India, July 6 -- I arrived in Kashmir not merely as a journalist or an author, but as a seeker. While writing my recently published book, Lal Ded - Mother of Kashmir, I spent months walking through the Valley, travelling from one district to another, speaking to scholars, saints, historians, artists, villagers and ordinary Kashmiris. I visited ancient temples, forgotten shrines, abandoned archaeological sites and libraries filled with fading manuscripts. I listened to countless interpretations of Lal Ded's Vakhs, yet one question refused to leave me: Where is Lal Ded herself?

Not in books. Not in research papers. Not in academic seminars.

Where is the living presence of the woman who shaped Kashmir's soul?

The answer was both heartbrea...