K L Chowdhury

Faith & Frenzy is a collection of short stories that brings to the reader the intimate details of forgotten Kashmiris of all hues, caught in the quagmire of terror and murky politics. Their stories have remained untold, submerged as they remain under layers of shady rhetoric and politics of deceit. Most, but not all, stories take place in a background of escalating militancy that brought terror, insecurity and mayhem into the lives of people and dealt a deathblow to the tradition of amity, tolerance and peaceful living that had defined Kashmiri life over significant periods of history. A unique feature of many of these stories is that they are discovered and revealed through the lens of a doctor who is also a keen observer of a society in flux. The author himself is the narrator of the stories. More importantly, he is also involved as one of the key participants in most of them. His initial contact with the main characters often begins in his role as a physician. He receives them as patients and, while providing his professional services, he finds himself entwined into the intricacies, uncertainties and struggles of their lives. The stories peep deep into their lives, and probe inside their souls. Above all, these are stories of the universal human circumstance.