Kashmiri Influencer, Meanka Handu, "Dida", Shares the Power of Taking Pride in One's Culture & Heritage

“I am in love with my Kashmiri culture; I truly believe language is the back bone of any culture and needs to be preserved.” Today’s woman dreamer, Meanka Handu, known as “Dida”, teaches us the power of taking pride on one’s culture. Seeing the need to preserve the Kashmiri language and educate the next generation, she started her Youtube channel, “Asvun Koshur” (Smiling Kashmiri), which brings together an audience of thousands of Kashmiris around the world for her comedy and exciting content. Enjoy her inspiring story below.

1) Asvun Koshur-translates to a "smiling kashmiri". Tell us your story/what excited you to share your love of Kashmiri culture? 

I never had a plan! I am in love with my Kashmiri culture; I truly believe language is the back bone of any culture and needs to be preserved. It’s an open secret that our Kashmiri language is dying a silent death, kids are not encouraged to speak in Kashmiri in schools or even at home, so I started my YouTube channel titled “Asvun Koshur “in April 2017. My comedy is my humble attempt to preserve our Kashmiri language; which is so close to my heart. I make comic videos addressing social issues, taboos in Kashmiri language, this is an informal way to teach people their language. I use proverbs, old saying by our Sufi Saints & Rishis too. I try to address social issues, taboos in a comic style.

2) What are some of your favorite aspects of Kashmiri culture that you highlight in your work/are a part of your daily life?  

Everything! Food, language, attire, music, our Saints knows as Peers or Rishis, the composite culture , the fact that irrespective of our differences in opinions or religion, there is still something that binds us together, we may want to forget about it but can never ignore it and that is Kashmiri culture referred to as “Kashmiriyat” , yes it is not as relevant in today’ s date and time owing to the socio -political situation In our land but I wouldn’t say it’s all over yet ! I am a hopeless optimist! Talking about my videos, I talk about what is usually not spoken about or what people feel uncomfortable talking about , but I use humour to convey the message and I think I have been able to make a humble place in the hearts of people who understand Kashmiri language . The most recent that  I released was titled “Wo aaf ssay badi hai “ translates to “She is older than you “ where I spoke about the mental block that people have about marrying off their boys to girls ONLY younger than the boys! This is an issue in this part of the world, I have seen so many hearts being broken and relationships ending only because the girl was older and parents of the boy did not agree to them getting married . People relate to what I do, because I try to be the voice of the voiceless. Similarly , I have made videos on Drug abuse, body shamming , parental pressure on kids, health and hygiene etc . 

3) You have a vibrant Youtube channel as well. What types of videos do you do? How do you find inspiration for your videos?  Inspiration ! At the risk of sounding narcissistic- MYSELF ! haha I inspire “me”.

Dida is the central character of my comic videos, which I play myself. I play the role of a lady MUCH older than myself (!!), who is the mother of two kids Sheen (18yrs old ) and Nabad ( 16yrs old) . Sheen and Nabad don’t exist, not in my life atleast ! They are mere characters .Almost every older girl of a Kashmiri Pandit household is called Dida, it is also one of my nick names, I have 6 nick names! Interestingly, I am an action-oriented person, someone who believes in taking a practical action to deal with a problem or situation. My life and career have always been driven by a strong passion to support and bring about change. The issues that I address in my videos, are topics that should be spoken about.  For example, eve-teasing (cat calls and teasing girls), which I am sure every girl in our part of the world experiences on a daily basis BUT no one has talked about it as it’s considered normal ,all you get to hear is “boys will be boys” NO ! its bad parenting ! it needs to be addressed , hence my video! I have made a video on eve-teasing too ! I received a lot of hate on that video, I guess people don’t like to see their faces in the mirror! BUT that hasn’t stopped me! I am a very hard nut to crack in that sense.

4) You also recently launched an exciting project for kids. Tell us about that!

It is titled , Project Asvun Koshur- Zaan ( Asvun Koshur being the name of my channel/company & Zaan translates to "getting to know each other "). Project Asvun Koshur Zaan “ is an attempt to bring kids together from Kashmiri Pandit , Muslim & Sikh communities , kids will interact with an intention to understand our shared culture and spread positivity. The parents of the kids send me their entries over an email and that is how I gather the details of these participating children ( Age group - Grade 1-12th). I host these episodes on Sunday , on my Instagram page (live) and have two kids (one Hindu & other Muslim/Sikh) interact with each other . I help them learn about Kashmiri language. poets, artists , etc. I have already done two episodes , the third one will be recorded live on Sunday (21st Feb) . The response has been overwhelming from all three communities (Pandits, Muslims & Sikhs) .

5) As #Dreamcatchers, we have to ask, what is your next big dream? 

I would like it to grow. I would like to experiment more with what I do, may be do sketches in other languages likes Hindi and English to make MORE people laugh.

You can check out Meanka’s Videos here.

Bio: Meanka Handu, known as “Dida” by Kashmiris is an Information Technology Engineer by training (University of Mumbai ) and originally from Rainawari in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.  She left Kashmir valley in April 1990, when she was a child but never left her love for Kashmir, (Kashmiri) language and culture even during her residence and work outside Kashmir Valley all these years.” I have seen Kashmir though my parents’ eyes. They often narrated stories of our house, neighbourhood, their friends, festivals that they celebrated in Kashmir”. She belongs to typical and quintessential close knit “Koshur” family where every elder plays his and her role in shaping up the growth of a child. She credits her fluency in “Koshur” language to her family, especially parents, who encouraged her and ensured that their children always spoke in “Koshur “at home. 

She started a channel “Asvun Koshur “on YouTube in April 2017 ; released her first comic video with an intention to preserve “Kashmiri language” and spread cheer & laughter. It was soon followed by many more comic video monologues like “Masla-e- Shikar Shur, Zulumgaar Hash, Modern Koshur Khandar” etc which were appreciated by the Kashmiri speaking people across the globe.  Meanka was invited as a Celebrity guest to the  Kashmiri Version of Kan Banega Crorepati ). Her work has  featured in “Humans of Kashmir, Miraas-an academic journal, The Greater Kashmir, Kashmir Monitor, INS News, Kashmir Life, Telegraph National Daily, BBC Urdu and BIG FM 92.7 Srinagar,RED FM, Radio Mirchi (Times of India Group), Kashmir Observer et al. “Asvun Koshur” is now a registered company; envisages to encourage and allow its space to be utilized by artists, singers, writers, poets, artisans etc. to showcase their work thereby promoting Kashmiri culture.

Like Dida says “Stay Asvun “ ( Keep Smiling )

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