Jihad in My Saffron Garden by Roxy Arora

‘Undoubtedly, My Saffron Garden was a playground for Farishtey and Djinns. The tiny flora in the lush meadow tiptoed upwards as lithe as ballet dancers while they hobnobbed with the tinted winged butterflies’………. Year 1988, the two Superpowers
of the world, U.S.A. and U.S.S.R., embroiled in their cold war. Each vying to outdo the other in its quest for terrain, a terrain saturated with oil.
As the Soviet troops leave Afghanistan………….. Our Indian borders bleed at their most breathtaking yet strategic point….. Kashmir. Jihad unleashes its angst. Roshina Kapoor, headstrong and feisty, born and bred in Kashmir. Aafaq Qazmi, principled Muslim elitist, reciprocates Roshina’s love for him with unbridled ardour. Heena Qazmi, Aafaq’s sister and Roshina’s best friend. All three young adults fiercely possessive of each other as well as their beautiful state and the Kashmiriyat they symbolise. The ‘Saffron Garden’ was theirs. Why in 2015 does Roshina return to Sopore without her lover and best friend? Why does the Saffron Garden scare her? Is it because she is a Kafir? Will Roshina ever find closure and love or will her past catch up with her and wreak havoc in her life yet again?