Srinagar, June 26 -- For many students in Kashmir, college feels like stepping into sunlight after years of living in the shade.

It is often described as the best phase of life, not because it is perfect, but because it carries something young people rarely find elsewhere: freedom.

School life in Kashmir is usually marked by a strict routine, heavy expectations, and limited space to make choices. Uniforms, assembly lines, tight schedules. But college opens a door.

Here, students pick their subjects. They move through their own timetables. They choose where to sit, whom to spend time with, which activities to join.

This freedom, though simple, feels precious. It gives students a sense of control in a place where much else feels out of ...