National

Outlook Talks | Writer - Filmmaker Priyanka Mattoo in Conversation with Assistant Editor Vineetha Mokkil

Priyanka Mattoo is a Kashmiri writer and filmmaker who lives in Los Angeles, USA. She was born in Srinagar and when violence escalated in 1989 during her childhood, she and her family fled from Kashmir. Since then, she has had a peripatetic existence spanning 32 home addresses across India, the UK, Saudi Arabia, and the US over 40 years. In her recently published memoir, ‘Bird Milk and Mosquito Bones’ (Penguin Random House India), she traces the pain of displacement, the joy of family and community, the delights of Kashmiri cuisine, and the resilience needed to rebuild home over and over again. Mattoo spoke to Outlook’s Vineetha Mokkil about her memoir, a moving and insightful account of her journey. It shares with readers her reflections on home and belonging, and her abiding love for Kashmir, where she spent many joyful moments with her parents and her large extended family.