Henzey Vanvun

These hymns have always been an essential part of Kashmiri Pandit life. Sung only by the women of the community, the Henzey and Vanvun were an integral part of the two most joyous and sacred occasions in Kashmiri Pandit tradition — marriages and the Yagnopavit Sanskar, the sacred thread ceremony. As rituals were performed and prayers were offered, it was the women who filled the air with song — blessing the occasion, honoring their ancestors, and carrying forward the traditions passed down to them. These hymns are among the oldest songs of celebration and prayer in the Kashmiri language, kept alive for generations entirely through memory and voice.

The exodus of the Kashmiri Pandit community in 1990 and the years of displacement that followed put these hymns in grave danger. The elder women who knew these songs by heart grew fewer with each passing year. The joyful gatherings where these hymns were once sung became rare. A precious part of the community's heritage was slowly fading away.

This book is a response to that loss. Every hymn is written out in three scripts side by side — Roman transliteration, Devanagari, and Nastaleeq (Kashmiri Arabic) — so that people across the world can read and connect with these verses, whether they are scholars, members of the diaspora, or young Kashmiris discovering their roots for the first time.

Henzey Vanvun deeply connected with vedas is more than a book. It is an act of love — a way of ensuring that the oldest songs of the Kashmiri Pandit community are never lost again.