The Political Aroma of Wazwan

At a rare feast organised for local journalists at the NC headquarters, Omar Abdullah was optimistic about the resurgence of political discourse in Jammu and Kashmir

- Naseer Ganai

CONVENTIONALLY, a tarami holds centre-stage at an elaborate wazwan feast. It’s a big, shiny copper dish heaped with fragrant rice, topped with spinach cooked in spices, Kashmiri seekh kebab and lamb in plum sauce.

Ritualistically speaking, yes, it was the tarami that was the object of focus recently at the Nawai Subh, National Conference (NC) party’s headquarters near Srinagar’s Zero Bridge, the venue for former chief minister Omar Abdullah’s rare, but sumptuous wazwan feast for local journalists.

But at this particular wazwan, what also shared the limelight apart from the tarami, were signs of a resurgence of political discourse in Jammu and Kashmir, which had faded into the backdrop ever since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

After serving journalists in attendance, Abdullah elaborated on his party’s stance ahead of the General Elections, particularly the Rajouri-Anantnag seat. He highlighted the Congress party’s reluctance to allocate it to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as part of the INDIA alliance’s seat-sharing in J&K. Abdullah, however, expressed confidence in winning the polls and reiterated the government’s hesitance to hold Assembly Elections.