contained within it the destruction of the political and social order of Kashmir. This is the story of Paradise Lost.

It is impressively told and very readable

I read this book while taking a class on Pakistan. It gave me a very personal look at Kashmir during the wonderful days prior to the 1980's and an brief glimpse of the changes that occurred after. Reading the memoir was like being invited into the home of a Hindu Kashmiri home. Cultural traditions were explained and described in detail. Most of all I was left with a sense of "identity" that is carried by all Kashmiri, Muslim or Hindu, no matter where they end up living.

A beautiful account of growing up in Kashmir. A detailed insight into another culture and well- worth reading.