Intra-Action of Objects as Symbols of Cultural Heritage in Mirza Waheed's The Book of Gold Leaves

Abstract

This article analyzes the intra-active dynamics between human experience and material culture in Mirza Waheed's novel, The Book of Gold Leaves (2014) with particular focus on the role of objects and spaces in the constitution of cultural meaning. With Karen Barad's Agential realism theory, this study examines how cultural artifacts like papier-mâché, karaqul, 'Falaknuma,' chinar leaves, pheran, and monolithic buildings like Shankaracharya and Pari Mahal impact memory, identity, and cultural continuity in Waheed's novel. They are not mere objects; they are embodiments of history, family origin, and religiosity and show how human feelings, history, and geography actively participate in the cultural heritage. At a broader level, the story itself, as a work of cultural heritage, is an act of artistic preservation since it keeps the textures of Kashmiri culture such as its art, language, and rituals alive in the midst of erasure and overwriting.