Arts and laughter: comedy festival helps advance the peace process in Kashmir

Eleven days of comedy creates laughter in Kashmir. Khabar South Asia (September 25, 2012) reports that local groups have started organizing cultural programs in Kashmir to nurture young artists and revive traditions that have lapsed during years of conflict.

Srinagar’s Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre held performances by young artists of Kashmir Valley during an eleven-day comedy festival from September 9-20.

Shabbir Hyder, head of the Jammu & Kashmir Film Makers and Artists Cooperative (JKFMAC) said that the festival had resumed in 2011 after a hiatus of 23 years. The theatre tradition halted due to conflict in the region in the early 1990s. The revival aims to provide a platform for young artists so that they gain exposure.

JKFMAC also hopes that the festival would attract professionals to the region to share skills and for networking, as well as showing visitors the Kashmiri hospitality.

Comedy was chosen as a way to bring laughter into the disputed region. JKFMAC also believes that comedy, arts, and entertainment help to advance the peace process.

(http://khabarsouthasia.com/en_GB/articles/apwi/articles/features/2012/09/25/feature-01)

Martina Nicolls is the author of The Sudan Curse (2009), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010), and Bardot’s Comet (2011).

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