Srinagar, May 21 -- Another houseboat slipped into the Jhelum this week.

Wood cracked, walls tilted, and decades of memory disappeared into dark water near the iconic Bund. People gathered on the banks, watched the structure sink, clicked photographs, and moved on.

Kashmir has started treating these incidents like routine accidents. That attitude may prove costlier than the collapse itself.

The sinking houseboat tells a larger story about the Jhelum and the slow disappearance of its cultural identity. Houseboats once gave the river a distinct life. Their carved balconies, wooden decks, flower pots and lamps turned the waters into living neighbourhoods. Jhelum breathed through them, tourists stopped to admire them, and locals recognised...