Kashmir’s new cafés love to serve kahwa in curated cups with almond flakes and bright lights in the background. The drink looks beautiful in photos. It tastes fine too. Still, something feels different. Kahwa once belonged to living rooms, late-night conversations, and long winters. Today it has turned into a trend.

Kashmiri culture is becoming an accessory. Things that once sat in homes and shrines now sit in Instagram corners. The copper samovar is a prop. The pheran is a fashion piece. Folk music plays through speakers in cafés where hardly anyone understands the lyrics. Even handmade carpets appear on walls only for colour and not for meaning.

This shift has created a new image economy. Local businesses know that culture sells. Tourism numbers crossed two million visitors in 2024, an

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