The Big Book of Kashmiri Literature: Poems, Songs, Plays, Stories | Anthology of Kashmiri Poetry, Folk Songs, Plays And Stories By Onaiza Drabu

About The Big Book of Kashmiri Literature

The Big Book of Kashmiri Literature: Poems, Songs, Plays, Stories is an anthology edited by Onaiza Drabu and published by Penguin Random House India under its India Penguin imprint in August 2026. It runs to 664 pages and carries an MRP of Rs 799. It is billed as the first anthology of its kind, with writing translated from Kashmiri, and it brings together a wide range of voices from the fourteenth century to the present day.

What the book covers

• Premodern verse and metaphysical ghazals
• Folk songs and chants passed down in the community
• Radio plays and flash fiction
• An excerpt from a novel
• Writers who include saints, scholars, experimental dramatists and unlettered poets

About the editor

Onaiza Drabu is an anthropologist, writer and translator based in Kashmir. Her first book, published in 2019, was a retelling of folklore. In this anthology she draws on her work in culture and language to select and arrange a very broad body of writing for readers of English.

Why it matters

Kashmiri has a long and rich literary life, but much of it has been hard to find in English. An anthology that spans some seven centuries lets a reader see how the tradition has changed, from the devotional and philosophical verse of earlier times to the experiments of modern prose and drama. It also gives space to oral and folk traditions, which carry the voices of people who never wrote books. For readers in Kashmir and beyond, such a collection is a way of meeting a literature on its own terms.

Who should read it

Students and teachers of literature, readers of poetry and translation, students of South Asian culture, and anyone who wants to know the Kashmiri voice will find much here. It is also a fine gift for families who wish to share their heritage with younger readers who read in English. The book is not purely religious: it mixes devotional, philosophical, folk and modern writing, so each reader will find different parts to love.

How to benefit from it

With a book of this size, there is no need to read from the first page to the last. Choose a form you enjoy, such as the ghazals or the folk songs, and read a few pieces each week. Move on to the plays and stories when you feel ready. Read aloud where you can, since many of these pieces were meant to be heard. Keep a note of the writers whose work moves you and look for more of their writing.

A note for readers

An anthology gathers writing from many centuries and many outlooks, and the pieces reflect the beliefs and styles of their own times. Read each piece in its own context and with an open mind. Because the material is translated from Kashmiri, reading it in English offers a doorway to the originals, and readers who know the language may enjoy comparing the two.

Reading in company

A collection like this works well in a reading group or a classroom. Members can each bring one piece to read aloud and then talk about its images, its mood and the world it comes from. Such sessions often lead people to share songs and sayings they remember from their own homes, and so the anthology becomes a way of keeping memory alive.

Edition details

Published by Penguin Random House India (India Penguin), August 2026, 664 pages, MRP Rs 799. Please message us on WhatsApp at 9906523492 for the format and details of the copy in stock. Same-day dispatch from Srinagar.

Frequently asked questions

Who edited the anthology? Onaiza Drabu.

Is it translated? Yes, it is billed as the first anthology of its kind translated from Kashmiri.

How long is it? It runs to 664 pages.

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