‘City of Kashmir’: In Sameer Hamdani’s book, a resurgent Srinagar comes alive through its histories

Cities are the living embodiments of a people’s triumphs and tragedies. Orhan Pamuk views Istanbul as a city defined by melancholy (hüzün), a poignant sadness from living amidst the ruins of a lost empire. To Geoffrey West, “cities are the crucible of civilisation. Cities are where most of humanity’s creative and intellectual ideation, communication, and innovation takes place”. For Sameer Hamdani, “the city suggests it is all-knowing; like an aagur (the source of a spring), the fountainhead of knowledge; and it parades its sophistication. It is the marker of culture, as well as cultural spaces, and also the mannerisms that define culture-adab”. In his book City of Kashmir, Srinagar: A Popular History, Hamdani presents a historically rich and rigorously researched portrayal of Srinagar city.

An emerald city

For millennia, Srinagar has been a cosmopolitan city and a seat of learning where civilisation thrives and empires have flourished. The greatness of Srinagar has attracted legendary scholars such as Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang), Hafiz Shirazi, and Abhinavagupta, whose chronicles describe Kashmir as a culturally rich, intellectually vibrant, and geopolitically significant region. Hamdani presents a powerful and in-depth account of the many empires that ruled Kashmir over the centuries.

One such polity was the Karkota dynasty, which rose to prominence under Lalitaditya, who conquered vast territories in Northern India and Central Asia, making Kashmir a centre for learning and temple building. Kashmir has produced three of the greatest and most powerful women rulers in India. Among them, Didda was the most successful. As Hamdani writes, “Didda’s actual life, nonetheless, was quite successful. In all, she remained the real power behind the throne for forty-five years, which is quite remarkable for anyone, man or woman.”

This work not only presents a historically embedded portrayal of the city of Srinagar but also celebrates it as a revered place where three major ancient religions flourished. Drawing on major Buddhist texts, Hamdani describes how Kashmiri Buddhist monks went on to write some of the finest treatises and preach Buddhism in different parts of the world. Srinagar has long been an epitome of marvellous architecture, and Hamdani is attentive in documenting the development of Kashmir’s historical and religious architecture under the various regimes that have ruled the region for centuries.

A renowned architect himself and the author of the seminal work The Syncretic Traditions of Islamic Religious Architecture of Kashmir, Hamdani explains how Persian and Turkic influences shaped Kashmir’s architectural traditions – particularly its religious architecture – and how several architectural sites emerged as masterpieces of design and style. The cultural connections among Ottoman Lebanon, Safavid Iran, Mughal India, and Kashmir profoundly influenced the region’s architecture, as seen in the construction of Muslim shrines and mosques. Sufi shrines such as the Khanqah-e-Molla, Naqshband Sahib, and the historic Jama Masjid are architectural masterpieces that have also served as centres of political resistance against the tyranny of different regimes.

Bruised and brutalised

While Srinagar has been the seat of some of the greatest empires and dynasties in South Asia, it is also one of the region’s most hotly contested and repressed lands. The grandeur of Srinagar, or Shahr-e-Kashmir as it was known in medieval times, attracted the wrath of tyrants and invaders. One such invasion was carried out by the Mongol ruler Zulchu (or Dalcha), whose forces plundered and burned Srinagar in the summer of 1320. Another powerful ruler, Lalitaditya, ordered Srinagar to be burned after the city appeared to mock his new capital, Parihaspur. Hamdani writes, “Though life in Srinagar was privileged, the city’s existence is also marked with pain, gloom, exploitation, suffering and death. From medieval times, the city remained a site for loot and oppression. Destiny seems to have marked it as a site of contestations and conquests. It was burned, rebuilt and burned again, repeatedly conquered and humiliated into submission, despoiled of its wealth, mocked for its poverty”. Despite repeated invasions and plundering, the city of Srinagar has survived and emerged as a vibrant polis.

A definitive biography of Srinagar, this remarkable book weaves together the author’s personal experiences with professional expertise to document Srinagar’s multifaceted personality. Hamdani takes the reader on a journey into the heart of Kashmir – as Srinagar is warmly called by Kashmiris – through the streets and alleys of the Downtown. This book is a magnificent exploration of the history, politics, culture, and architecture of Srinagar, and above all, of the city’s urbanity. It examines how the city views itself – as an urban space for a people whose personal and political lives are deeply intertwined with it. Hamdani beautifully documents the cultural mosaic that Srinagar once embodied. The richness of the city’s culture and its magnificent heritage are attributed to visionary rulers who patronised the arts, introduced the finest cultural practices from far-flung regions, and assimilated them into local settings. “On the surface, Srinagar under the Mughals emerged as a vibrant cosmopolis,” writes Hamdani, while describing the city’s fame among the nobles, diplomats, poets, and merchants of the Mughal court.

In popular discourse, Kashmir is often seen as a paradise on earth. Hamdani devotes a chapter to describing how the gardens of Srinagar have enriched the city’s aesthetics and substantiated the claim of Kashmir as a paradise. In addition, the seven bridges of Srinagar reflect the magnificence of local craftsmanship and the city’s deep connection with the Jhelum River.

Scholarly and lucid, City of Kashmir is a tour de force of urgent political observation. An essential work on the ethnography and political history of one of the most hotly contested regions, the book is a vital resource for policymakers, students, academics, and all those interested in understanding Kashmir’s chequered past and its complex present.

Bilal Gani is an academic based in Kashmir.

City of Kashmir, Srinagar: A Popular History, Sameer Hamdani, Hachette India.