Justine Hardy es una periodista y autora británica cuyo trabajo profundiza en el trauma de conflictos, con un enfoque particular en el sur de Asia y la región de Cachemira. Sus escritos exploran diversos temas, abarcando viajes por el Tíbet, perspectivas sobre el cine hindi, experiencias trabajando para un periódico indio y las realidades del Islam ortodoxo y la guerra. Hardy ha contribuido a numerosas publicaciones destacadas, examinando temas desde viajes internacionales y asuntos sociales hasta reseñas de libros, destacando a menudo la búsqueda de la paz y la crisis de salud mental en Cachemira. Su voz distintiva aporta una profunda comprensión de los complejos paisajes socioculturales.
The narrative explores the concept of "brain silence," a primal response to danger that occurs after the fight or flight instinct, serving as a protective mechanism. The protagonist reflects on his past reading, recalling a specific moment marked by an oil smudge in the margin, which symbolizes the intersection of knowledge and personal experience. This moment highlights the tension between intellectual understanding and visceral reactions to threat.
Mohammed Dar and his three brothers were born in a boat on a lake in Kashmir, a place of exquisite beauty that was to become a war zone and nuclear flashpoint. This Himalayan valley of water, mist and mountains was once one of India's greatest tourist draws. In 1989 it exploded into insurgency. Kashmir became a rallying cry for jihadi movements all over the region and Pakistan's backing of the conflict triggered, in part, its own Islamist crisis. Mohammed Dar and his family found themselves living inside a new and foreign world of violence. Justine Hardy has stayed with the Dar family for many years, reporting on the conflict. She tells their story of living through the destruction of their adored homeland. Through their eyes we see the rise of religious fundamentalism and intolerance, the ethnic cleansing of the Hindu population of the valley, and the recruitment of a generation to jihad. And, amid the fighting, families continue to try and educate their children, find work, and protect their physical and mental well-being, while attempting to build some kind of future beyond the annihilation of their old way of life. In The Valley of Mist is an extraordinary story of family survival, at the heart of a conflict within and beyond the Muslim world.
Die junge Lila, ihre stumme Mutter und Gracie, eine verwitwete Engländerin, wohnen auf der »Wonder House«, einem Hausboot, das auf dem Naginsee in Kaschmir liegt. Nichts scheint ihr ruhiges und gleichförmiges Leben stören zu können. Da taucht der Journalist Hal auf und zieht auf Drängen von Gracie zu den dreien auf das Boot. Bald entbrennt er in glühender Liebe zu der ebenso schönen wie verletzlichen Lila und bringt nicht nur das prekäre Gleichgewicht zwischen den drei Frauen in Gefahr, sondern auch das Leben seiner Angebeteten …