Rumours of Spring Quotes

“...the constant shifting of power had done its damage. I didn't know then, but it was the beginning of an apathy for my own self that would last for a long time. Our lives were controlled from elsewhere and the dreams that we dreamt were always at the mercy of someone else, someone occupying us, ruling us.”
― Farah Bashir, Rumours of Spring: A Girlhood in Kashmir

“The house I would go back to would be bereft of her presence but filled with her memories. Our home, the little monument of memory.”
― Farah Bashir, Rumours of Spring: A Girlhood in Kashmir

“Why are people okay with not walking?
Does Father not miss his daily walks to the shrine and his shop?
What about Mother and her long walk to her parents' home?
Does Bobeh not get bored now that she can't kill time watching people walk on the streets?
What happened to my sister who lived her life outside; going to college with her friends, walking long distances to make umpteen visits to her tailor?
I miss playing hopscotch on the streets.
I miss walking in the courtyards and the run to buy kyencza.
Why can't I play hide-and-seek in with Mogli's daughter in our courtyard again?
Who walks in the by-lanes, on the bridges, outside the school?
Who can walk to the bakeries?
These are not built for walking.”
― Farah Bashir, Rumours of Spring: A Girlhood in Kashmir

“The marching seeped into our silences, punctuated our conversations with pauses, which in turn, jumbled our thoughts and our language.”
― Farah Bashir, Rumours of Spring: A Girlhood in Kashmir

“The breeze rustled the leaves, creating a soothing and understated symphony that made it more conducive to napping than studying.”
― Farah Bashir, Rumours of Spring: A Girlhood in Kashmir

“What becomes of homes that have their doors bolted, windows tightly shut, and curtains drawn during the daytime with the families they house inside them desolate? Should we not call them prisons? We should!”
― Farah Bashir, Rumours of Spring: A Girlhood in Kashmir

“I thought maybe if I looked ugly and less pleasant, the men would not look at me and I'd be safe. I wouldn't wash my face for days. I didn't want to look attractive in any way, at all, lest it invited undue attention and that indescribable guilt. I wanted to somehow become invisible.”
― Farah Bashir, Rumours of Spring: A Girlhood in Kashmir

“She had run after her husband with a box of matches to set him on fire, though.”
― Farah Bashir, Rumours of Spring: A Girlhood in Kashmir