Srinagar, Oct. 10 -- In the evenings, after the day's work was over, Shabbu would sometimes step outside the village for a short while simply to ease his mind. But whenever he did, his mother would insist that he return home early. Perhaps that was why he hesitated to go beyond the village or stayed away for only a little while. Her words had become deeply etched in his mind. Whenever he sat outside for more than ten or fifteen minutes, he would immediately remember his mother's warning: "The times are bad. Come home." He often sank into the depths of his thoughts and wondered what his mother was really trying to tell him, something he had been unable to understand. "Am I doing something wrong?" he wondered. He examined himself carefully,...