India-Pakistan conflict: Clinging to the rhythms of a normalcy

Local residents looking at the Indian side of Kashmir from a tourists point in Karen, in the Neelum Valley near on the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides the disputed region of Kashmir, some 93km from Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-controlled Kashmir on May 1. — AP

EIGHTY years ago this month, the Germans surrendered unconditionally to the Allied Forces. 

On May 4, King Charles of England began a four-day commemoration of that event. It seemed like an ironic anniversary celebration from the perspective of South Asia where we were poised on the brink of a large-scale war between India and Pakistan.