City as Memory: A Short Biography of Srinagar – Sadaf Wani

Sirinagar (as it’s pronounced in Kashmiri), the capital of Paradise on Earth, is celebrated worldwide for its lush green valleys and picturesque lakes, but it is equally defined by its troubled past and unsettled present. Founded in 250 BCE by the Buddhist king Ashoka, Srinagar’s checkered history is a complex narrative of conquest and centuries of foreign rule, characterized by cycles of both indulgence and neglect. In independent India, the state’s volatile geopolitics, the rise of the tehreek (armed insurgency) since 1989, and the tumultuous quest for azaadi have transformed Srinagar into one of the most heavily militarized regions in the world.

In City as Memory, Sadaf Wani draws deeply from her childhood experiences in the mid-90s amidst a waning insurgency movement and rising militarization, alongside her adolescence in the early 2000s during deadly cycles of violence following civilian protests. Through this poignant lens, she explores how Kashmir’s turbulent history intertwines with its people's memories of home. Examining the beating heart of the city through personal remembrance, oral history, and scholarship, Wani navigates complex questions of identity and belonging to craft an intimate, raw portrait of Srinagar. Her narrative illuminates the deep wounds etched onto the spatial, temporal, and emotional landscape of this city of sharp contradictions—where breathtaking views of the Dal Lake coexist with the smoke of tear gas.