A Heaven Without Pillars

From Kashmir’s days of silence to the vastness above, the sky remains a canvas of survival, beauty, and prayer.

- Sadiya Handoo

I painted the vast blue sky with beautiful white clouds on a small canvas. Suddenly, I had a flashback to a time when the internet and phone services were shutdown in Kashmir due to political turmoil in 2016.

Back then, no one knew anything about anyone. Phones were useless, and everyone was under lockdown for a long period of time.

After services were restored, | remember telling my friend a joke about how I used to stare at the sky from the window just to pass time and survive the boring days of lockdown.

The flashback ended, and I thought to myself: What made me look at the sky for so long? What was so special about it?

The sky gives me hope, peace, and a feeling of unconditional love. Our eyes see the canopy above us stretched out with no edges and end. It is the sky that gives birds the freedom to fly.

Above, it extends into outer space, a boundless dimension filled with awe-inspiring galaxies, planets, moons, stars, and other celestial bodies.