‘I’m a product of Indian socialism’: Theatre actor-director MK Raina talks about his life and memoir

An arresting original debut, MK Raina’s memoir Before I Forget, tells the story of a life lived on the frontline of history. With an essayistic attention to detail, it challenges the fallibility of memory and its imperfections to create a space for the convergence of past and present. Among the diversity of encounters, is Raina's life in theatre at the core, movingly and, rivetingly evoked.

The book holds up a mirror to the complexities of Kashmir's contested political history: the tragic and frequent ruptures in its body politic, the dense militarisation, and the ferocity of violence and its many iterations.

“The bond between Kashmiri Hindus and Muslims stretches from birth to death – and even the crazy insurgency in the valley could not destroy that absolute and sacred bond,” he said in a conversation about his memoir, performing Shakespeare in Kashmir, using theatre as a form of protest and more. Excerpts:

How did this memoir take shape?
Losing my home in Kashmir felt like a deep, festering wound that desperately needed healing. I kept returning to the conflict zone, following an unstoppable, pedagogic urge to enliven cultural spaces buried beneath the heavy boots of militancy. The situation was challenging: cross-firings, cordon and search operations, and stone-pelting. Many times, members of...

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