The Tiger Lilly Ladies: A Memoir of Kashmir by Sudha Koul. This is an autobiography of a member of a Hindu Kashmiri family living in the most beautiful valley on Earth. Like Nehru and his daughter Indira Gandhi, the author is a pandit. The story spans three generations; the grandparents, the parents and the author and her husband. In Kashmir it is a hard life but an idyllic one. The peace and harmony with the Muslim neighbours is emphasised in the early part of the book. The author goes to convent school and is educated by the nuns but she does not follow her family tradition of becoming a professor in English at university. She trains to become a magistrate and as such she is the first woman on the circuit. She comments that her job is a continuation of the British administration. During this time foreigners from Afghanistan and Pakistan settle in Kashmir. They stir up trouble and come into conflict with the Indian administration. Her mother endeavours to arrange a marriage for the author and gathers her trousseau. By this time she is 25 years of age and most of her friends are already married. However, just at this time she meets a Kashmiri who has been living in the United States for several years and it happens very quickly. Soon she is married and off to a new life in the United States. By this time the pressures on the family in Kashmir have become too great and they move to New Delhi. On moving to the United States the author begins a life of exile and loneliness. Her two daughters grow up as Americans. Although she makes visits to her family in New Delhi, for the daughters it is different because “they do not have their roots in Kashmir.” Interestingly, she notes that while the marriages of her daughters’ friends’ parents fall apart, hers is as strong as ever. Towards the end of her story, it appears that Hindus are moving back to Kashmir and are able to claim heir former homes. Perhaps tourists will soon be able to follow.