Scattered Souls

by Shahnaz Bashir

It was the 1990s. The army descended upon Kashmir to quell a massive armed rebellion against Indian rule. They entered not just the land, but also the lives of its people, fracturing their idea of home and punctuating their days and nights with curfews.

This extraordinary collection brings together the stories of some of those people probing the quandaries of their precarious existence. There is that ex-militant whose past continues to stalk his present; the wife who begins to dress like her husband after losing him to a crossfire. There is the boy who obsessively follows President Obama's India visit, hoping to hear him mention the 'K' word and the man whose transistor triggers paranoia in his neighbourhood.

Unassuming yet hard-hitting, Scattered Souls journeys through a destroyed Kashmir swaddled in the memories of its fragile beauty.

Genres: India, Short Stories, Fiction

192 pages, Hardcover

Published November 11, 2016

About the author

SHAHNAZ BASHIR was born and brought up in Indian-administered Kashmir. His critically lauded and widely reviewed debut novel The Half Mother won the Muse India Young Writer Award 2015. His second book Scattered Souls was longlisted for Tata Lit Live Best Book Fiction 2017 and won The Citizen's Talent of the Year Award 2016-2017. In April 2018, Kashmir Observer reported “Scattered Souls is the best-selling fiction book in Kashmir till date”. Literary critics have compared his short fiction with works of great writers like Anton Chekhov and Sadat Hassan Manto. His short stories, memoir essays, poetry and reportage have been anthologised or published widely. He was honoured with university gold medal in journalism and was also awarded the Shamim Ahmad Shamim Memorial Kashmir Times Award 2007 for excelling in media studies. In 2018, Shahnaz was awarded a Writer’s Residency in Switzerland by Pro Helvetia—the Swiss Arts Council in India. He teaches narrative journalism, creative writing and conflict reporting to post-graduate students at the Central University of Kashmir.

Reviews

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why do I pelt stones? This thought had never crossed my mind, I just instinctively knew when I had to don the armour and start the battle … Enough of arguments, after all I am a stone pelter I cannot win an argument with you, for you are learned men.
… and what else can I do to express my resistance against oppression.
—Imran Muhammad Gazi, I Am a Stone Pelter, Greater Kashmir, 13 February 2010

[Avishek Bhattacharjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

#ScatteredSouls-A must read.This ain't fiction/non-fiction,this is reality and when comes from a local narrative add more pain,truth and solitude to the stories.This is a genuine way of expression(how the Kashmiri's feel and what they do about it).
Scattered Souls is an anthology of 13 stories written in the perspective of the Kashmir conflict.Starting from 1990 till today ; the rise of insurgency and its popularity in the local mass, particularly the youth, the stone pelting phase of the struggle have been dedicated to chapters in this incredible book.All these poignant incidents of pain and grief have been depicted in a brutally honest manner.The depiction of love in the beautiful valleys of Kashmir and at the same time the stories of inhuman torture chambers,infamous interrogation centers sends the shivers down the spine.There is an excellent balance in the stories since it is not only the state violence that the author refers here but also the violence performed by the insurgents who killed many innocents on the suspicion of being government agents.Readers can visualize the horrifying moments.This is writer's second book and he succeeds in drawing attention to the human cost of the conflict, and to how inhumane laws and excessive militarization of the state have ravaged the lives of ordinary Kashmiris . It is a story of souls scattered by the conflict in Kashmir.A sensible reader can feel the inter-connected stories and how it associate the little joy,senselessness and acute pain in this very small world.

Some true words make it a since effort in breaking our prejudices
Noam Chomsky’s words, ‘If it’s wrong when they do it, it’s wrong when we do it"

[Abdul Muteen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scattered Souls by Shahnaz Bashir is one of the best books I've read. The book is a collection of short stories which are weaved together in such a way that it becomes a novel. Shahnaz Bashir has written the book in such a manner that it brings out the emotions and the feelings of Kashmiri people and speaks about their everyday struggles. The way he has written is very descriptive and takes you to a whole new world. When I bought it, I thought that I'd read it slowly. But soon after I read the first chapter, I couldn't resist reading more and read it at a stretch. I rate it 4.5 out of 5 and recommend everyone to read it.

[Kapil Malhotra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though it's a fiction, but all the stories are very realistic. This book adds the human element to the center of the Kashmir story, which is really absent from the discourse. At least half of the stories end with a bone chilling climax pushing you hard to "think"

[Mir Basit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book
Actually it is collection of many short stories. Mine favourite is the last one

[Ariffa Jarena Banu · Rating 4 out of 5]

The narration technique of author made me awestruck...

[Tushaar Kataria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of 13 short stories with a central theme which revolves around the lives of ordinary people who just want a peaceful and happy life, which is really a distant dream in the midst of all the terrorist's and the army. There is always collateral damage when people fight and when the fighters are armed sometimes the damage is of life, dignity, love, hope and all the good things in the world.
If you are a student of history then you will understand how complex the J&K problem really is. If you believe that the problem is simple, you really need to update your information about the region. It might have been a simple problem in 1950's, which could have been resolved by sitting down and talking but I don't think that is possible in our time. But I am hopeful and not because of our esteemed leaders, but my belief that majority of humans don't want to harm other human being. They would rather just keep on living their uneventful boring life, the problem is that none of those people are our leaders. Too much digression from the main review. So let me get to point.
I don't know if the stories are real or fiction, even if it is either or both this book is still a good read. The stories deal with loss, tragedy, helplessness, hope, love, Sacrifice etc. in the midst of a region of conflict. All these stories could also be true of other regions of conflict like those in Nagaland, Jharkhand & Orissa. I have also read 'Mother, Where's My Country?: Looking for Light in the Darkness of Manipur' by Anubha Bhonsle which is a work of non-fiction and also along the same line with added life story of Irom Chanu Sharmila. Some of the stories may also leave a lasting impact on you. Stories are written in a very linear fashion and are easy to follow. Some stories are emotionally draining, writer knows how to captivate his audience. I believe that this writer will dole out some really good stories in years to come.

[Meenu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read both books by Shanaaz Basheer, a half mother &a the scattered souls.
It looks, the scattered souls picks up from where Half mother left the bus. Both talk about the misery of common people in the ever changing political landscape of Kashmir , with people being the biggest cost to war &a conflict. Now, war indeed is a cost, but we while analysing the overall impact do not sometime take the psychological impact it has and also the collateral damage in terms of resources. Shahnawaz, very accurately brings the same to the foray. He makes you feel mile, the story is bigger than Azadi and political tussle, but how few generations would be bearing the cost even if conflict of breed gets resolved.

The only thing I have observed as a downside in his book, you somewhere lost the connect before it reaches the finale and just want to scroll through pages and be done with.

Otherwise, anybody trying to understand the impact of the ongoing conflict, this is a recommended read.