'Servants Of The Sahibs': The West, Us(Kashmiris) And Our Cultural Schizophrenia

At a wedding a couple of days ago, I wore a shalwar kameez and a Karakul hat. (This, along with the Kashmiri pheran and the Karakul, is my preferred dress in winter.) When I walked into the guest area, I instantly became the center of attention, uncomfortably and strangely so.

Almost all the guests were wearing Western outfits, garishly ill-suited and poorly carried, at least to my eyes. But two interactions stood out.

The first was with a middle-aged doctor, a man who reads, is interested in mysticism, and could also be described as a rationalist, a man of reason.

This doctor friend stood up and said,“The Karakul looks amazing and graceful.” It was as genuine a compliment as one could expect in Kashmir, where people rarely give or receive compliments, both are often seen as false or insincere.

The other was my cousin, also middle-aged. After mingling with his brown-skinned cousins wearing sunglasses that looked out of place in the setting, some of them“Amreeka-returned”, he noticed me and walked over.

MENAFN02092025000215011059ID1110006033