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Inverse Journal A journal of contemporary culture from Kashmir and beyond. We publish fiction, nonfiction, poetry, e

Passing through this Kashmiri “Age of Big Construction”, Mubashir Karim’s poem takes us back to the shared experience of...
30/08/2025

Passing through this Kashmiri “Age of Big Construction”, Mubashir Karim’s poem takes us back to the shared experience of those who know what it is to ride on a bus or a matador. Seated in the present, these verses－and the poetic voice that shapes them－adopt the gaze of a passenger-flâneur who moves through the city and across time to an experience of commuting by public conveyance that still remains despite the encroachment of modernity and the pressures of technological progress.

Passing through this Kashmiri “Age of Big Construction”, Mubashir Karim’s poem takes us back to the shared experience of those who know what it is to ride on a bus or a matador. Seated in the pr

Tehmina Pirzada presents a commentary on Ghost Peppers, a musical duo formed by English professors Amrita Ghosh and Kevi...
22/08/2025

Tehmina Pirzada presents a commentary on Ghost Peppers, a musical duo formed by English professors Amrita Ghosh and Kevin Meehan whose music-making brings together scholarship, storytelling, and song in a way that transcends borders. Rooted in Tagore’s work, layered with South Asian, Afro-Latina, and Western influences, the compositions by the duo are charged with the energy of a musical friendship that is attentive to the urgency of political resistance, as Tehmina’s commentary reveals. The commentary journeys through RED, the latest EP by Ghost Peppers, and in the process offers deeper insights into their music-making and the imagination that informs their cross-cultural and multilingual songwriting.

Tehmina Pirzada presents a commentary on Ghost Peppers,a musical duo formed by English professors Amrita Ghosh and Kevin Meehan whose music-making brings together scholarship, storytelling, and song i

G.M. Khan presents a reflection on our state of existence and our sense of purpose in life by integrating the philosophi...
17/08/2025

G.M. Khan presents a reflection on our state of existence and our sense of purpose in life by integrating the philosophical ideas of multiple thinkers into what comes across as a piece concerned with human limitations, the futility of our existence and the existential dread that we face when we begin to ask fundamental questions. The piece somehow manages to avoid taking readers into a dark pit of nihilism and instead (and very contrarily) becomes a love letter to life, albeit one that is cognizant of “the Apocalypse” that characterizes life through finality in an uncertain universe. In contrast to the the denotative style of writing employed in this text published in our Acquaintance section, its narration cohesively constructs the space from where the love we cultivate－for poetry, literature, the arts and humanities, the quotidian or for being alive－comes to life in this rather unconventional “love letter.”

An alternate version of this piece was originally published by Kashmir Life.

G.M. Khan reflects on our state of existence and our search for purpose by weaving together the philosophical ideas of several thinkers. This piece examines human limitations, the futility of existenc

Mirum Quazi presents a poem about the experience of losing a grandparent, one that is grounded in the feeling of being u...
13/08/2025

Mirum Quazi presents a poem about the experience of losing a grandparent, one that is grounded in the feeling of being uprooted and suspended within a space drawn between memory and its recollection. These verses dare to explore and confront the exact moment of such a loss. In doing so, the poem grows from what such verses can come to signify through geographies of remembrance that reside within. Mirum’s verses are reminiscent of the imagery formed within the memory of a child who is now an adult looking back to make sense of death through verses that make such a loss palpable as well as relatable to those who have experienced the loss of a grandparent.

Mirum Quazi presents a poem about the experience of losing a grandparent, one that is grounded in the feeling of being uprooted and suspended within a space drawn between memory and its recollection.

In an effort to present the works of artists and the artists in their own words, Inverse Journal introduces a select num...
08/08/2025

In an effort to present the works of artists and the artists in their own words, Inverse Journal introduces a select number of works by digital artist Mehran Ansari. Along with a detailed conversation regarding his digital art practice, his entry into the world of music-making, and his various creative collaborations with the members of the Kashmiri contemporary music scene, Mehran has been kind enough to also provide an artist statement. The conversation that follows in this piece is the result of a two-hour recorded meeting that took place on January 1, 2025 between Mehran and Amjad Majid (Editor, Inverse Journal) leading to a detailed discussion about the young and promising artist’s practice and his approach to artmaking within the digital medium. In the unfolding of this conversation, we get to appreciate the manner in which young professionals, like Mehran, dedicate their free time to artmaking while also making an effort to work with other artists and creatives within their community.

In an effort to present the works of artists and the artists in their own words, Inverse Journal introduces a select number of works by digital artist Mehran Ansari. Along with a detailed conversation

Mohit Kilam presents a long overdue commentary on Gaekhir Republik’s latest music video release for “Jazz Ahmad Jazz”, t...
07/08/2025

Mohit Kilam presents a long overdue commentary on Gaekhir Republik’s latest music video release for “Jazz Ahmad Jazz”, the second song on their critically acclaimed album Mandnyan Shaam (Gaekhir Republik, Mir Kashif Iqbal, 2023). In the process of presenting the music video by the Kashmiri band, Mohit’s commentary dives deeper into key aspects of the song and its video, covering thematic undertones, visual language, portrayals of subjects and space, a variety of allusions, and the much-needed reference to the folklore at the center of the song’s refined Kashmiri lyricism.

Mohit Kilam presents a long overdue commentary on Gaekhir Republik’s latest music video release for “Jazz Ahmad Jazz”, the second song on their critically acclaimed album Mandnyan Shaam (Gaekhir

Inverse Journal presents an excerpt from Ipsita Chakravarty's latest book, Dapaan: Tales from Kashmir's Conflict, publis...
07/08/2025

Inverse Journal presents an excerpt from Ipsita Chakravarty's latest book, Dapaan: Tales from Kashmir's Conflict, published by Context-Westland Books. Described as “a quiet book in a time of noise”, Ipsita’s work steers away from the “hypernationalist din of mainstream narratives” and focuses on “the voices of ordinary Kashmiris” to narrow the gap between “dapaan” and “dappan”in an inclusive manner that takes into account the stories of Kashmiris all across the Valley. This specific excerpt is published here with permission from the author and the publisher Context-Westland Books. An independent “Relevant Links” section has been curated by Inverse Journal to familiarize interested readers with this latest release.

PP’s memory is neatly folded. She spreads it out. There, in the centre, is a grey building laced with concertina wiring and a rusted neon sign that spells out Firdous Cinema. ‘Firdous’, meaning paradise.

At a time when intellectual complicity determines the validity of certain intellectualism and the way we approach intell...
26/07/2025

At a time when intellectual complicity determines the validity of certain intellectualism and the way we approach intellectual figures, Muzaffar Karim and Mubashir Karim present a list of 50 leading intellectuals, writers, thinkers, philosophers, etc. vis-a-vis their positions on Palestine and Israel. The list is divided into three categories, “In Favour of Palestine, In Favour of Israel” and “Ambiguous”, and is based on direct citation and reference to the work by such intellectual figures on the subject of Palestine, and Israel.

At a time when intellectual complicity determines the validity of certain intellectualism and the way we approach intellectual figures, Muzaffar Karim and Mubashir Karim present a list of 50 leading i

Carol Blaizy D’Souza presents two poems that explore structure, spatiality and the enunciating subject intertwined withi...
08/07/2025

Carol Blaizy D’Souza presents two poems that explore structure, spatiality and the enunciating subject intertwined within the former. Such verses trace the lines where the soul wanders within a human gaze, be it one affixed on oneself or one’s surroundings, and in both poems succeed in capturing movement. “Face to Face” pulls us into a defamiliarization of the human face with verses that allow us to approach physiognomy through the language of territory, topography, architecture and geometry. “No Pressure” enters the space of ritual, tradition, culture and belonging as it relates to one of the most influential figures within history with a personal bond that is not customary of historical figures. One can almost taste the foods in a kitchen faraway that is drawn close enough for us to inhabit its space through D’Souza’s verses. A conversation with oneself passes through verse, occupying the space of homely surroundings where the familiar body is made strange enough to arrive at a rekindling through a renewed familiarity.

Carol Blaizy D’Souza presents two poems that explore structure, spatiality and the enunciating subject intertwined within the former. Such verses trace the lines where the soul wanders within a huma

Musa Malik reflects on the development of Islamic Marxism as a hybrid ideology at the intersection of Marxist principles...
10/06/2025

Musa Malik reflects on the development of Islamic Marxism as a hybrid ideology at the intersection of Marxist principles and Islamic tenets. In his piece, Musa problematizes the contradictory aspects of Islamic Marxism as a paradoxical political philosophy and system of thought that integrates the differing attitudes of Marxism towards religion and the nature of Islam as a religious system and a way of life that cannot be detached from its roots in faith. In his analysis, Musa reflects on the contemporary application of Islamic principles in modern times, within the framework of Islamic Marxism and far beyond its limitations.

Musa Malik reflects on the development of Islamic Marxism as a hybrid ideology at the intersection of Marxist principles and Islamic tenets. In his piece, Musa problematizes the contradictory aspects

Juliana Ariela Sejas presents a poem that ventures into dreamlike landscapes led from the quotidian by memory and sensat...
08/06/2025

Juliana Ariela Sejas presents a poem that ventures into dreamlike landscapes led from the quotidian by memory and sensation, thought and emotion. Among other things, the poem arrives at a visceral understanding of what is to be, to exist and to read, to create, to dream and then to write and make art. Juliana's verses unfold in a stream-of-consciousness style, weaving natural imagery, sonic textures and nostalgic allusions to impermanence, introspecting on nature of artistic creation while retrieving colorful moments otherwise lost to the everyday. The cascabel—a small bell that both haunts and heralds—serves as a recurring motif to reflect on the ephemerality of life in its rhythms and the quiet revolutions that gain momentum within our silences, which are fertile grounds for remembrance, recollection and creation. The original poem in Spanish is presented here with its English translation that preserves the poem's delicate cadence and maintains its intimate resonance.

Juliana Ariela Sejas presents a poem that ventures into dreamlike landscapes led from the quotidian by memory and sensation, thought and emotion. Among other things, the poem arrives at a visceral und

In the words of its author, this essay “offers a philosophically engaged and theoretically rich examination of how power...
08/06/2025

In the words of its author, this essay “offers a philosophically engaged and theoretically rich examination of how power operates and perpetuates itself, weaving together insights from Foucault, Bourdieu, Spivak, and Gramsci to dissect the subtle mechanics of caste, class, and gendered domination.” Through varied styles of writing that set this essay outside of the limits of academic writing, Ghulam Mohammad Khan introduces “the microcosm of a village” that is all too familiar to the writer and academic whose primary focus “reveals how supremacy regenerates not only through overt violence but also through cultural codes, normalized practices, and silent complicity.” In his eclectic style of blending narrative storytelling with critical theory, G.M. Khan’s essay “challenges static conceptions of power, urging a deeper awareness of its fluid and resilient nature.”

In the words of its author, this essay “offers a philosophically engaged and theoretically rich examination of how power operates and perpetuates itself, weaving together insights from Foucault, Bou

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