Made in Cashmere

Craft in the Age of Colonialism & Conflict

Who has not heard of the Vale of Cashmere,

With its roses the brightest that earth ever gave,

Its temples and grottos and fountains are clear

As the love-lighted eyes that hang over their wave.

Thomas Moore

On a royal seat that crowns the Indian mainland, the Kashmir Valley sits pretty. The prized jewel that brings the crown world renown, undoubtedly, is the Kashmir shawl. Hidden behind its luxurious sheen, however, is the craftsman or the karigar’s secrets of strife and stories of suffering, delicately woven and finely stitched into its fine fabric. Made in Cashmere is an alternative appreciation of the beauty of a prized jewel, from the eyes of its creator.

Delicacy in Every Detail

Woolen fibers called pashm and toosh are harvested from Ladakhi goats and Tibetan antelopes, respectively. These fibers are then manually sorted, dehaired and combed.

Raw fiber is then spun into fine woolen yarn, ideally on the traditional spinning wheel called charkha.

A plain shawl is woven by skilled weavers. One piece requires an average of 25 to 30 days. The shawl could be used in its natural form or colored with vegetable dyes.

Embellishment essentially takes two routes: kani weaves or embroidered prints.

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Kani is a twill-tapestry method: an intricate and colorful pattern is woven into the shawl using traditional looms. The production of one shawl takes an average period of one year.

Embroidered shawls use needlework of varying styles. The duration of production and intricacy of decoration depends on the prints, patterns and methods chosen by the designer.

The most fascinating aspect of the shawl making process is the sophisticated division of labor and skill specialization with which the artisan performs each task. A kani weaver, for instance, cannot work on a single shawl for more than three to four hours per day because it would compromise on the quality of his work. An embroiderer cannot share the labor of his needlework with another artisan: the the final embroidery shows the difference in handiwork and thus diminishes the quality of the final product. Such dedication to handcrafted perfection is endangered in today’s times. If we do not preserve it now, endangerment might soon turn into extinction.

For how long, I wonder, can we “export” our culture outside the valley where it originally belongs?

Feroz Qadri, fourth-generation shawl merchant from Kashmir

Feroz Qadri, a fourth-generation shawl merchant, testifies to the potential of Kashmir’s handmade shawl industry, in bringing glory back to the valley. After the conflict, Feroz was forced to shut shop in Kashmir. He became a traveling merchant and began to sell his wares to exporters and wealthy families in faraway cities like New Delhi. In an interview, he explained,

“We are threatened today primarily by cheap imitations and the waning value for authentic crafts—both at home and abroad. But now, the traditional method of production itself faces the threat of extinction. So where will the consumer find this authenticity? Artisans need the support of their patrons in Kashmir. More people need to come here and see artisans at work. This was very common before the conflict. But now, instead of the world coming to Kashmir, Kashmir has to go to the world to prove itself. For how long, I wonder, can we “export” our culture outside the valley where it originally belongs?"

A Loosening Weave

The label of Cashmere instantly evokes the notion of indulgence. The fabric derives its name from Kashmir, the valley where it originated. In Kashmir, the art of shawl-weaving has depended on sustained patronage, from the very beginning. The timeline describes the changing relationship between the craftsman and the patron across different periods of rulership. While the in-house shawl-makers of the Mughal era were in direct contact with their noble customers, the distance between the shawl-maker and the shawl market progressively stretched with every subsequent period of political leadership. An altered market of shawl connoisseurs, thus, starkly altered the treatment of shawl makers.

Patron as Pricemaker

Among the first indigenous connoisseurs of the shawl was Akbar, the Mughal emperor who housed many artisans in palace workshops called karkhanas. Following suit, subsequent generations of Mughals invested heavily in skill training and development as well as traditional craft technologies for the artisanal community of shawl-makers.

The decline of the Mughal empire was followed by the plunderous reign of Afghan rulers such as Ahmad Shah Durrani. A new era of oppression began as the workshop moved outside the palace and the artisan found himself at the mercy of corrupt middlemen. Officers, entitled darohgas, were designated to supervise production, settle disputes and issue seals of authenticity. Eventually, however, their function was reduced to the arbitrary levying of taxes called dagshal.

Maharaja Ranjit Singh is the most notable Sikh ruler, under whose reign the shawl industry saw major decline. Officers and bureaucrats acquired more power while artisans faced increasingly heavy taxation. Laboring tirelessly in poor lighting and with no heat, the craftsmen suffered in miserable working conditions. Forced border checks further failed their attempts to migrate out of the state. European traders now identified profit-making opportunities in an internally broken system of state patronage. Already helpless and mistreated by their own ruler, artisans would now face a new age of exploitation.

Dogra Period

(1846–1947)

The commissioning of “cashmere” shawls in France and Britain began in the Sikh period: the political leadership had decided to form international trade alliances at the expense of their local heritage. While Dogra rulers partially improved the taxation system and working conditions, their eyes were fixated on the Western market. Colonial trade in cashmere peaked and the shawl industry would never be the same. European tastes and demands now dictated new production methods.

Mughal Period

(1580-1750)

Afghan Period

(1750-1820)

Sikh Period

(1820–1846)

Artisan in the Age of Raj

Of Broken Threads

&

Bloodstains

1947 is perhaps the most bittersweet year in the memory of modern India—freedom from British Raj on the one hand and a riotous partition with Pakistan on the other. Both countries, ever since, have embarked on distinct trajectories. Kashmir, unfortunately, is stuck in time in the most unfortunate of ways. The valley once known for its pristine beauty, its rose gardens and its clear fountains now makes the front page for untoward cases of murder and militant violence.

Local arts and culture often receive low priority in the traditional mandate of conflict resolution. This might, however, prove to be a major risk as it ignores a powerful tool of combat: the cultural heritage that preceded conflict. The rich tangible and intangible traditions of the bruised Kashmir valley have sustained its community for eons. In the hope that Kashmir will see a brighter future, it is imperative to secure its potential now. The shawl industry, in particular, has been a primary generator of employment and revenue for the Kashmiri people. Reviving the art is not merely a question of preserving cultural heritage, but a matter of respecting Kashmir’s identity as an economy, a polity and, above all, the only home known to silent victims of strife.

Image Credits

A Portrait of Emperor Aurangzeb, ca.1678. Hobart and Edward Small Moore Memorial Collection, Bequest of Mrs. William H. Moore.Photo credit: Yale University Art Gallery
Portrait of Madame de Senonnes. Original artwork by Jean- Auguste-Dominique Ingres in the collection of Le tableau fait partie des collections at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes.
Janvier, Jean Denis, Cartographer. Mappe Monde, Ou Description Du Globe Terrestre: Assujettie Aux Observations Astronomiques. A Paris: Ches Lattre graveur, rue Saint Jacques, 1774. Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https:// www.loc.gov/item/2017585637/. (Accessed April 05, 2018.)
Protests, clashes amid curfew in Kashmir. July 17, 2016. Photograph by Faisal Khan published in Kashmir Reader (https://kashmirreader.com/2016/07/17/day-8-protests-clashes/)
Photographs from the personal archives of Feroz Qadri, procured for exhibition with formal consent.
Photographs captured and owned by Devyani Aggarwal.