Srinagar, May 17: A young Kashmiri girl stepped into the literary spotlight on Friday with the launch of her debut book, Through You to Him, a poetic meditation on love, loss and the divine. The event, held at the Iqbal Institute of Culture and Philosophy, University of Kashmir, drew a quiet but thoughtful gathering of scholars, students and writers.
The author, Zuha Ashai, read from her book in a soft, deliberate voice, offering glimpses into a personal journey that moves from human attachment toward spiritual awakening. “This is not ink on paper,” she told the audience. “It is the quiet echo of a girl who once mistook the shadow of love for the sun itself.”
Part poetry, part spiritual memoir, the book is a short, introspective collection that reflects on grief and longing as paths to the divine. In one passage, she writes: “You weren’t wrong to love them. You just didn’t know He was the one behind it all.”
Hosted by Dr. Mushtaq Ahmad Ganai, coordinator of the Iqbal Institute, the event was attended by educationist G. N. Var and former J&K Bank PRO Farooq A. Ashai, along with students and faculty members. While the gathering also featured the release of three scholarly titles on Iqbal and Sufism, it was Zuha Ashai’s slender volume that caught the room’s attention.
“This book holds a stillness,” Dr. Ganai said. “It’s not just a literary piece, but a spiritual document.”
Alongside Through You to Him, the event featured Iqbal and Indian Heritage by Dr. Chaman Lal Raina and two Urdu texts—اقبال اور ثقافت ہند and ہندوستان میں تصوف—each contributing to the ongoing dialogue around Iqbal’s intellectual and cultural relevance.
Yet Zuha Ashai’s voice, emerging for the first time, felt distinct. Her writing, stripped of ornament, leans into vulnerability. The book doesn’t preach or explain. It simply reflects on moments of loss, on prayers whispered in solitude, and on the slow recognition of something greater behind it all.
“I wrote this in pieces,” Zuha said after the event. “It came together like memory does, in fragments. But what stayed constant was the feeling that He had always been there.”
As the audience dispersed, many left carrying copies of the book, its simple brown cover pressed between their hands. No fanfare, no ceremony, just a quiet release into the world.
