Three generations within a family- grandparents, parents, and the children- celebrating Shivaratri, the most important festival for Kashmiri Pandits. The grandparents, who escaped from Kashmir with their son, long to return to their lost land, even as the grapple with sickness and old age. The son of the family says: “In 1990, we fled from Kashmir to Jammu. I have witnessed the pain and suffering of my parents, who were in their 70s at the time. They had never imagined their lives outside the comfort of our family home in the valley, and they could never adjust either emotionally or physically to any other place. The same holds true for me. Now, we live in South India. The people here are warm and welcoming, but our heart always yearns for Kashmir. Festivals are the most challenging time for us. We dearly miss our family and friends, and of course, our temples – our most sacred spaces”. Dhar family, Bangalore