Diplomat Correspondent
Srinagar, DD, What was meant to be a day of joy and celebration has turned into one of despair for Bisma Nazir, a young bride from Hajinar village in Karnah, Kupwara. On the eve of her wedding, her family home was reduced to rubble by cross-border shelling, leaving her dreams buried beneath the debris.
The house had been adorned with wedding decorations, gifts lovingly arranged, and a bridal outfit carefully prepared for the ceremony scheduled for 10 May. All of it was lost when a mortar shell struck during the night.
“My wedding dress is still under the broken walls,” Bisma said, her voice trembling with grief as she stood amid the ruins. “Everything we had planned has vanished overnight—my home, my wedding, my hopes.”
Her father, Nazir Ahmad Mir, a daily wage labourer, had spent years saving for his daughter’s special day. The devastation is not only material but deeply emotional. “I had arranged everything within my modest means,” he said. “I just wanted to see my daughter happy. One shell destroyed not only our home, but everything we had dreamed of.”
The shelling on Thursday night affected multiple homes in the area, but the damage to the Mir family’s house was among the most severe.
Abdul Majeed, a neighbour, spoke of the heartbreak shared by the entire community. “Everyone knew about Bisma’s wedding. We were all ready to celebrate. Now, there’s only sorrow in the village.”
As dawn broke, neighbours came together to help the family sift through the rubble. Local women gathered to comfort Bisma and her mother. “She was meant to be a bride today,” said Shakeela, a neighbour. “Instead, she’s mourning the loss of everything she held dear. We all feel her pain.”
Nazir, the sole breadwinner for his family, is left not just without a roof, but without any sense of certainty. “We are poor people, but we had dreams. Now, we have nothing,” he said quietly.
The tragedy has sparked calls for urgent government assistance. Sarpanch Ghulam Nabi urged authorities to step in. “We are innocent villagers caught in the crossfire. The families affected by this shelling need immediate relief and long-term support.”
What should have been a day filled with music and festivity has been replaced by silence and sorrow. In place of wedding songs, the village now echoes with the weight of collective grief (DD)
