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About the Blog

‘Maatam phoul’ literally translated to a piece of candy, a phrase used colloquially in the day to day kashmiri life, is a tool of placation, a piece of candy that is placed in a child’s mouth, to put an immediate end to the chaos of crying, leaving the underlying cause unaddressed only for it to come bubbling up like a volcano at a more ominous time in the future. Maatam Phoul is reminder of the pieces of candy we use in our personal, familial, political and professional lives – an instantly gratifying sugar rush, which inevitably implodes of its own accord, decimating with itself, like a parasite, the host that houses it. The reason this blog found resonance in the phrase is because I, Rumpelstilstkin, have harnessed contrarianism to my advantage – reminding myself of what is at stake, and what not to be. To keep this maatam phoul within our vision, primary and peripheral – that is what this blog you have stumbled upon, is about. I welcome you.