As the cold bites harder, old city’s alchemist shops are seeing a surge. Their shelves overflow with mullein, quince seeds, lavender and nettle. Elders wander in, warm up by the bukhari and ask for herbs they’ve always relied on. The crowds say a lot about the shift in how Kashmiris think about wellness.

People in the valley are tired of taking too many pills. Over-medication has become common. Families keep antibiotics at home as if they were tea bags. Many complain of feeling dull and uneasy after days of winter medicines. Doctors say this habit can make people more vulnerable. In that atmosphere, herbs feel gentle, and familiar.

Elder Kashmiris always say the cold never scared them. What mattered was preparing for winter. And herbs were part of that preparation. Quince seeds went into morning tea. Mullein helped calm coughs. Ginger and cinnamon warmed the body. Every home had its own mix. 

Then pharmacies spread, syrups arrived, and the younger generation drifted away from these older practices.

Now the tide seems to be turning. The shift is about trust and balance instead of nostalgia. And young Kashmiri entrepreneurs are playing a real role. 

Over the last few years, several small herbal startups have come up across the valley. They buy mullein from foragers in Ganderbal, lavender from Pulwama farms and rosehip from Budgam orchards. Sea buckthorn comes from Ladakh. They dry the plants on rooftops, pack them in simple studios and ship them to homes and wellness stores across India. 

Some even add small amounts of gucchi, the wild morel that appears for just four to six weeks between early April and mid-May, when the snow melts in high-altitude forests.

Kashmir is naturally suited for this. The Himalayas are rich in healing plants and the valley’s altitude gives strong flavour and natural oils to herbs. Scientists at Sher-e-Kashmir University have mapped several species with proven benefits. Lavender fields are expanding. Mullein tea has become popular during Srinagar’s pollution-heavy winters. Sea buckthorn is entering juices, balms and capsules.

Despite this herbal comeback, there are challenges. Climate change is pushing some plants to flower earlier. Overharvesting can be a problem in some forests. Young startups struggle with packaging costs and transport. Even so, the direction feels promising.

Every winter, when an elder in old Srinagar walks home with a small paper packet of herbs, it says Kashmir’s path to better health may still rest in the same plants that once helped people survive the cold.