Kashmir in Kolkata's Imagination

Kashmir in Bengali mind is a land of longing and beauty, traced through literature, film, and history.

- Dr. Ratan Bhattacharjee

Rabindranath Tagore's letters and travel writings gave Bengalis their first glimpse of Kashmir, a place of calm beauty and deep reflection.

The tall mountains, sky-reflecting lakes, and the poetic pace of life in Srinagar spoke directly to Bengal's love for nature and inward thought.

Kashmir thus became a mythical refuge, a place where time seemed to stand still and beauty endured beyond the demands of everyday life.

This vision was reinforced over the decades through cinema and popular culture, which carried the valley into stories, songs, and screens across Bengal.

After independence, films cemented Kashmir as a dream destination in the public imagination.

Honeymooners drifting on Dal Lake, the soft snow of Gulmarg, and the gentle flow of Srinagar's rivers and streets became enduring images, shared and celebrated across Bengal and beyond.

Kashmir came to symbolize love, poetry, and aspiration. In stories, novels, and poems, it embodied longing, often remaining untouched by the political and social realities shaping the valley.

Bengali cinema, especially in its golden age, absorbed these images with subtlety. Even when films were set elsewhere, references to Kashmir suggested a gentle escape, a place of beauty and desire beyond the routines of daily life.

By contrast with more exuberant Hindi portrayals, Bengali representations emphasized introspection.