From the amusing trinket to a collector's item, you'll find it all in Srinagar.
Row upon row of shops filled with handicrafts line the streets. The array is awesome.
There are objects to suit every pocket, for the variety within each craft is wide.
While top-of-the-line products cater to the discerning, some handicrafts cater
to the buyers with a modest budget. To the uninitiated, the difference between
two shawls may be negligible and hardly worth the enormous disparity in price.
However, the dealer knows exactly what he has in his showroom, knows how much
skill, labour and material has gone into its fabrication, and so accordingly structures
the price.
Kashmiri handicrafts are prized everywhere for their exquisite craftsmanship.
Kashmir carpets, in both wool and silk with their Persian design, are a lifetime
investment and the shoppers’ selection range from the simple to the most
extraordinarily intricate patterns handed down the generations.
Then there are papier-mâché items ranging from jewellery boxes to
mirror frames, a range of intricately carved walnut wood furniture and accessories,
stone jewellery boxes, beautiful woollen shawls, crewel embroidery on furnishing
material sold by the meter and more. Carpets
A carpet may well be the most expensive purchase from your trip to Kashmir but
it is a lifelong investment. Kashmiri carpets are known the world over for two
things - they are handmade, never machine made, and they are always knotted, never
tufted. It is extremely instructive to watch a carpet being made - your dealer
can probably arrange this for you.
Because of the high quality of embroidery done on wall hangings and rugs, Kashmiri
crewel-work is in great demand throughout the world. Chain stitch, be it in wool,
silk or cotton, is done by hook rather than by needle. The hook is referred to
as aari, and while maintaining the same quality, hook work covers a much larger
area than needle work in the same amount of time.
At first glance, all papièr mâchè objects look roughly the
same, but there is a price differential which depends on the quality of the product.
However, besides at least three different grades of papièr mâchè,
some are actually cardboard or wood! The idea, however, is not to hoodwink the
unwary, but to provide a cheaper product with the look of papièr mâchè.
There are three fibres from which Kashmiri shawls are made - wool, pashmina and
shahtoosh. The prices of the three cannot be compared - woollen shawls being within
reach of the most modest budget, and shahtoosh being a one-in-a-lifetime purchase.
Willow rushes that grow plentifully in marshes and lakes in Kashmir are used to
make charmingly quaint objects, ranging from shopping baskets and lampshades to
tables and chairs, all generally inexpensive. To increase their life span, unvarnished
products should be chosen and frequently sprayed with water, particularly in hot,
dry climates, to prevent them becoming brittle.
Saffron, Walnuts, Almonds, Honey
Pampore, near Srinagar, is the only place in the world besides Spain where saffron
is grown.
The crocus sativus plant, which blooms for a brief month in the year, has six
golden stamens and one crimson one. It is the crimson stamen which when collected
and dried that forms saffron and is referred to as the most expensive spice in
the world. Sealed jars of this spice, with the government laboratory's stamp of
approval, are available all over Srinagar. When buying loose saffron, sampling
one strand is enough, for the flavour and fragrance of saffron are unmistakable.
The climate of Kashmir is ideal for walnut and almond trees, which grow here in
abundance. Natural honey too, is a produce of the apiaries, which abound in the
state.
Copper and Silverware
The old city abounds with shops where objects of copper line the walls, the floor
and even the ceiling, made generally for the local market. Craftsmen can often
be seen engraving objects of household utility - samovars, bowls, plates and trays.
Floral, stylised, geometric, leaf and sometimes calligraphic motifs are engraved
or embossed on copper and occasionally silver, to cover the entire surface with
intricate designs which are then oxidised, so as to stand out better from the
background. The work, known as 'naqashi', determines the price of the object,
as does the weight
Namdas
Far less expensive are these colourful floor coverings made from woollen and cotton
fibre which have been manually pressed into shape. Prices vary with the percentage
of wool – a namda containing 80 per cent wool being more expensive than the
one containing 20 per cent wool. Chain-stitch embroidery in woollen and cotton
thread is executed on these rugs.
