Srinagar, Nov. 19 -- As downtown Srinagar sleeps under rising prices and scarce work, Mohammad Afzal Shah starts his day early, turning cooking into both craft and survival.

At twenty-seven, he carries the story of a generation balancing family pressure, unstable work, and the search for dignity in a city still adjusting to new economic realities.

His rise inside local kitchens speaks to a wider shift in Kashmir, where more young men now move toward service jobs as traditional livelihoods fade.

Afzal's interest in cooking grew in a modest home where his mother worked with limited ingredients and strong instinct.

"We didn't have much, but we had warmth," he says.

That warmth shaped him, even as the city around him changed year afte...