Have you watched Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977), the only full-length Hindi-Urdu film made by Satyajit Ray? Based on a celebrated short story by Munshi Prem Chand, set in 1856, it is about two decadent nawabs in Lucknow being addicted so much to chess, that they forget they are ‘pawns’ in the British game of conquering India. A baritone voice over from Amitabh Bachchan tells us that thanks to these gentlemen who fall victims in a global chessboard, Lord Dalhousie, the governor-general of British India, could swallow one more territory, like popping a cherry into his mouth.
Cherries grow in the Kashmir Valley, but we are not sure if it is southern Jammu or the Valley to the north that is the ‘cherry’ for Home Minister Amit Shah. But it can be said safely that like Lord Dalhousie, he knows how to treat pieces on his political chessboard like succulent fruit. But we digress.
The president of the ruling BJP may be more familiar with his own state, Gujarat’s, favourite dish — dhokla. It might be better to compare Jammu with a piece of dhokla. But for that, I must take you to Bengaluru, to the time when it was called Bangalore, and discuss a bit about idli and sambar.
Like idli dunked in sambar, Jammu and Kashmir are linked by history of soaking in each other and hence, trifurcation was not an option.