Chillai Kalan kicks off today. 21st of December. Traditionally, this is when Kashmir braces itself. For snow. For silence. For white mornings and frozen evenings.

But step outside today and the valley feels baffled. No snow. No rain. Dry roads. Bare mountains. A sun that looks remorseful. And air that burns the lungs instead of numbing the skin.

This is not the Chillai Kalan we grew up with. Yes, the cold is there. But it is hollow. It carries dust, not snowflakes. Smog, not mist. Coughs echo more than laughter. Chest infections are replacing chilblains. Nebulisers are busier than heaters.

Hospitals feel it first. OPDs are full. Dry coughs that won’t settle. Asthma flaring without warning. Patients struggling, not from snowbound isolation, but from polluted air that refuses to clear. The irony is cruel. Winter is supposed to purify the air. Snow is nature’s disinfectant. It settles dust. It calms lungs. It quietens the land. However, this winter has arrived blank so far. See at our tourist destinations. Gulmarg looks uncovered. Pahalgam feels unfinished. Sonamarg waits like a........

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