Akash Dhar (second from left), with his restaurant team LANGATE (KUPWARA): At the centre of Langate’s main market in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district stands a brightly lit restaurant with modern decor and eight neatly arranged tables. In one corner, 29-year-old Akash Dhar welcomes customers with a smile. His eyes remain open though he cannot see.Two weeks ago, Dhar – whose Kashmiri Pandit family had migrated from J&K as violence peaked in the 1990s – tentatively opened ‘Taste and Treats’ restaurant.However, he was hardly ready for the response he would receive from the local community. “It has been incredible,” he beamed.”My landlord, Bashir Ahmad Beigh, won’t take any rent from me and customers are trooping in,” he told TOI.Starting a business back in Kupwara “felt like a natural step”, said Dhar, who had made several attempts to qualify for the civil services but couldn’t.‘We want eatery to do well and hope this will encourage other Kashmiri migrants to return’After all, his mother Chandra Dhar is from Handwara, about 4km from Langate, and his father Ashish Dhar is a “Langate native”.The family left for Jammu three decades ago where Dhar was born in a migrant colony.Dhar’s vision began deteriorating when he was a child. His parents took him to Delhi, where doctors diagnosed him with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative genetic eye disease that typically begins with night blindness, eventually leading to total blindness.His younger sister has the same condition. Both, however, pursued higher education. Akash graduated from University of Jammu and completed professional computer courses in Delhi. His sibling is studying music. An accomplished cricketer, Dhar represented the J&K blind cricket team in 2022.“It seems like this (the restaurant) is what I had always been waiting for,” Dhar said, as one of his employees, 22-year-old Yasir Aamir, nodded approvingly. “A neighbour told me about this restaurant,” Aamir said. “I applied for the job and got it. I am happy, so is my family.”The restaurant’s manager, Irfan Ahmad Lone, is upbeat. “We are getting customers from different areas,” Lone said. “Yesterday we had guests from Ganderbal. There were Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits. Some came from Srinagar too.”Latief Ahmad Ganai (30), president of the local market association, thinks so too. “We all want Taste and Treats to do well,” Ganai said.“We hope this will encourage other Kashmiri migrants to return.”Get the latest India news and live updates. Download the TOI App.End of ArticleFollow Us On Social MediaVideosBig Setback To Mamata Banerjee As Loyalist Anubrata Mandal Joins Ritabrata-Led Rebel CampOperation Lotus In Kashmir? CM Omar Abdullah Claims BJP Offered NC MLAs Rs 20-30 Crore In JammuSIA Kashmir Secures Interpol Red Corner Notice Against Hizbul Terrorist KandooWhat India Gained From PM Modi’s New Zealand Visit: Defence, Trade, Indo-Pacific & More15 Indian Tourists Confirmed Dead As Speedboat Capsizes Off Vietnam’s Phu Quoc IslandSonam Wangchuk Rejects ‘Modern Gandhi’ Label As Hunger Strike Enters Fourteenth Day In DelhiSupriya Sule Dismisses Pawar-Shinde Meeting Row, Calls It A ‘Storm In A Tea Cup’ Amid SpeculationINS Mahendragiri Joins Indian Navy, Boosting Maritime Power Amid Indo-Pacific Challenges | WatchHighway Blocked, Resignations Threatened As BJP Faces Backlash Over Ticket Choice In MPNEET Paper Leak Traced To Contracted Paper Setters, Charge Sheet Likely This Month | Watch123PhotostoriesWhy India is facing a diabetes explosion: Stanford’s top 2% scientist reveals the hidden reasons Indians develop it younger than the rest of the worldFrom Priyanka Chopra to Ananya Panday: 5 best Wimbledon looks ever worn by Indian celebritiesChristopher Nolan’s best films to watch, ahead of ‘The Odyssey’: From ‘Oppenheimer’ to ‘Memento’10 foods that quietly contain too much saltWHO warns global cancer cases could nearly double by 2050; lifestyle changes, pollution and delayed diagnosis are fueling the riseAnkur Warikoo’s viral post on love after 20 years of marriage is striking a chord online10 foods that originated in India but became famous around the worldAlia Bhatt elevates a classic silk saree with modern draping at Akansha Ranjan Kapoor’s wedding festivitiesStylish Shubman Gill joins Anjali Sachin Tendulkar at Wimbledon 2026; fans ask, ‘Where is Sara?’World’s 10 most populous cities in 2026 every traveller should know123Hot PicksTravis Kelce and Taylor SwiftBlake LivelyAlex OvechkinJayden Adams DeathAlex PereiraJayden Adams Net WorthNico HischierStrait of HormuzSimone BilesTop TrendingWilliam NylanderVietnam Boat AccidentTelangana Techie Wife MurderFIFA World Cup 2026Chhattisgarh Student MurderTS EAMCET Phase 1 seat allotmentRamesh MhatreDelhi NCR rainGurgaon EncounterIran war
LANGATE (KUPWARA): At the centre of Langate’s main market in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district stands a brightly lit restaurant with modern decor and eight neatly arranged tables. In one corner, 29-year-old Akash Dhar welcomes customers with a smile. His eyes remain open though he cannot see.Two weeks ago, Dhar – whose Kashmiri Pandit family had migrated from J&K as violence peaked in the 1990s – tentatively opened ‘Taste and Treats’ restaurant.However, he was hardly ready for the response he would receive from the local community. “It has been incredible,” he beamed.“My landlord, Bashir Ahmad Beigh, won’t take any rent from me and customers are trooping in,” he told TOI.Starting a business back in Kupwara “felt like a natural step”, said Dhar, who had made several attempts to qualify for the civil services but couldn’t.
‘We want eatery to do well and hope this will encourage other Kashmiri migrants to return’
After all, his mother Chandra Dhar is from Handwara, about 4km from Langate, and his father Ashish Dhar is a “Langate native”.The family left for Jammu three decades ago where Dhar was born in a migrant colony.Dhar’s vision began deteriorating when he was a child. His parents took him to Delhi, where doctors diagnosed him with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative genetic eye disease that typically begins with night blindness, eventually leading to total blindness.His younger sister has the same condition. Both, however, pursued higher education. Akash graduated from University of Jammu and completed professional computer courses in Delhi. His sibling is studying music. An accomplished cricketer, Dhar represented the J&K blind cricket team in 2022.“It seems like this (the restaurant) is what I had always been waiting for,” Dhar said, as one of his employees, 22-year-old Yasir Aamir, nodded approvingly. “A neighbour told me about this restaurant,” Aamir said. “I applied for the job and got it. I am happy, so is my family.”The restaurant’s manager, Irfan Ahmad Lone, is upbeat. “We are getting customers from different areas,” Lone said. “Yesterday we had guests from Ganderbal. There were Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits. Some came from Srinagar too.”Latief Ahmad Ganai (30), president of the local market association, thinks so too. “We all want Taste and Treats to do well,” Ganai said.“We hope this will encourage other Kashmiri migrants to return.”
