Downtown Chef Feeding Community Spirit

Amid rising expenses and unstable work, the life of a young downtown cook captures the struggle and drive of Kashmir’s new workforce.

- Gowher Bhat

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 after year.

He entered the workforce early. He drove a commercial vehicle on the Lal Chowk to Soura route, waking up before traffic filled the roads. The income covered basic groceries.

He later worked as an office assistant in a small football club, handling everything from paperwork to heavy lifting.

Many young Kashmiris move through similar jobs today, searching for stability in a job market that shifts with each season.

The turning point in Afzal's life arrived inside a small Srinagar eatery.