Keeping Kashmir’s children at the heart of his stories

Mubashir Ahmad Shah is the winner of the Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar, 2025, for his story collection written in Kashmiri

Teacher Mubashir Ahmad Shah (48), who writes under the pen name Izhar Mubashir, won the Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar for children’s literature this year. The award, which comes with a copper plaque and a cash prize of ₹50,000, was conferred on Shah for his children’s book Shure Te Tchure Gyush (Children and their Chirping), a collection of 13 short stories written in Kashmiri.

Mubashir Ahmad Shah (Courtesy the subject)

“The award is not just mine,” says Shah, who runs a private primary school in Waghama village in south Kashmir’s Bijbehara district. “It belongs to every Kashmiri child who deserves to see their world, their language, and their emotions reflected in a book.”

Although he has been writing poetry in Urdu and English since the late 1990s, Shah only started writing for children in Kashmiri four years ago. Concerned that kids are becoming increasingly disconnected from their mother tongue, and growing up with little exposure to the beauty and depth of Kashmiri, he resolved to write entertaining stories rooted in the contemporary context. Shure Te Tchure Gyush explores friendship, honesty, curiosity, nature, and family bonds. Both accessible and enriching, it features characters and plots inspired by everyday life: Katji centres on a child who is deeply attached to a person and explores the emotional pain that follows when they are separated; Shogeh deals with the impact of lockdowns on children while Kokur and Zooni Log Thor features confident and culturally rooted protagonists; Aes kot gatchav focuses on the impact of environmental pollution.

Cover of Shure Te Tchure Gyush (Children and their Chirping) (Courtesy the author)

“I wrote in simple, appropriate, everyday language. Some phrases and idioms have also been used with the intention of familiarizing children with their linguistic legacy and to enhance their language skills,” says Shah who reveals that his 10-year-old daughter’s writing had inspired him. Struck by the honesty, curiosity, and emotional depth of her simple expressions, he realized that children observe everything including relationships and behaviour and were deeply affected by what they see. “She helped me understand that children do not need to be ‘taught’ through lectures. They want to be understood, engaged with, and gently guided through storytelling,” he says.

The stories in Shure Te Tchure Gyush depart from themes found in traditional Kashmiri tales. “Traditional Kashmiri folk stories often revolve around fantasy, folklore, supernatural elements, and moral lessons rooted in ancient wisdom. While they carry immense cultural value, I felt the need to write stories that resonate more directly with the emotional, psychological, and technological world of the modern child,” he says. While traditional tales often focus on external adventures, Shah’s work is more about internal journeys — how children feel, think, and try to make sense of the rapidly changing world around them.

The author’s engagement with local literary organizations, particularly his role in reviving the Maraaz Adbi Sangam — one of the largest literary organizations in Jammu and Kashmir — has also shaped his approach. “It is through Maraaz Adbi Sangam that I developed close relationships with renowned and respected writers of Kashmiri, Urdu, Hindi, and other Indian languages,” says Shah who has been serving as general secretary of the organization since 2009.

“The literary discussions and guidance from former presidents and reputed literary figures like Professor Shafi Shauq and Brijnath Pandith Betab gave me the confidence and inspiration to write better short stories for children,” says Shah who also runs Triple Zed Publications, which has brought out more than 200 books in Urdu and Kashmiri in the last three years.

The recognition has reinforced the idea that writing for children in the mother tongue is both valuable and vital. “At a time when local languages are under pressure from dominant cultures and global media, this win is encouraging. The award belongs to every Kashmiri child who deserves to see their world, their language, and their emotions reflected in the pages of a book,” he says adding that there is a strong need to create literature suited to the intellectual and emotional levels of children of different age groups.

“The Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar defines its scope as being for children aged 9 to 16 years, whereas most Kashmiri writers have traditionally written for children younger than this age group,” he says adding that with the rise of social media, children are increasingly influenced by national and global literature, and especially works brought out with dramatization and animation.

“In such an environment, it is important to enhance the quality of children’s literature to attract their interest. At the same time, social media and modern technology provide opportunities that need to be availed,” he says adding that schools in the region should promote Kashmiri children’s literature assisted by the internet and other digital tools.

“It is essential to appoint qualified teachers of the Kashmiri language at the secondary level. Children’s literature must be connected to modern styles and formats to make it attractive,” he says adding that recognition from the Sahitya Akademi will have a positive impact on the visibility and future of children’s literature in Kashmiri.

“This kind of national recognition not only validates the creative efforts of those writing in the language but also shines a spotlight on the importance of nurturing young readers in their mother tongue,” he says, while urging all children to read stories in their native language.

“Mother tongue is the foundation of a child’s cultural identity and emotional development,” he says.

Majid Maqbool is an independent journalist based in Kashmir.