By Aaqyb Ashraf

There was a time when Kashmir was called Peer Vear, the land of saints. People believed goodness was part of the air here, flowing through its markets and homes like the Jhelum through the valley. Courtesy shaped every interaction. Profit came after respect. That sense of moral grace once gave Kashmir its strength.

Today, that soul feels worn out. The change has not come overnight. It has crept into daily life, visible in how we speak, buy, sell, and treat one another. You can sense it in a simple exchange that should have been ordinary.

One September afternoon, I went to Maharaja Bazar in Srinagar to buy vegetables. The place was crowded, the air thick with the smell of coriander and chatter. Beside me stood an elderly man in a worn pheran, his face lined but calm. He pointed to a pile of beans and said to the vendor with........

© Kashmir Observer