Before I Forget: A Memoir

by M.K. Raina

In his sparkling memoir, M.K. Raina documents the many lives he has lived. From sharing the stage with some of the most celebrated actors in India to his journey as a young man witnessing the violence and horrors rampant through the streets of Kashmir, an entire history of northern India is painted with subtle elegance.Brimming with delightful anecdotes as well as poignant, painful memories of a region that once was, this book is a tour de force.

424 pages, Hardcover

Published August 6, 2024

Reviews

[Kartik Chauhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible honour to get to witness such an unvarnished and deeply moving account of a life spent in restoring the lost histories of performance arts in Kashmir. MK Raina’s memoir is simply awe-inspiring and restores one’s faith in the boundless possibilities of art to build communities.

One of my favourite quotes from the book:

“The fact is fear had gone so deep into the psyche of the people that it was going to take a long period of time to clean up the mess that had buried the truth. I often tell my juniors in Kashmir that this land had nurtured for centuries the theme of lool (love), and that land could not become a barren land devoid of compassion. This incident demonstrated to me that possibility and hope still existed. One must keep the flame burning without any fanfare for a larger purpose.”