A resident of Dalgate area of Srinagar and the author of three books Soliha Shabir has recently been awarded “Asia Book of Records.”
She has also been awarded by various national organizations in past for penning down three books. She is also among the youngest authors of Kashmir valley.
In her twenties, Soliha Shabir won the title of Grand Master in Asia Book of Records for her book ‘ZOON: The heart of Habba Khatoon’ and became the youngest girl from Jammu and Kashmir to recreate Habba Khatoon’s poetry.
In the past, she has come up with three multi-dimensional books reflecting various aspects of life. “Zoon is the first book that has recreated the theme of Habba Khatoon’s poetry and essence,” said Soliha.
Soliha said her third book “Zoon” is a compilation of poems whose theme is the pain of Habba Khatoon.
“I am always trying to pen her pain in my words as no writer can match her perfection, all can just try and that’s what I have done,” she said. “I hope this book will make all of us realize her pain and will reveal life to our young people,” she added.
Many people have translated Habba Khatoon’s poetry into English but no one to date has written something new, she said.
She said she dared to put Habba Khatoon’s way of writing and her theme in her original work which by no means is Habba Khatoon’s original poetry.
“I have written Zoon in English and not Kashmiri, though it is my step towards Kashmiri culture because as already discussed we all have walked very far from our roots. In case the book was written in Kashmiri, not even a handful of youth would have seen it. So to create a sense of knowledge about the youth, I wrote in English. If the book is liked, I believe 3 out of 10 will be persuaded towards taking interest in Kashmiri culture,” she said.
“Habba Khatoon was one of the persons to whom I was connected from my childhood,” she said.
Receiving three awards at this age is an achievement for Soliha.
“I am also writing other books to promote the Kashmir culture. In the past, I have been felicitated thrice, two among them are internationally recognized awards,” she added.