Ehsan Fazili/Srinagar

The South Kashmir-based author Izhar Mubashir's “Shure Te Tchure Gyush” (Children and Their Chirping) has been selected for the Bal Sahitya Puraskar by the Sahitya Akademi in the Kashmiri language for the year 2025.

The award recognizes Izhar’s contribution to children's literature in Kashmiri and includes a copper plaque and a cash prize of ₹50,000. Izhar Mubashir's real name is Mubashir Ahmad Shah. He is a 48-year-old and hails from the Waghama village in the Anantnag district.

He started writing poetry in Urdu and English in 1999, and later shifted to the Kashmiri language. He started writing for children only four years ago. The book, a collection of 13 short stories, according to Mubashir, is not a collection of traditional fairy tales that were common about two to three decades ago.

He told Awaz-The Voice that these were chosen from his collection of 22 stories written since 2021. “These are related to the psychology of present-day children, who are exposed to the world of modern science and technology from TV to mobiles to Artificial Intelligence (AI) with the help of the internet”, Mubashir said.

Izhar Mubashir being felicitated for his contribution to Kashmiri literature and culture at a function

“The children today are already fed with great thoughts”, he commented. His stories are “taking care” of children between nine and 16 years of age, roughly studying in fifth to 12th standards.   

Izhar Mubashir was initially impressed by the short storties of his daughter, when she was in the 5th standard (2019), now in the 11th class.

“I was happy and surprised going through her writings, short stories in English, she had already shared with her mother”, Mubashir said. Going through her writings, he felt that the present-day children were already “advanced in their thinking” due to the exposure to the information and knowledge through technology and social media.

He felt that children at all levels faced restrictions, especially during the lockdown between 2019 and 2021 (abrogation of Article 370 and COVID), which had also adversely affected their psyche.

After college, he was drawn to the company of well-known writers, poets, scholars, and cultural organizations of South Kashmir, known as “Maraaz” in the Kashmiri language. Similarly, the Northern area of Kashmir, with the centre as Baramulla, is historically and culturally known as “Kamraaz”.

Izhar was inspired by Ghulam Nabi Atish, who is recipient of three Sahitya Akademi awards for his works in the Kashmiri language.

Aatish, an author of at least 80 books, hails from Nanil village in Anantnag. “He (Atish) impressed upon me to write poems for children and to focus on the new trend among the children”, Izhar commented. He added that he turned to write poetry in Kashmiri in 2015 and later shifted to short story writing.

He was also inspired by the famed broadcaster, Satish Vimal, who is known as a multi-lingual poet, critic, researcher, cultural crusader and art aesthetician, an author of 30 books in Kashmiri, Urdu, Hindi and English. Satish Vimal repeatedly sought Izhar’s attention to write for children in the age group of nine to 16, as there was enough literature available for little children.

Izhar runs a Middle school, New Model Institute of Education, Waghama, Bijbehara.

He has been promoting culture for the last two decades, and is associated with “Maraaz Adbi Sangam”, the cultural organization of South Kashmir. The Maraaz has prominent litterateurs like Syed Rasool Pompur, G M Shaad, Omkar Nath Shabnum, Ghulam Nabi Naazir, Brij Nath Betaab, as its members.

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Izhar Mubashir has to his credit the publication of a poetry collection in Kashmiri in 2007. He is soon to publish a poetry collection for children.