Srinagar, Nov. 20 -- A man in Srinagar burning fallen Chinar leaves evokes late Faiyaz Dilbar's famous verse: Bei halmas manz aase'n ga'ss tim'e tape'k duh; Bei ta'th wuzlis boun-e panas ae's dimho naar - if once more we could spread our hem to catch the radiant sun in our lap; and again, we would burn those red Chinar leaves for sheer joy (translated by Showkat Shafi). However, the point here is that the person in the picture is not doing this for sheer joy but to collect charcoal for kangris, so he can stay a little warm during winter. He knows that scheduled and unscheduled power cuts are going to push him to his limits in the coming days, judging by what is already happening. Photo: Kashmir Images/Farooq Javed.

Published by HT Digita...