Late in the afternoon of a snowy day in January, Youtuber Pervaiz Ahmed, 28, was preparing a script for his next video at his two-storey house in Panzinara, in Srinagar outskirts. An Arts graduate and manager of YouTube channel Kashmiri Kalkharab, Pervaiz focuses on social, cultural and environmental issues by highlighting the plight through satire and comedy.
Wearing a woollen jacket, a multicoloured neckerchief and a long furred cap, Pervaiz is working on his twenty-fifth script ever since internet services were blocked in Kashmir. On August, 5, after the Government of India stripped Kashmir of its statehood, internet services were completely shut all over the valley. Only last week, the 2G services of 300 plus white-listed websites were restored.
“With the exception of scriptwriting one cannot do anything,” Pervaiz said. “From editing to uploading the video internet is basic.”
“One of the most difficult jobs in online media is earning the likes and subscriptions on time,” Pervaiz said. Almost half a year suspension has not only halted his online earnings but also rusted his team’s capacity. He said the fall in his earnings have shattered his team.
“We have made our profession our identity,” Pervaiz said. “Choosing another profession at this point of time seems redundant.”
In 2016, when Pervaiz, barely out of college, was surfing on social media, a satirical video based on Kashmir grabbed his attention. It led him to create a YouTube channel Techno Kashmir. With the uploading of two technology related videos, the response was appreciative. “But I had never thought of choosing it as my profession,” Pervaiz said.
This story is from the February 09-15, 2020; SAND STORM; Issue 45 Vol 11 edition of Kashmir Life.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 09-15, 2020; SAND STORM; Issue 45 Vol 11 edition of Kashmir Life.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Before The Kabul Retreat
Described as the ‘Graveyard of Empires’, Afghanistan was always termed to be at peace when it was at war. But the land-locked desert country that was always in turmoil and one of the worst targets of the Great Game suffered immensely throughout, especially in the last 40 years, Masood Hussain writes
FINGERS CROSSED
Almost everybody in academia and politics that Khalid Bashir Gura spoke to, the response over Kabul happens was simple – wait and watch
Parliamentary Committee In Srinagar
The visiting 28-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs have had detailed interactions with top civil administration and discussed developmental scenario and people’s welfare measures in Jammu and Kashmir. It is on a 4-day visit. Congress leader and MP Anand Sharma is heading the committee.
MUSIC IN MUD HOUSE
Deep into north Kashmir, Faheem Mir meet a small community that sings and lives on folk music but is facing a tense situation in the last few years
THE KABUL SPILLOVER?
Security experts are divided over the possible impact of the Kabul situation on Kashmir. But the dramatic Taliban triumph has altered the region’s geopolitics, for the time being, writes Riyaz Wani
Durga Bhawan At Katra
To enhancing facilities for the convenience of the Vaishno Devi pilgrims, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha laid the foundation for the Durga Bhawan, a high utility pilgrim-centric facility worth Rs 24.4 crore. The facility will accommodate 4000 pilgrims.
Women Empowerment
In the first, 480 talented girls from Jammu and Kashmir were included in the degree and diploma courses of the Pragati Scholarship. Jammu and Kashmir has also got nine scholarships under the Saksham Scheme for Persons with Disabilities.
‘SOME HISTORIANS BELIEVE THAT AFGHANISTAN CONFLICT IS THE OUTCOME OF INDIA AND PAKISTAN KASHMIR STAND-OFF'
Foreign policy expert and editor of HardNews magazine, Sanjay Kapoor believes that Taliban 2.0 has more legitimacy unlike in the past as it had signed a deal with the US and negotiated with other countries of the region, but the final verdict can be passed only after it manages ticklish issues involving half of its population, the women
Boredom Is Creative?
Getting bored is not as boring as it gets, writes Azra Hussain
LG In Bangus
Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha inaugurated the Bungus Awaam Mela amidst grand arrangements for village games, exhilarating local performances, and other activities to celebrate the 75th year of Independence.
