Tag: kashmir shawls

An Unfinished Shawl

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A master craftsman died within months after a British organisation was awarded for the intricate design he displayed at an exhibition. Years later, his elder brother decided to pick the complicated art of his brother and finished the job six years later. The very expensive shawl, however, is not on sale and is being retained by the family as an emotional and artistic reunion of the two brothers, reports Bilal Bahadur and Masarat Nabi
Kashmir’s shawl weaving is acknowledged globally. However, certain anecdotes revolving around some of the very special shawls are not in public knowledge. These stories could be as true with the shawls carrying the map of Srinagar city as it is true with certain complicated designs that were associated with certain master artisans. Recently, one such shawl made news for an interesting development.
An artisan known for his intricate design work died within months after he started working on a pattern and it was approved by a buyer for its intricate and very expensive design. He left the shawl half-finished as the death does not keep a calendar, unlike a work schedule. For a long time, nobody could touch the shawl. Finally, the family decided that they need to pick up the threads and complete it. It took years and last month the shawl was completed.
This is the story revolving around Shabir Ali Beigh, a master artisan known for his intricate patterns. In his lifetime, he made his presence felt within and outside Kashmir. He bagged all the awards at the state and national levels. Besides, he received the best of the best award at The Art in Action Award from Oxford University Press in 2007.
“His work was recognised by this award, in a competition where more than 3500 artisans from around the world had come to demonstrate their works,” his brother Mehboob Ali said. “Shabir Ali got the first prize for his Kani Sozni work.”
Within a few months after his return from London, Shabir Ali died. This left his work unfinished.
“One day, I received a call from the Arts and Action Museum asking for the shawl position, and I told them Shabir Ali was no longer alive,” Mehboob said with moist eyes. “They wanted me to give them the shawl cutting and his needle so that they could preserve it in their museum. I suggested they recognise my brother’s work and put his name and state on the (unfinished) shawl, but they didn’t agree. I refused to give them the unfinished work.”

It was after this acrimonious conversation with the British museum that Mehoob’s family decided to complete the unfinished work and make the award-winning design a complete story. It proved to be a challenging task.
“At first, I was unable to understand how my brother had worked on that shawl, but I did not give up,” Mehboob said. “It took me almost a year to understand how he had used the thread in designing the intricate pattern, and when I finally finished the shawl, I felt a great sense of accomplishment.”
Mehboob said it took him around 6 years to complete the shawl. “This was a huge work and this helped me understand the intricacies involved in the craft.”
This intricate and complicated-pattern Kashmir Shawl is an interesting masterpiece. Its design work won Kashmir Sozni artisan, Shabir Ali a major British competition and the product was supposed to go to the British museum. He had barely started to work on it when Shabir died leaving it unfinished. It was his elder brother, Mehboob Ali who put in his hard work and completed the work in six years. Once the wonder was ready, the family decided against selling it to the British Museum as they decided to retain it as a souvenir at home. KL Image: Bilal Bahadur
The Father
Now Mehboob is an extraordinary artisan. Living in Srinagar’s Zadibal, he speaks proudly of his craft and the inheritance of knowledge. He is a proud third-generation artisan.
His father, Ali Mohammad Beigh specialised in weaving pashmina shawls and mastered the art of sozni. This led him to get a number of honours. In 2006, he received the Shilp Guru Award for his work on ten samples of shawls. Conferred upon master craftspersons in recognition of their excellent craftsmanship, product excellence, and their roles as gurus in the continuance of crafts to other trainee artisans as a vital part of the traditional heritage of India, Shilp Guru Awards was given to him by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar in 2002. Given as part of the Golden Jubilee of the resurgence of handicrafts in India, the award carried a gold coin, Rs 2 lakh prize money, a tamrapatra, a shawl, and a certificate. A respected artisan, he won the state award in 1984 and the national award in 1992.
The Sons
While mastering the art, Ali Mohammad passed down his knowledge to his two sons, Mehboob Ali and Shabir Ali. They improved upon the knowledge and experience they inherited and also aged all the awards.
Mehboob, for instance, received three state awards in 1987, 1988, and 1989. In 1996, he got national awards for his work on a Jamawar shawl and another national award for Sozni in 1997.
Working diligently, Mehboob has achieved a level of mastery and is being considered matchless among his peers. “We are illiterate, but this art has given us everything – pride, dignity, and a sense of accomplishment,” Mehboob said. “Our work keeps us so engrossed and busy that we don’t get time to think about other things.”
Apart from finishing a challenging work that his brother left unfinished, Mehbooba has his own anecdotes. “The index finger of my left hand has a visible mark developed by needle pricks while embellishing the shawls,” he said. “This is the occupational hazard so no regrets.”
Beighs have dedicated their entire life to Sozni embroidery. That is why, despite Shabir Ali’s absence, Mehboob’s passion and commitment to this craft never fade; they are not just working to earn a living but also working to keep the craft alive and vibrant. This art form has given them a sense of purpose and a source of pride. Mehboob hopes to pass down the knowledge to the next generation, almost following in the footsteps of his father.
By the way, Mehboob has decided not to give the Shawl to the British museum. He intends to retain it as the memory of his brother and not sell it. He said he is getting buyers for the product but will not sell it. Money apart, it is an emotional product that links him with his dead brother.
A Regret
Shabir left two sons behind – the elder one is a seventh-class student and the younger one is in the third primary. Mehboob is taking care of his brother’s family. He regrets that the system is cruel and inhuman. “If a government employee passes away, he still gets some kind of help,” Mehboob said. “What about us? We may not require financial help but at least somebody could have come to condole the death, a loss that was primarily ours but the art belonged to all of us and we had lost a major artisan.”
Mehboob Ali Beigh is a master Sozani artisan. He works on complicated designs and works with 300 artisans within and outside Srinagar. However, he sees the unfished work of his late brother, Shabir Ali as a perfect masterpiece. KL Image: Bilal Bahadur
Mehboob regrets that the system is not sympathetic towards the artisan community. “Nobody looked towards the handicrafts during the two years of Covid19. It is my God that kept the families intact,” Mehboob said. “When the sales fell flat, we devised products for local consumption involving bag sewing and papier machie boxing for the weddings and that is how we could survive those two years for the meals.”
New Trend
The Covid19, he said, despite being trying proved a blessing in disguise. “After a very long time, the local market revived and now people are acquiring the Pashmina and Jamawar shawls the same way they acquire gold. This is a new trend that is on the surge. This trend is now a major source of income to the handicraft artisans,” Mehboob said. “People find the value of precious shawls almost like gold.”
Mehboob said he has been telling his family clients that he is willing to acquire all the kani shawls and Jamawal shawls at a cost higher than they paid when they bought them 20 or 30 years ago. “If somebody had purchased a shawl for Rs 50,000 from us, say 30 years ago, used it for all these years, I am willing to pay more to get it back,” Mehboob said, insisting he purchased a few. “This has led people to make comparisons between a Kani or a Jamawar shawl with the gold. People purchase gold and when they require money, they sell it but the buyer deducts some money. In the case of shawls – as long as they do not have damage, I do not deduct anything and instead, I pay more.”
Mehboob said he works with more than 300 artisans within and outside Srinagar and almost 25-30 artisans come to his workshop and work there in the daytime. “We are in Sozni and we work on any kind of material – sarees, pashmina, semi-pashmina, pherans and crewel and this is helping us keep our worker network busy, Mehbbob said. “The stress is there in the market but we are finding ways and eams to keep the workforce engaged.” He, however, asserted that the surge in the local market, especially during the wedding season, has emerged as a major support base for the artisans.
Content with the work he is doing, Mehboob said the new generation in the family is studying but it is unlikely that they will desert the sector. “Our children study, and get degrees but come back to the craft that we have inherited,” Mehoob said. “This is a craft that has been given to us by spiritual personalities and that is how we make best of the life even in challenging situations. We will live by the needlework, come what may.”

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( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

March 15, 2023
Kashmir’s Naqashi Printers

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Even though modernity has overtaken the traditional arts associated with handicrafts, some specialities survived the onslaught. Mir Suneem reports the maze where a neglected art form is battling for survival
Ghulam Nabi Wani, an aged Naqash artists working on wood in a dim-lit workshop at his Safa Kadal residence in Srinagar. KL Image Mir Suneem
On a cold winter morning, an old feeble man sits in a small shack separated from his main house by a stretch of garden area at Safa Kadal’s Malik Sahib Chai Dub. His eyes do not lose focus as he works diligently on a small wooden block, contriving designs on it using a gouge and a tapping tool.
The shack converted into a workshop is lit by a high-voltage bulb placed just near the working area for more visibility. Stuffed with tools, equipment, wooden blocks, paper designs and a long table, it hardly provides any space for another person to sit in it.
Ghulam Nabi Wani, a septuagenarian has been carving designs for more than 50 years along with his elder brother Ghulam Ahmad Wani who died several years ago. He carves intricate and sophisticated designs on walnut lumber that are later used by design printers, commonly known as Naqashs for printing Shawls and other clothing items.
In Main City
The art of Naqsh carving is more prominent in Srinagar’s Shehr-e-Khas, the main city. A general belief is that master artisans share this art with their children and do not teach anyone outside their kinship. However, only a few names are presently involved in this business and Ghulam Nabi Wani is one of them.
Belonging to a family of artists with his father doing Tilla work all his life, Wani naturally had an inclination towards arts and crafts. This paved the way to pick woodcarving as his art form and later followed the footsteps of his brothers and established himself as a master carving artist.

“I receive a number of patterns and designs made on butter paper from various Naqashs and whittle a block of wood accordingly to attain that design,” Wani said. “It is a very fine craft and requires skill, patience and immense hard work.”
Most of the designs are convoluted and are meant primarily for Shawl embroidery. “These can only be carved on blocks of walnut wood as no other type can bare the entire treatment and could lose firmness,” Asserts Wani. “Blocks of various measurements are cut from walnut lumber and seasoned and as soon as they are dry, different designs are carved out on them according to the actual designs received on paper using various tools. Then oil is applied to let the blocks set. It is not an easy job and demands a lot of time and concentration.”
Wani believes that art is a secret that everyone cannot unravel. Only those who are passionate can learn it and pass it forward to other generations. “I have taught my son too who is currently also indulged in the handicraft business and I wish him to carry forward my legacy in the future.” He said he is open to teaching anyone but the current generation is impatient and not passionate enough to utilize their time to learn this art.
Reduced Numbers
Other than Wani, only a few people know and practice this art currently. Mohammad Shafi Punjabi who lives in Srinagar’s Rajouri Kadal has been drawing and carving designs himself ever since he grew up but for the last few years, he has not been able to continue this work due to old age and illness.
The conditions in which Kashmir Naqash artisans work in Srinagar. KL Image: Mir Suneem
“Shafi has worked as a prominent and noticeable Naqash for many decades and a number of printers and other Naqashs used to visit him and buy his designs but now due to his illness, he is bed-ridden and no longer does this job,” said Shafi’s wife.
She said that all their children are well educated and settled in their jobs and businesses and none of them has taken up their father’s craft and doesn’t even desire to do so. “It demands a lot of hard work and time and despite that, the income is too meagre that my children decided to do something else for a better living.”
Apart from Shafi’s children, there are many others who dropped the idea of continuing their generation-old craft of Naqashi and chose business or some other job over it.
“There are many factors responsible for pushing this art towards death,” said Zafar Ahmad Ashai, a Naqash (imprinter) from Lalbazar. “One of these is the age-old tradition of keeping the art in the family and not giving it away, and the other reason is the reluctance of new generation kids to learn or pursue this craft as it demands a lot of time and effort with minimal benefits.”
Zafar, originally from Aalikadal learned to print the designs on Shawls and other garments from his elder brother, Mohammad Ashraf Ashai and it has been more than 40 years since he picked the art. He owns a workshop at Srinagar’s Aalikadal where he works along with a few of his employees.
He said even he doesn’t want his children to do Shawl printing when they grow up. “It is a tough and messy job. You have to handle ink and stay in pungent workshops for hours. My children have no interest in this and they are studying in order to do better jobs in the future,” he said.
While talking about the state of this art a few decades earlier when most areas of downtown Srinagar had Naqsh carvers and printers in abundance, Zafar recalls this huge building with ancient architecture that stood between tiny alleys of Maharaj Gunj and was turned into a Naqash workshop by Ghulam Qadir Naqash of Zoonimar who used to draw and carve designs and his brother Ghulam Nabi Naqash who used to print along with many other employees.
“It was the most renowned printing place in those times. The imprinters there used to print hundreds of shawls every day and it was always crowded with handicraft artists and other people who used to visit the place to drop their orders,” Zafar said. “However, several years ago with the death of one of the owners of the workshop and some other unknown reasons, it was closed and the building stays there completely abandoned. People from far away areas still come asking for this once so popular Naqash workshop which doesn’t exist anymore.”
Printing Addresses
On one hand, where Naqsh carvers or designers are going down in number, there are some age-old Naqash workshops that still run successfully in several areas of the city. These are basically just printing places where imprinters from various places of Kashmir regardless of their family jobs work as employees.
A Naqash workshop is wontedly a big dark room with a pungent reek inside it where imprinters work tirelessly to meet their orders. Their grubby and calloused hands are stained with ink and adhesive while they use their bare hands to apply it on patterned blocks to print impressions on Shawls.
Apart from printing various designs on Pashmina, Count and other types of Shawls and stoles, some imprinters also print Sarees, Suits, Pherans, Cushion covers, Ponchos and other garments using various types of designs blocks meant for Sozni, Aari, Tilla work or any other handicraft.
The imprinters mainly have their workshops in Kawdara, Rajouri Kadal, Naid Kadal, Bohri Kadal, Safa Kadal, Nowhatta and other places of Srinagar. However, it is not necessary that the imprinters belong to the same area. There are many who belong to areas outside Srinagar.
Phalguru’s Initiative
One of the workshops Shahnawaz Naqash House was established some 40 years back by an eminent Sozni artist, Habibullah Phalguru who used to draw his own designs on butter paper and send them out for carving on walnut wood. He made the workshop along with his son Shahnawaz Phalguru near his house at Naid Kadal to expand his field of work.
Presently, Shahnawaz works as a businessman and has employed several imprinters to run the workshop. According to him, imprinters don’t have to belong to a particular community or region to take up this field. It is laborious and one who decides to learn and practice it can pursue this job easily.
“I am working here for the last 18 years,” Parvez Ahmad, one of his employees from Pampore said. “None of my family members had any association with any kind of art form but I came here to learn it and now as I have gained expertise in this work, I can teach others too.”
“When the design made on a walnut wood block comes to the printer, he uses it to print all items by applying ink to it. This is no ordinary ink. It is made by the imprinter himself by adding Saresh (a kind of adhesive) to the boiling water. Then its steam is used to moisten the ink they get from the market (which is usually black or white or sometimes blue). This ink is basically carbon or zinc. Earlier, the hay that was collected around chimneys and fireplaces was used as ink. The ink is applied on hand and tapped on the block. Then its impression is pressed on a shawl or any cloth,” explains Parvez.
He said that a design block doesn’t last for very long. The design fades with time and then it is of no use and needs to be re-carved.
The Naqash House
Another huge workshop, Hassan Naqash House lies in the Aalikadal area of Srinagar. Currently run by Showkat Ahmad Naqash,52, it was actually established by his father Ghulam Hassan Naqash who died eight years ago. Hassan used to make and carve designs himself and Showkat still uses the same designs to print Shawls.
“I don’t need to buy new designs from anyone. I still use my father’s designs and get them re-carved once they are weary and non-functional but unfortunately, not more than four designers or carvers are left in Kashmir now,” said Showkat.
He said he studied up to matriculation and then joined his father. Currently, he has several employees working alongside him. However, his children have no plans to get into this field.
It is evident that the arrival of machines into the handicraft industry has affected the artists badly but such a thing has not intervened in the real Naqash world yet. Apart from this, no non-Kashmiri has been able to get into this field so far as it requires a good hand in the craft.
“In some places, people use trace paper for printing but it is not preferred much as it comes with its share of disadvantages. This method is usually used in Tilla work and other related works where it could be concealed with embroidery but not in the case of Shawls and Sozni (needle-art),” said Showkat.
He said that trace paper printing is cheaper and kerosene is used in the process which may lead to many issues. Also, the ink is permanent and cannot be washed away easily.
“Such technique is mostly used outside Srinagar in villages such as Makhama, Beerwa and other places and now it is gradually taking over as only few wood carvers are left to dig into the wood to make designs.”
In the Noorbagh area of Srinagar, there are around 15 trace designers and many non-Kashmiri artisans work there but according to the practising Naqashs, trace printing has no comparison with handmade designing and poses many health risks due to the use of kerosene in it.

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( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

March 9, 2023
QR Code, GI Labelling Push Kashmir Handicrafts Exports Touch Rs 729 Cr In Nine Months

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by Masood Hussain
SRINAGAR: Kashmir’s handicraft basket will now have a Quick Response (QR) code alongside the GI labelling. This is part of the serious effort by the Jammu and Kashmir government to improve buyer confidence and adequately promote handmade works. The initiative aimed at fair trade practice is taking place at a time when the handicraft sector is exhibiting a strong revival with exports in the last nine months crossing Rs 729 crore, for the first time after 2019.
Now, 13 Kashmir crafts including six handicrafts already having GI will have distinct QR codes. These include Kashmir Pashmina, Kashmir Sozni, Kani Shawl, Kashmir Walnut Wood Carving, Kashmir Papier Machie and Khatamband. In the case of Kashmir Pashmina’s GI labelling has been redeveloped and has been integrated with the QR-Code certification module, Director Handicrafts and Handlooms, Mehmood Ahmad said.
Kashmir carpet already has a QR code along with the GI labelling. It was launched by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on February 10, 2022.
The GI certification ensures the buyer that the product is produced only in a particular geographical location and no manufacturer other than those recognized by the registration may claim to produce or sell the same by the name specified under the registration. The QR code gives the buyer the facility to use his cell phone and locate the craftsman or the institution that made the product for further satisfaction of its genuineness.
Jammu and Kashmir started GI coverage for its craft basket in 2007. So far, it has GI certification available for seven crafts: Kashmir Pashmina, Kashmir Sozni, Kani Shawl, Papier Machie, Khatamband, Kashmir Walnut Wood Carving and Kashmir Hand-knotted Carpet.
For issuing the GI label for Kashmir Pashmina, Jammu and Kashmir government established Craft Development Institute (CDI) in 2013 where the Assistance to State for Infrastructure Development of Exports (ASIDE) assisted Pashmina Testing and Quality Certification Centre (PTQCC) tests the products for its genuineness. “So far, it has certified and labelled more than 16,000 genuine Kashmir Pashmina products and has also conducted 1900 Non-GI tests to ascertain the genuineness of various Non-GI handicraft products,” Ahmad said. “In 2022, the demand for labelling at the centre increased by 1100 per cent.”

Ahmad said it is helping the product in competing with rivals across the world. In the case of carpets, the dual certification – the GI label and user-friendly QR code have restored consumer confidence hugely. “Till February 2022, we have certified and labelled 6000 carpets,” Ahmad said.
The data of carpet export exhibits an upward trend. In the last nine months of fiscal 2022 ending December 31, Kashmir exported carpets worth Rs 212.23 crore. This is expected to mark a return from the sluggish exports that Kashmir carpet witnessed from 2017-18 when carpets worth Rs 452.12 crore were sold. The carpet exports were of the order of Rs 353.63 crore in 2018-19; Rs 395.78 crore in 2019-20; Rs 299.56 crore in 2020-21and Rs 251.06 crore in 2021-22. With three months more to go, 2022-23 may have a better export tally in carpets. Kashmir carpets are the major part of the handicrafts sale from the valley making slightly less than half of the overall turnover.
The handicrafts and handlooms department believes that the distinct QR-coding will help address the deficit that Kashmir crafts have inherited as it avoided implementing the new fair-trade practices. Interestingly the QR-coding is available for products which do not fall in the GI-certified basket.
“For the convenience of the artisans, traders and exporters, we have heat application secured fusion labels or fabric-based non-tearable, waterproof labels which can be stitched on the product based upon the liking of the customer,” Ahmad said. “The newly introduced QR-Code-based labels are secure tampered proof labels with invisible UV and Micro-Text, heatproof (25 F to 140 F) and shall work on all smooth and rough surfaces.”
The QR codes are available for genuine handmade crafts under the non-GI category like Copperware, Willow Wicker, Silverware, Filigree and some other items.
These interventions are taking place at a time when the Kashmir handicraft sector is witnessing an improved turnover as the exports are showing an upswing. The global markets are recession hit and Covid19 has been a key role in it.
Data suggest that in the first three quarters of the current fiscal ending December 31, 2022, the overall exports of Kashmir handicrafts were at Rs 728.99 crore. This is much improved in comparison to the overall exports of Rs 563.13 in 2021-22 and Rs 635.52 crore in 2020-21. The handicraft exports were at Rs 1090.12 crore in 2017-18 and Rs 917.93 in 20180-19. Kashmir remained under lock and key since 2019 summer, a situation that was extended by the Covid19 pandemic.
Now the government is working to add ten more crafts in the GI listing. The mandatory dossiers have already been submitted to the GI registry at Chennai. These crafts are Kashmir Namda, Wagguv, Shikara, Gabba, Kashmiri Willow Bats, Crewel, Chain Stitch, Tweed, Basohli Paintings and Chikri Wood. Some of these items have already access to QR-code labelling.

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( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )

January 29, 2023