Tasting Kashmir's Forgotten Flavours with Om Prakash Sharma

He calls himself a student, yet Om Prakash Sharma has spent decades teaching Kashmir to see, taste, and care for its forests. I followed him, cooked with him, and discovered a hidden world of food, culture, and biodiversity.

- Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat

I have always loved cooking. Most people don't know this about me. I even keep a small kitchen in my office, where I chop, stir, and fry while friends hover, curious or hungry. But in the summer of 2015, my love for food met a forest I had barely noticed.

I accompanied Om Prakash Sharma, then Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, to the Basant Wodder forests near Doodh Pathri in Budgam. The morning air was sharp, scented with pine and earth, and sunlight slanted through the trees in golden streaks. We were marking World Environment Day with students and teachers, but I wasn't prepared for how profoundly the day would reshape my understanding of Kashmir.

Sharma ji moved among the plants as if each recognized him. He plucked a handful of Han'nd, letting its leaves fall into my palm, and spoke of Krech, Obej, Pamb Haakh, Lissa, and mushrooms like Paenz Unjgee. He described their taste, their nutritional value, the way villagers and shepherds used them.

I suggested a food festival to cook and serve these treasures. He nodded, calm but decisive, as if saying: we'll do it.

By August 2015, Sharma ji was Director of Environment, Ecology & Remote Sensing. We scouted Yusmarg, but logistics led us to Srinagar's Institute of Hotel Management.