Thread by @Gowhar_

1. In Kashmiri, we have this term Gaenz Nass.

For those who don’t know the origins, GaenzKhod is a certain place in Srinagar which is famous for animal-hides.

2. So, naturally, that place stinks like anything. If you pass by that place, you can barely stand the smell then what about people living there?
There is this famous story that, one household there got a new daughter-in-law who complained about the smell.

3. During her initial days, she used to roam around covering her face which was a sight of embarrassment when her kith and kin visited her.
So, she took the matter into her own hands and regularly cleaned the place.

4. As the story goes, after some time, one of her relatives happened to visit her and she questioned her relative asking why he was covering his face because ever since she started to clean the place rigorously, it doesn’t stink anymore.

5. What actually happened was that place was stinking with the same zeal but her nose was now accustomed to the smell which made that guy reply back with, “Tse chai gaemech Gaenz Nass”- (It still stinks but) You have got their nose now.

6. One of the blessings of Allah is desensitization.
After a while, we get desensitized to many things. In order to save our brain from overloading with information, our neurons ignore many impulses.

7. Like, your skin feels the sensation of touch only when you wear the clothes for the first time, after that the brain treats it as a regular stimulus and therefore the sensory neurons stop acknowledging any further stimuli.

8. Same happens when we wear a new perfume, we can smell it for a while and after that only others can smell it while we can’t unless we force the shirt near our nose.

9. When something happens frequently, our brain stops giving it any importance because this is the new norm.

Same has happened to us when it comes to unnatural deaths in place of ours, we are so accustomed to the unnatural deaths that we no longer see this as something alarming

10. A few days ago, a guy killed himself and before killing himself he posted a video online blaming his death on the unpaid salary of his father.
His father has not received his salary for last two years, the financial strain led to mental strain and he collapsed.

11. I don’t know how he or his family must have sustained in this period.
Any family without a source of income for two years would be at their wits’ end.
We have barely seen this issue been taken up anywhere because this is the regular stimuli.

12. Since last couple of years, so many young people have died of heart attacks. Some of these deaths that are termed cardiac arrests are a result of drug overdose.
The youth is literally withering away while we are treating it as a new norm.

13. Waye Nakami! Mataa-e-Karwan Jata Raha
Karwan Ke Dil Se Ehsas-e-Ziyan Jata Raha

-Iqbal

How disappointing! The caravan’s wealth is gone
But what is more disappointing is that the feeling of loss is also gone

14. We are sinking into this stinking zone but the problem is that we have developed that GaenzNass.

It takes an outsider to remind us that we still stink.