Shopian, Nov 24: In the quaint embrace of Boharihalan village, located along the historic Mughal Road in south Kashmir’s Shopian district, Danish Resorts opened its doors on Sunday to a different kind of gathering—one shaped not by ceremony alone, but by the gentle rise and fall of Kashmiri verses.
The conference hall, warmed by crisp autumn sunlight, echoed with the melodic lines of Loleh Bawath, the newly released poetic collection of Shopian’s veteran poet Abdul Kareem Paravana.
This latest work, Paravana’s fourth contribution to Kashmiri literature, was unveiled during a one-day literary conference organised by the Koshur Adabi Forum Shupyan.
The moment of release brought together an eminent panel: Assistant Commissioner Development Muzaffar Ahmad Sheikh; noted poets Mohammad Yaqoob Naseem Hashmi and Bashir Ahmad Parwana; Advocate Mushtaq Ahmad Gatoo; and Forum president Jan Nisar Ahmad. As they held the book aloft, its pages seemed to shimmer with the promise of poems waiting to breathe.
The book release was followed by a mahfil-e-mushaira, presided over by Hashmi. More than a dozen poets from the district stepped onto the stage, their compositions carrying threads of longing, devotion, loss and pain. With each recitation, the hall filled with applause.
During the programme, a dedicated segment on the Nasha Mukt Bharat campaign turned the attention of the audience toward a grave and growing concern: drug abuse among the youth. Speaking with conviction, ACD Shopian Muzaffar Ahmad described the menace as a collective challenge requiring collective resolve. He underscored the importance of community engagement, stronger awareness campaigns, and coordinated initiatives by the administration, educational institutions and civil society.
Urging writers and poets to lend their voices to the cause, Jan Nisar called literature “a lantern that can chase away the shadows.”
He appealed for works that inspire responsibility, resilience and a drug-free future for young people.
As the event drew to a close, the hall returned to its stillness—but the verses made in their presence lingered like a soft afterglow over sleepy Boharihalan.
