I was not born in Kashmir – I was born to it.

My parents moved out in the early 70’s, but the Valley lived in our stories, our food and our celebrations. The connection with Kashmir was built over countless summer holidays at my matamaal where our belonging quietly took root between the mountain air and family bonding.

This bond deepened when my wife, born and brought up in Kashmir, and I visited again in 2013. The devastating 2014 floods saw us rush back, not just to help but to reconnect with our roots. Amid the chaos, we realized something more powerful: our genes were navigating us home.

Walking the corporate corridors across India, I would often ask colleagues in disbelief, “You’ve never been to Kashmir?!” Over time, this became a running joke. Friends fondly called me “The Kashmir Travel Desk”. I would plan their itineraries, suggest stays and even escort them, delighted, in my own small way, I was helping people discover a paradise too often misunderstood. A sherpa to the soul of Kashmir!

Brand Bloodied Again.

For the past few years, the bounce was back in the valley, hotels and homestays were outselling capacity, the flights were packed and if you were lucky or knew someone a taxi was made available. Young entrepreneurs jumped onto the happy bandwagon, entering the ecosystem with passion and pride. Kashmir had found its rhythm of hope in a somewhat chaotic new dawn.

That afternoon in April shattered this new narrative. The Pahalgam attack was not just a human tragedy it was an assault on the fragile confidence that had finally allowed Kashmir to rise again. The bullets did not just kill 26 innocent people, they wounded the idea of Kashmir itself........

© Greater Kashmir