Young voices now to steer North Kashmir’s oldest literary forum
KD NEWS SERVICE
KREERI-BARAMULLA, Dec 8: For more than half a century, the Kruhen Cultural Forum Kreeri has occupied a distinctive place in the cultural landscape of North Kashmir. Founded in 1969, at a time when Kashmiri literary consciousness was still taking shape, the Forum emerged as a pioneering institution that helped set the direction of organised cultural thought in the region. What is lesser known today is that this Forum was established even before the formation of Adbee Markaz Kamraz and, in many ways, served as its ideological parent and source of inspiration.
The organisation was born out of the vision of the eminent poet and thinker Syed Manzoor Hashmi who saw Kreeri not as a distant literary spot but as a creative centre capable of shaping wider cultural imagination. Hashmi’s idea was strengthened by several notable literary personalities including Mashal Sultanpuri, Ghulam Mohammad Gamgeen, Syed Sad-ud-Din Saidi, Fayaz Tilgami, Syed Nazir Hussain Hussain, Tanha Nizami, Ranjoor Tilgami, Hosh Wanigami, Shad Dardpuri and many others who nurtured the Forum in its formative years and helped it influence Kashmiri literature in decisive ways.
The soil of Muradabad Kreeri itself is steeped in literary memory. The locality has produced some of Kashmir’s most remarkable writers and poets such as Sanullah Kreeri, Ameer Shah Kreeri, Wasif Bukhari, Syed Abdul Jabbar Khamosh and Syed Ali Gowhar Bukhari, whose works enriched Kashmiri literature and gave it intellectual maturity. With such illustrious roots and with such powerful cultural lineage behind it, the Forum seemed destined to remain an active institution for generations.
Yet, for reasons that were never publicly articulated, the organisation drifted quietly into silence and remained inactive for a prolonged period. For many years, the Forum existed more in nostalgic remembrance than in real functioning, leaving observers worried that yet another important cultural institution of Kashmir might be lost to time. But cultural history has its own rhythm, and sometimes institutions return with renewed urgency after years of stillness.
That possibility took a concrete shape yesterday, when elections were held and a younger leadership was entrusted with the responsibility of steering the Forum into a new era. The election of Syed Shamim Ahmad Shamim as President, Syed Gh Mohidin Andrabi as Vice President, Syed Shareef Qadri as General Secretary, Abid Ashraf as Treasurer, Syed Jahangir Bukhari as Publicity Secretary, and Mumtaz Hamdani as Librarian reflects a collective effort to rebuild the organisation and expand its relevance in contemporary literary circles.
Many cultural circles believe that the task before the new leadership is as challenging as it is inspiring. Reviving an institution with such a rich past requires not merely administrative effort but a deeper re-connection with the intellectual traditions that shaped it. The Forum will now be expected to create spaces for younger writers, encourage emerging voices and bridge the distance between past literary heritage and present creative realities. In a moment when younger generations in Kashmir are searching for cultural belonging and when identity itself is undergoing transformation, such a revival carries unmistakable significance.
The reawakening of the Kruhen Cultural Forum is therefore being watched closely across North Kashmir. Historians, scholars and cultural observers see in this development not only the revival of a long-silent organisation but also the possibility of restoring continuity to Kashmiri cultural life. For a region historically grounded in poetry, thought and storytelling, this moment represents more than an institutional change. It marks a symbolic return to cultural memory and perhaps the beginning of a renewed movement.
Yesterday’s election was therefore not only about choosing a president; it was about placing responsibility into new hands and trusting that an institution born more than fifty years ago will now speak meaningfully again. As the Forum prepares to resume its activities, the hope among cultural lovers is that the story will not just resume where it had paused, but will begin a new chapter worthy of its past and relevant to the future.
And so, for Kreeri and for North Kashmir, the cultural heartbeat that once defined an entire region seems ready to be heard again.
