The Silken Story
From fifteen lakh kilograms of cocoons produced in 1940 to just three lakh kilograms in 2012, the once profitable silk industry is struggling to...
Awfully underpaid
With reduced wages Kashmiri artisans are getting poorer with each passing day, pushing them into despair and keeping away others from joining the crafts....
Kashmir’s Copper Girls
By 2024 fall, Kashmir will witness the first batch of 20 young women launching their engraved copper utensils line to the market. Faiqa Masoodi...
Embellishing legacy
Ali Muhammad Beigh’s family has brought laurels to state by excelling in the prized Sozni embroidery craft. What’s more, the family doesn’t want to...
Tral’s Gufkrals’
On the foothills of Tral is a maze of caves that is an established archaeological site offering details about the early settlements of mankind...
The Graceful Art of Embroidery
These can be found in posh designer stores throughout the world. The unique Crewel work by master artisans is an identity of families and...
Kashmir’s Naqashi Printers
Even though modernity has overtaken the traditional arts associated with handicrafts, some specialities survived the onslaught. Mir Suneem reports the maze where a neglected...
Opening Up Vistas
History suggests that Kashmiri Shawls were sent as tribute to ancient Assyria. Alexander’s women and warriors carried them from Punjab to Babylon and Macedonia. Syed...
Noori 2.0
After seen being cradled by Omar Abdullah in March 2012, the cloned Pashmina goat Noori went out of sight instantly. Four years later, Noori...
Exceptional Carver
One of Srinagar’s oldest craftsmen, Ghulam Nabi Dar’s designs on the wood remain unmatched for their intricacy and detail, reports Khalid Bashir Gura
In one...
Wicker: Surviving Chinese Onslaught
Centuries-old wicker industry, which artisans allege has always remained out of government’s sight, is fighting a battle of survival on its own. Haroon Mirani...
UNESCO Listing
With Srinagar finally joining UNESCO’s 50-city global creative network for ‘craft and folk art’, the real challenges for the policymakers and stakeholders is to...
Craft Kangri
For centuries, Kashmir has fought winter with the peculiar firepot, the Kangri. A visit to kangri-makers and understanding the supply demand chain makes Shakir...
Certifying Pashmina
A trip to Delhi made Kashmiri artisans realize that fake Pashmina products are threatening their survival in the market making them explore options like...
Chiseled to perfection
Even though the beating looks haphazard it is important in this job, the more the beating the better the work. Syed Asma reports.
This is how...
