With one day left for Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the biggest festivals in the Kashmir Valley, signs of celebration are visible all across. The roads throng with shoppers, bakeries overflow with delicacies, and preparations for a grand feast are in progress.
A red and blue tent has been raised outside Ghulam Hassan’s house in Rafiabad area of North Kashmir’s Baramulla district. Neighbours and relatives pour into the house and hug an elderly, paralysed man sitting quietly in the corner of the room. The tent outside Hassan’s house has not been set up for Eid, neighbours are not wearing festive clothes, the frail old man—Ghulam Hassan’s father—does not smile.
