Book review: 'Nehru's Kashmir' recounts a man's love affair with Kashmir

Jawaharlal Nehru loved Kashmir. Mentions of the Valley found a place in his letters to daughter Indira when she was in school in 1928, and also in his letter to her from Alipore Central Jail in Calcutta in 1934: “Kashmir is a place well worth visiting and as you well know, it is our old home land and has a special claim on us…”

Photojournalist Sati Sahni trailed Nehru on each of his trips to Kashmir. When Pakistan invaded Kashmir in 1947, Sahni was a war correspondent. During the 14-month invasion, Nehru paid many visits to the war front. After the ceasefire in 1949, his visits to the Valley did not stop. As India’s first prime minister, his reasons were sometimes political, but most were just short visits with his daughter Indira, and grandsons Rajiv and Sanjay. Sahni was granted exclusive access to Nehru’s household.

“He (Nehru) was particularly fond of daffodils, which only grow in Kashmir in the short period soon after the winter thaw.” On one visit to Kashmir with Lady Edwina Mountbatten, he timed his trip so he could show her the flowers in bloom.

When they arrived, baskets of daffodils were presented to them at the airport.  Sahni presents the Kashmir that doted on Nehru.

The pictures show children presenting him with garlands, locals greeting him, Nehru participating in local and rural sports, and rowing and water surfing on the Dal and Nagin lakes. After Nehru’s death, his ashes were taken to Kashmir where they were scattered across the valley by his daughter.

The pictures are interesting, but the book lacks sufficient background when describing Nehru’s speeches and interactions with locals. Inclusion of more anecdotes could have given the reader more insight into Nehru’s love of the Valley.