Ghulam Mohammed Beigh, a 70-year-old sozni artisan from Zadibal, Srinagar has been embroidering Pashmina shawls from the last 40 years and continues to do so with his children to keep the glorious craft alive. Beigh grew up in a family of artisans, where his father, grandfather and uncles all were associated with Pashmina embroidery. Every...
80 year old Mir Abdul Majeed, of Kalai Andar area of the old city of Srinagar, is an award winning aari embroidery artist from Kashmir. Aari staple or hook-work is a common form of embroidery, taken to another level by master artisan Mir Abdul Majid with his landscape embroidered pieces. One of his landscape works...
Ghulam Rasool Sofi, aged 65,is probably one of the last few Kashmir’s staple artisans. Born into a lineage of artisans, he has dedicated his life to this handiwork. His craft has reached as far as Spain and America. However, he now feels that the onslaught of mechanised mass- produced goods has eroded the demand for handmade...
Copper vessels have been used traditionally in Kashmiri households for cooking and serving meals. Copperware known as Traam has been an indispensable commodity in Kashmir since ages. The household utensils include lota (pot), Tream (plate), naer (water jug), tash- naer (for washing hands), samovar for preparing tea, dishes, bowls,trays ,vessels, Lamp Shades and many more....
Maqbool Jan, an artist from Srinagar’s Lal Bazar area, has dedicated his life to perfecting the art of papier-mache. Over the years, he has won several State, National, and International Awards, including the prestigious UNESCO Seal of Excellence for Handicrafts in 2007-2008. From Mughal Mohalla in Lal Bazar, Srinagar, he was forced to learn the...
Nadru, or lotus stem, is a quintessential part of Kashmiri cuisine. The seeds are sown just once, and harvest is enjoyed for years. The harvesting season is between September and March when farmers spend all day on their boats, eating, praying and gathering the nadru from Dal Lake, and Anchar Lake in Srinagar, and Manasbal...
Locally made electric blankets are proving to be the best alternatives for traditional kangri and these blankets are in good demand in Kashmir, say manufacturers. These blankets are capable of heating an entire room within a few minutes while using minimal energy. These blankets not only provide an alternative to traditional kangri but also to...
Once considered a quintessential cultural element, Khanyari (Rainawari)Tiles were used in every traditional house of Kashmir to decorate the floors. In the past, the glazed tiles were made by a large community of artisans from Khanyar, Srinagar. At its peak, people in that Mohalla would make 50000 tiles a day, reduced to barely a 100....
The hammam has its origins in the bath houses of the Roman Empire, from where it travelled to Asia Minor and soon came to be known as the Turkish Bath, where it came to be known as hammam. Though these came to be associated with the Ottoman period, the first is said to have been...
Cockscomb (Celosia), a plant with fluffy edible leaves, is known in Kashmir as Mawal. It has been one of the essential ingredients of the Kashmiri cuisine – Wazwan. It was added in the Wazwan cuisine mostly to enhance its colour. However, with the passing of time, cockscomb was replaced by the synthetic food colours. However,...
