The Tiger Ladies: A Memoir of Kashmir

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Summary: Koul writer of the Kashmir Soul
Review: A beautifully written book of the Kashmir valley before the invasion of the Mujahadin and other Muslim terrorist actions from outside the peaceful valley of peaceful coexistence amongst the Kashmiri Hindus and Kashmiri Muslims. Ms. Koul, a former Indian majistrate with a Masters in Political Science from India writes a book for her children to learn of the beautiful life in Kashmir where young soon to be bethrothed women view Pashmina wool embroidered shawl samples dating back 100 years. The samples are easily viewed and ordered from the Kashmiri Muslim merchant who then continues the Pashmina relationship with the daughter or granddaughter's trousseau.
Ms. Koul effectly evokes a resplendant memoir without the heavy hand of serious political analysis which tends to be dry and flacid. A life too beautiful, too luscious, too happy, too comfortable to notice the cloak of darkness that would envelope paradise.
After attending her reading and purchasing Tiger Ladies, I am excited to add it to my collection of important soul books: The Red Tent, Woman Warrier, Autobiography of a Yogi and Facing Two Ways. Kashmir may be a memory of what once existed in a valley of Lotus eaters yet Ms. Koul's book concludes with a simile in the complacency of life in the US where life too is too comfortable, too beautiful, and perhaps too happy for Americans. (Incidentally written before 9.11.2001.) Which perhaps helps us to realize that there is yet another cloak of darkness enveloping us called American corporate imperialism ...product invasion via Hollywood, gasoline consumption, mass consumerism of junk products, junk food, junk tv, junk religion, junk politicians and the reaction against it by the Mujahadins of the Muslim world. Now in paperback form, this book is a respite from the propaganda on evening news in America.

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Summary: Interesting nuances of life in Kashmir
Review: A good read for second generation Kashmiri Americans. The details were of interest, since of course its a world that Kashmiri-Americans of second generation will not get a chance to see. It's the kind of book I'd like to read with a Kashmiri close at hand to find out if the details are authentic (and not catered to the audience), and the experience universal. A unique find, though, since it's unclear how many books can tackle life in Himalayan valleys from the inside. Validates that Kashmiri pandits deserve and need to contribute to their own body of literature, write their own histories rather than relinquish that right to historians.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting nuances of life in Kashmir
Review: A good read for second generation Kashmiri Americans. The details were of interest, since of course its a world that Kashmiri-Americans of second generation will not get a chance to see. It's the kind of book I'd like to read with a Kashmiri close at hand to find out if the details are authentic (and not catered to the audience), and the experience universal. A unique find, though, since it's unclear how many books can tackle life in Himalayan valleys from the inside. Validates that Kashmiri pandits deserve and need to contribute to their own body of literature, write their own histories rather than relinquish that right to historians.

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Summary: Haunting and beautiful memoir
Review: A lovely and bittersweet memoir of Koul's life in paradise, the Kashmir region of India. It's a tale of a lost way of life in a region that has been sundered by strife, conflict, and ultimately war between India and Pakistan, Hindus and Muslims.
Of especial interest is the reverence in which women of the region were held - in a country in which women are often no more than chattel. The Tiger Ladies is a book rich in sensual detail, a book people can enjoy on many levels: as travel literature, as a cultural study, for the descriptions of the food - and most of all as a loving and haunting memoir of a time and place that no longer exist.

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Summary: A Tapestry Tenderly Woven and Torn Apart
Review: Against the backdrop of the lives of three generations of Kasmiri women, Sudah Koul weaves a tapestry of life in the beautiful valley beneath the Himalayas which remained somewhat isolated and serene despite the political realities which would eventually tear it apart. I would disagree with the editorial review as far as the "subtle signs of segregation that later explode into sectarian violence...". On the contrary, Koul explains throughout the book, that the Kashmiris she knew in her community shared relationships of respect and acceptance despite their religious differences. The conflict that touches her life and the lives of those around her in the latter part of the book does not come from within this community where all are regarded first as Kasmiris. The lack of intermarriage between Muslims and Hindus, as well as cultural differences related to religion, are not a source of conflict and are no more elements of segregetion in Kashmir than they were at the same time in any other region in the world. The conflict comes from other sources (outside influences, broken promises, and political fragmentation and perceived imbalances in power)and Koul deals with them fairly and honestly, I believe. It is far too easy to oversimplfy the conflict in and over Kashmir, but Koul avoids that, providing the reader with the necessary historical background without detracting from the focus of the book which is the sharing of the richness of Kashmiri life as she experienced it. Sudha Koul's life blends threads of Kasmiri traditions, colonial remnants, and modernization into a work of light and color, and much like the climate, a contrast of warmth and biting cold.

Koul's writing pulls the reader into the tapestry, recognizing similar textures and colors from one's own experience despite the geographical location of one's youth. There is a universality to it as well as a uniqueness. I enjoyed it immensly and well never again think of Kashmir or its people in the same way.

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Summary: Paradise lost - a heart rending tale
Review: An intimate story of growing up in Kashmir - more precisely - in the Vale of Kashmir, the nearest thing to paradise on earth, in the words of a past Muslim conqueror of India. I could not put this book down from start to finish. Marvelous details of family life and the politics/history of Indian partition and conflict are woven together with a quiet passion that only a genuine love for one's homeland can inspire. The writer towards the end appears resigned and fatalistic. The betrayal by the young of the promise of paradise, of ideals that had been shared by both Hindus and Muslim Kashmiris for centuries - leaves a shattered heart. What comes across though is still a perhaps unintended message of hope - because with great detail and candor - the author does describe the Paradise that nourished her, the memories that sustain her in her new found home in America. This is a must read for all South Asians who care about Kashmir and its hope of a peaceful future.

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Summary: A pure book.
Review: As a 25 year old U.S. citizen I had heard of Kashmir and was vaguely aware of its history and troubles. What I wasn't aware of, was what it meant to be Kashmiri or to live in Kashmir. I was not aware of the way of life that was lost in the recent violence. In Ms. Koul's book, she illuminates the valley between India and Pakistan. I must admit I was a bit jealous while reading through it. Ms. Koul writes about Kashmir's physical beauty, its strong, albeit vastly different, family structure and of her almost blissful childhood among Hindus and Muslims. It makes me angry and sad that this way of life was cut short. I think Ms. Koul, by simply sharing her life with us, has written a pure book. That is to mean, it is without a political agenda. But these pure books seem to convey more than their dry political counterparts which often leave the reader disillusioned or indifferent. This book left me strongly wanting a peaceful resolution to a conflict on the other side of the world having little to do with me on a personal level. That is hard to do.

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Summary: Understanding Kashmir
Review: How did Kashmir get to be in the pickle it is in? How did radical Islamists begin fighting to establish an Islamic state? What was it like before?
These questions are answered from the point of view of a woman who grew up a Hindu upper middle class household..
This is also the story of women lives in traditional Kashmir- what their lives were like and what made them meaningful and joyful. I learned a lot from this book and enjoyed every page.

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Summary: a Paradise Lost to war
Review: In Sudha Koul's beautifully written memoir of her youth and young adulthood in Kashmir, she brings the reader a vivid sense of her wonderful years spent there, and the bittersweet memories she revisits upon her return to a war-torn nation. Not having known much about the regional conflict, this book helped me understand who the people of the Kashmiri valley are today, and who they were before conflict came to rule their daily lives.

Ms. Koul's many stories of her grandmother, Danna, are a touching tribute to her grandmother's memory. Danna had her own particular ways of running her household. Many of these traditions have been passed down from mother to daughter through several generations. It is this sense of continuity from which the author draws her resolve and ambition to be both a respectful Brahmin daughter, and a successful 20th-century woman with a career outside the marital home.

There are many great stories to be enjoyed in this gem of a memoir. It is one of the best of its kind, and one of my favorite books this year.

I look forward to enjoying her other works.

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Summary: The Tiger Ladies: A Memori of Kashmir
Review: When antagonisms between India and Pakistan erupted again this spring, I figured that if I was going to die in a nuclear war over a tiny place like Kashmir, I might as well learn more about it. And The Tiger Ladies is a sad and delicate visit to this land that has been decimated by a conflict that seems to have nothing to do with the people who live there, but external forces. The details of life during her grandmother's days intrigued me the most, and then the sadness of how war has destroyed this magical place seeps through the narrative. It is not sentimental or maudlin, but an impressionistic tale of loss and memory.