Srinagar, June 27 -- By Dr. Khairunnisa Aga

I walked into the Darke Azadari-Mashq e Arbaeen exhibition in Srinagar expecting an art show. I walked out rethinking what mourning can mean.

I expected paintings, calligraphy and poetry inspired by Imam Hussain, but I found something far larger: a community using art to keep memory alive, strengthen moral conviction and protect a cultural inheritance that faces pressure from homogenisation and digital culture.

That experience convinced me that Kashmir risks losing far more than artistic traditions if spaces like this disappear.

The exhibition has reached its thirteenth edition, bringing devotional practice and artistic creation together under one roof.

Darke Azadari expresses profound mour...