Correction, June 13 -- The print edition of this story identified Mudabbir Ahmad Tak as the writer. It was co-written by Idrees Abbas.

It is a pleasant May morning. The air is light, the light is lustrous, and there is a soft, palliative sound of burbling water. Carrying traditional willow wicker baskets, people walk through the narrow lanes of Panzath village in south Kashmir's Kulgam district towards Panzath Nag-a network of natural springs whose waters accumulate in a glen to make it look like a small lake from afar.

The colour of the water is rust brown, covered with green algae, and it reeks. As the waters begin to shimmer under the first rays of the sun, the village slowly comes alive. Children play along the banks, elders exchang...