Roshan Lal Mawa, a Kashmiri Pandit, has returned to his roots and business in Downtown Srinagar after nearly three decades.
The 74 years old dry fruit trader says a lot has changed since he left Kashmir in 1990, but he finds the ethos of his birthplace, Gade Koche in Zaina Kadal all intact as he reminisced in between attending to his customers and sales staff in his shop at the ancient marketplace.
“Today when I walk through the lanes of Gade Koche, I realise it is not the same Kashmir I once left. Things on the ground have changed a lot but people’s mindset about return of Kashmiri Pandits has become more optimistic,” says Mawa.
The veteran trader who lived in Karan Nagar area until 1990 is overwhelmed with a warm welcome he received from his fellow traders’ community.
Mawa has no regrets having left behind a successful business in Delhi he was running for three decades for his homeland.
“It is the love for my motherland and fellow Kashmiris which pulled me back to this heaven. I left behind many avenues in trade at Delhi just to be with my own people among whom majority of my friends are Kashmiri Muslims,” he said.
Recounting his memory of October 13, 1990 when unknown gunmen fired three bullets into his abdomen, Mawa says “horror of the past haunts me but I want to overcome it and look forward to a new beginning”.
“For all these years I used to often visit Kashmir but this homecoming has taken me down the memory lane,” says Mawa while recounting his student days at prestigious SP College here.
Mawa’s only son, a doctor runs a mainstream political party but for this trader politics and the Kashmir issue is not a priority.
“Being a successful trader of famed business hub Zaina Kadal is more important than meddling in political issues,” he says.
“I want to relive the good old days and do justice to my trade. So I want to keep my political views to myself.”
Mawa restarted his business in Gade Koche after 29 years with selling dates in bulk ahead of the month of Ramadhan. He says the key to success in business is being “true to myself and honest to God”.
“Business ethics in Kashmir are the same as 30 years back, but I wish for one thing….that Pandits and Muslims can once again live in harmony and brotherhood,” says Mawa, adding that while a large section of Kashmiri Pandits have prospered in various fields across the world but “losing out on culture and traditions” is a big blow to the community.
“Our younger generation has someone strayed from their roots. I wish the ethos and Kashmiri culture lives along with Kashmiri Pandit community wherever they live. ”