Just watch and feel
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Kashmir- Its Shawls
Kashmir Textiles-Shawls, Namdas, Gubbas
Kashmir, India's northern most state was the gateway into India. Kashmir was a pivotal point through which the wealth, knowledge, and products of ancient India passed to the world perhaps the most widely known woven textiles are the famed Kashmir shawls. The Kanikar, for instance, has intricately woven designs that are formalized imitations of Nature. The Chenar leaf (plane tree leaf), apple and cherry blossoms, the rose and tulip, the almond and pear, the nightingale, they are done in deep mellow tones of maroon, dark red, gold yellow and browns. Yet another type of Kashmir shawl is the Jamiavr, which is a brocaded woolen fabric sometimes in pure wool and sometimes with a little cotton added. The floral designing appears like heavy close embroidery-like weave in dull silk or soft pashmina wool, and usually comprises small or large flowers delicately sprayed and combined; some shawls have net-like patterns with floral ensemble motifs in them. Still another type of Kashmir shawl is the Dourukha, a woven shawl that is so done as to produce the same effect on both sides. This is a unique piece of craftsmanship, in which a multi-coloured pattern scheme is woven all over the surface, and after the shawl is completed, the Rafugar or expert embroiderer works the outlines of the motifs in darker shades to bring into relief the beauty of design. This attractive mode of craftsmanship not only produces a shawl, which is reversible because of the perfect workmanship on both sides, but it combines the crafts of both weave and embroidery.
The most expensive shawls, called Shatoosh, are made from the beard hairs of the wild Ibex and are so fine that a whole shawl can be pulled through a small finger ring.
The Persian device, naksha, like the Jacquard loom invented centuries later, enabled Indian weavers to create sinuous floral patterns and creeper designs in brocade to rival any painted by a brush. The Kashmir shawl that evolved from this expertise, in its heyday had greater fame than any other Indian textile. Always a luxury commodity, the intricate, tapestry-woven, fine wool shawl had become a fashionable wrap for the ladies of the English and French elite by the 18th century. The supply fell short of demand and manufacturers pressed to produce more, created convincing embroidered versions of the woven shawls that could be produced in half the time. As early as 1803 Kashmiri needlework production was established to increase and hasten output of these shawls, which had been imitated in England since 1784 and even in France. By 1870, the advent of the Jacquard loom in Europe destroyed the exclusivity of the original Kashmir shawl, which began to be produced in Paisley, England. Even the characteristic Kashmiri motif, the mango-shaped, began to be known simply as the paisley.
The paisley motif is so ubiquitous to Indian fabrics that it is hard to imagine that it is only about 250 years old. It evolved from l7th- century floral and tree-of-life designs that were created in expensive, tapestry-woven Mughal textiles. Early designs depicted single plants with large flowers and thin wavy stems, small leaves and roots. As the designs became denser over time, more flowers and leaves were compacted within the shape of the tree, or issuing from vases or a pair of leaves. By the late 18th century, the archetypal curved point at the top of an elliptical outline had evolved. The elaborate paisley created on Kashmir shawls became the vogue in Europe for over a century, and it was imitations of these shawls woven in factories at Paisley, Scotland, that gave it the name paisley still commonly used in the United States and Europe. In the late 18th and 19th centuries, the paisley became an important motif in a wide range of Indian textiles, perhaps because it was associated with the Mughal court. It also caught the attention of poorer and non-Muslim Indians because it resembles a mango. Rural Indians called an aam or mango, a symbol of fertility.
The first shawls, or "shals", were used in Assyrian times, later it went into wide spread in the Middle East. Shawls were also part of the traditional male costume in Kashmir, which was probably introduced via assimilation to Persian culture. They were woven in extremely fine woollen twill, some such as the Orenberg shawl, were even said to be so fine as to fit through a ring. They could be in one colour only, woven in different colours (called tilikar), ornately woven or embroidered (called ameli).
Kashmiri shawls were high-fashion garments in Western Europe in the early- to mid-19th century. Imitation Kashmiri shawls woven in Paisley, Renfrewshire are the origin of the name of the traditional paisley pattern. Shawls were also manufactured in the city of Norwich, Norfolk from the late 18th century (and some two decades before Paisley) until about the 1870s.
The Kashmir Shawls
Kashmir is the India's northern most state. It was an essential point through which the wealth, knowledge, and products of ancient India passed to the world perhaps the most widely known woven textiles are the well-known Kashmir shawls. The Kashmir shawl that evolved from an expertise had greater fame than any other Indian textile.
Pashmina or Amlikar
The majority of the woollen fabrics of Kashmir, and particularly the best quality shawls, were and are still made of Pashm or Pashmina, which is the wool of the Capra hircus, a species of the wild Asian mountain goat. Hence the shawls came to be called Pashmina. The fine fleece used for the shawls is that which grows under the rough, woolly, outer coat of the animal; that from the under-belly, which is shed on the approach of hot weather. Materials of an inferior grade were of the wool of the wild Himalayan mountain sheep or the Himalayan Ibex. However, the best fleece wool is soft, silky and warm is of the wild goats, and painstakingly gathered from shrubs and rough rocks against which the animals rub off their fleece on the approach of summer. This was undoubtedly the soft fleece wool from which were made the famous and much coveted ‘ring shawls’ in Mughal times. Unfortunately very inferior and second rate wool taken from domesticated sheep and goats provide most of the wool used today on the looms of Kashmir.
The needle-worked Amlikar or Amli, made from Pashmina wool a shawl embroidered almost all over with the needle on a plain woven ground. The colours most commonly seen on pashmina shawls are yellow, white, black, blue, green, purple, crimson and scarlet. The design motif are usually formalised imitations of nature quite often the leaf of the Chenar tree, apple blossoms, the almond, the tulip, and occasionally the fruits of the region, they are always done in rich colours.
The embroidery stitch employed is rather like parallel darning stitch rarely allowed to penetrate the entire fabric.
The outlines of the design are further touched up and emphasized with silk or woollen thread of different colours run round the finer details; the stitch used for this is at an angle overlapping darn stitch, all the stitches used are so minute and fine that individually they can be seen with the unaided eye only with difficulty. When Pashmina wool is used for the embroidery work, it is made to blend so intimately with the texture of the basic shawl material that it would be difficult to insert even a fine needle between the embroidery stitches and the basic fabric.
Do-Shalla
The Emperor Akabar was a great admirer of the shawls of Kashmir it was he who began the fashion of wearing them in duplicate, sewn back to back, so that the under surfaces of the shawls were never seen Do-shalla. During that time the most desired shawls were those worked in gold and silver thread or shawls with border ornamented with fringes of gold, silver and silk thread.
The Do-shala as the name designates, are always sold in pairs there being many varieties of them. In the Khali-matan the central field is quite plain and without any ornamentation. The Char-bagan is made up of four pieces in different colours neatly joined together; the central fluid of the shawl is embellished with a medallion of flowers. However, when the field is ornamented with flowers in the four corners we have the Kunj.
Perhaps the most characteristic of the Kashmir shawls is the one made like patchwork. The patterns are woven on the looms in long strips, about twelve to eighteen inches in length and from half to two inches in width. These design strips, made on very simple and primitive looms, are then cut to the required lengths and very neatly and expertly hand sewn together with almost invisible stitches and finally joined by sewing to a plain central field piece. As a variation, pieces may be separately woven, cut up in various shapes of differing sizes and expertly sewn together and then further elaborated with embroidery but there is a difference between these two types, while the patchwork loom shawls are made up from separate narrow strips, the patchwork embroidered shawls consists of a certain number of irregularly shaped pieces joined together, each one balancing the predominant colour scheme of the shawl.
Nammda and Gubba
The basic material for a gubba is milled blanket dyed in plain colour. Embroidery is bold and vivid in designing and done with woollen or cotton threads. Gubbas have more of a folk flavour blankets cut and patched into geometric patterns, with limited, embroidery on joining and open space. It is more of appliqué work. Colours are bright and attractive. They are cheep and used for dewan covering or floor covering like Namdas.
Costumes of Kashmir
Female costume
Salwar is the main lower garment for the women; it may be fitted or gathered which may be embroidered. The embroidered design is based on the natural beauty of the area. The most widely used pattern is the leaf of the Chinar tree.
The upper garment called a pheran is like a gown which hangs in loose folds and has sleeves. A sleeveless jacket of embroidered velvet of a dark shade is occasionally worn over the gown. The word pheran comes from the Persian word paithar meaning shirt. The pheran has an open collar down the neck with heavy folds. The outfit is completed with a scarf similar to the ordhnai of Rajasthan and Punjab but different in quality and design.
However, it is customary for a bride to wear a veil at her wedding which is elaborately embroidered and adorned with lace. Dresses for Muslim and Hindu brides are the same but head dress shows a slight difference. The women usually wear the traditional costume of Kashmir with slight variations to distinguish themselves form the Brahmins. The Hindu women use a girdle whereas a Muslim woman does not. The Hindu woman wears a round white head dress having embroidery only on the sleeves and around the collar, the Muslim woman wears a high red head dress and a heavily embroidered tunic.
Male costume
Salwar is the lower garment. It is similar to that used by the women. The upper garment is a loose shirt called pheran.
In Kashmir the Hindu and the Muslim man could be easily distinguished by their dress. Hindus wear the tuck of the turban on his right and the Muslim on the left. Hindus fasten their gown on the left and Muslims on the right. Hindus have long narrow sleeves and Muslim have short sleeves. In olden days, the costume of males consisted of a lower garment and turban called sirasheta.
The shawls made in Kashmir occupy a pre-eminent place among textile products; and it is to them and to their imitations from Western looms that specific importance attaches. The Kashmir shawl is characterized by the elaboration of its design, in which the "cone" pattern is a prominent feature, and by the glowing harmony, brilliance, depth, and enduring qualities of its colours. The basis of these excellences is found in the very fine, soft, short, flossy under-wool, called pashm or pashmina, found on the shawl-goat, a variety of Capra hircus inhabiting the elevated regions of Tibet. There are several varieties of pashm, but the finest is a strict monopoly of the maharaja of Kashmir. Inferior pashm and Kerman wool — a fine soft Persian sheep's wool — are used for shawl weaving at Amritsar and other places in the Punjab, where colonies of Kashmiri weavers are established. Of shawls, apart from shape and pattern, there are only two principal classes: (1) loom-woven shawls called tiliwalla, tilikar or kani kar — sometimes woven in one piece, but more often in small segments which are. sewn together with such precision that the sewing is quite imperceptible; and (2) embroidered shawls — amlikar — in which over a ground of plain pashmina is worked by needle a minute and elaborate pattern.
Knit shawls
Triangular knit lace shawls are usually knitted from the neck down and may or may not be shaped. In contrast, Faroese lace shawls are knitted bottom up and contain a centre back gusset. Each shawl consists of two triangular side panels, a trapezoid-shaped back gusset, an edge treatment, and usually shoulder shaping.
Kashmir- Its Dryfruits
Dried fruit has a long tradition of use dating back to the fourth millennium BC in Mesopotamia, and is prized because of its sweet taste, wrinkly texture, nutritive value and long shelf life. Today, dried fruit consumption is widespread. Nearly half of the dried fruits sold are raisins, followed by dates, prunes (dried plums), figs, apricots, peaches, apples and pears.These are referred to as “conventional” or “traditional” dried fruits: fruits that have been dried in the sun or in heated wind tunnel dryers. Many fruits such as cranberries, blueberries, cherries, strawberries and mangoes are infused with a sweetener (e.g. sucrose syrup) prior to drying. Some products sold as dried fruit, like papaya and pineapples are actually candied fruit.
Kashmiri Dry Fruits are most Favorite ever.
Kashmir- Its Saffron
Kashmiri saffron is considered the world's best saffron for its distinctive long, flat, silky threads with a dark red color, extraordinary aroma, powerful coloring and flavoring capabilities. This is the world's most potent saffron and is not easily obtainable outside of its native India since almost all of Kashmir's saffron is consumed within India and little is left for export.
Saffron is known to be the world's most expensive spice. Kashmiri saffron is known to be the world's most expensive saffron. For this reason, some saffron being sold on the market as Kashmiri are actually grown in other region's of the world but Kashmir. We consider ourselves fortunate to be able to import not only the genuine Kashmiri saffron, but the finest Kashmiri saffron on the market, the Baby Brand Saffron, known world-wide for its unsurpassed quality for more than 160 years.
This Kashmiri saffron is 100% pure, premium quality, and is sealed in the elegantly designed packaging of 1-gram, 5-grams, 25-grams and a newly designed single use packages of 50-milligrams each to preserve the freshness of saffron.
This saffron is fresh, having been harvested from the current crop (Oct. 2010). Saffron is harvested only at the end of Autumn, with the next crop being harvested in the Autumn of 2011 and will be available in Nov.-Dec 2011.
All packages of our Kashmiri saffron are printed with the date of the crop year (Oct. 2010), sealing proof of its freshness.
How to recognize genuine Kashmiri saffron
If you have never used Kashmiri saffron threads before and you are planning to buy genuine Kashmiri saffron elsewhere this information should help you to recognize a genuine product.
Kashmiri saffron threads have two unique characteristic that no other saffron in the world has. First is the physical shape of the thread itself. Kashmiri saffron threads are flat and thin like a paper and slightly wider especially toward the tip of the thread than saffron threads from other regions of the world. Second, is that it feels very smooth and sort of silky to the touch and no other saffron in the world has this characteristic. For these reasons it is not a very wise strategy for the packagers to mix Kashmiri saffron threads with non-Kashmiri saffron threads. There are roamers out there saying that low quality Kashmiri saffron is being mixed with good quality Iranian saffron and is being exported and sold as high quality Kashmiri saffron (since Kashmiri saffron is more expensive than Iranian saffron). This simply is not true because when you mix non-Kashmiri saffron threads with Kashmiri saffron threads the differences will be obvious to the eye and you do not need to be a saffron expert to realize that there are two different saffron threads in the package. The only way this would be possible is if the entire batch consists of non-kashmiri saffron and the buyer has no idea of what Kashmiri saffron should look like.
Kashmir- Its Temples
Shankaracharya Temple: The antiquity of Shankaracharya temple is akin to that of Vaishno Devi in Jammu. The temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva, has legends dating back to 200 BC. Built to overlook the valley, situated atop the Hill it has the devout climb the hill with offerings in their hands, a motorable road has been built leading to the TV Tower on the hill.
The sacred temple is situated to the south east of Srinagar. However, neither the hill nor the temple retain their pre-historic names, Gopadari and Jyeshtheswara respectively. The temple is built on a high octagonal plinth approached by a flight of steps.
Hari Parbat Fort: To the west of the Dal lies the Hari Parbat Hill, sacred to the Goddess Sharika in whose honour a temple has been consecrated on the western slopes of the hill. Further up, on the crest of the hill is Hari Parhat Fort which dates to the 18th century.
Amarnath: History records that the first pilglimage to Amarnath was undertaken in 1000 BC, though little else is known of the antiquity of Amarnath. Located 141 km from Srinagar, of which 45 km from Pahalgam has to be trekked, Amarnath is believed to be the holiest of Hindu shrines.
The Amarnath yatra is undertaken in July-August (Shravan) and thousdads of devotees walk, some on ponyback, to pay obeisance at the cave where an ice-lingam, that of Shiva, waxes and wanes with the moon. By its side are two other ice lingams, those of Parvati, and their son, Ganesha.
Khir Bhawani: Goddess Ragnya Devi is worshipped here, symbolised by a sacred spring at Tula Mula village, 27 km from Srinagar. In the centre of the spring is a small marble temple and the Hindu inhabitants of Srinagar fast and converge at the spot on the eighth day of the full moon in the month of May when legend has it, the goddess changes the color of the waters.
Mamal: Opposite the Rest House at Pahalgam, on the right bank of river Lidder is a small temple, now in ruins, dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple had an eight square feet interior with a porch supported by two fluted columns, one of which has now weathered away. In fact, the suprastructure is no longer there and even the ceiling no longer exists. Inside the sanctum is a Shiva lingam.
Pandrethan: A village by this name is a bare three miles above Srinagar. It has a well-preserved temple behind the willow grove on the left hand side of the cart road. The ceiling of the shrine is rated as the best example of carving on stone in the entire valley. Though ascribed to Vishnu or Shiva, the seven square feet 'depression' in the centre carries no deity, only carved 'yakshas'.
Martand: It is located on the top of a plateau, a bare five miles from the town of Anantnag. The temple is dedicated to Surya, the Hindu Sun God. It is a medieval temple with a courtyard, colonnaded and with the shrine in the centre. It has 84 - a sacred Hindu digit - columns and affords a commanding view of the valley.
Only 64 km from Srinagar is Achhabal, the abode of peace, a powerful stream embellished, in the 17th century, by Shah Jehan with gardens and baths. The spring waters run into three channels over terraces where chinar trees stand vigil. Short of Acchabal is Anantnag, 54 km, the infinite spring surrounded by a flower garden, linked with Hindu mythological god Indra. At Mattan, 61.5 km from Srinagar, are famous temples where sacred ceremonies are held to propitiate the dead.
Chatti Padshahi, one of the most important Sikh gurudwaras in Kashmir is situated just outside the southern gate of the fort.
Makhdoom Sahib: It a shrine on the southern side of the Hari Parbhat hill, is visited not only by Muslims but by people of all faiths.
Hazratbal Mosque: It is located in a village of the same name on the banks of the Dal, its pristine white marble elegance is reflected in the waters of the lake. Hazratbal's special significance is derived from the fact that it contains a hair of the Prophet Muhammad. This is displayed to the public on religious occasions, usually accompanied by fairs with streetside stalls.
Khanoah of Shah Hamadan: The Khanoah stands between the third and fourth bridges on river Jhelum which flows through the city of Srinagar. To the north west corner of the complex is the tomb of Shah Hamadan.
The mosque of Shah Hamadan is a pagoda-like structure built entirely of wood. Only the faithful may enter its precints, others having to satisfy themselves With a look through the door. The interiors are intricately carved and flamboyantly painted and decorated with large chandeliers.
Jama Masjid: It is said that Sikandar But-Shikon laid the foundation of the Jama Masjid in 1398 AD and completed it in 1402. He ruled from 1390-91 to 1414 AD while his son, Zain-ul-Abidin, improved it aesthetically. It was re-built after a fire ravaged it in 1479 AD. In 1620, during Emperor Jehangir's reign, yet another fire destroyed it. In 1674, a third conflagration razed it down and it was left to Emperor Aurangzeb to rebuild it. Its principal features are the four minars and eight wooden columns as supports.
Chrar-e-Sharief was a Shrine holy to both Muslims and Hindus. It was burnt down by the Islamic militants in 1995 at the behest of Pakistan. Sheikh Nooruddin, after all, was arguably the greatest mystic-saint of Kashmir.
Nothing could better exemplify the composite culture of Kashmir than the life of Sheikh Naruddin himself. The Sheikh was born as Nund Reshi or Sahazanand in 1377 AD. His ancestors came from Kishtwar and had migrated to the Valley. His father, Salar Sanz, a pious man, came under the spiritual influence of Sufi Saint. Yasman Reshi who arranged his marriage to Sadra Maji. For three days, the infant Nund is said to have refused to be breast-fed. The third day, the Yogini, Lal Ded (a very well known saint) entered the house and put the child's mouth to her own breast.While leaving, she is said to have called the infant her spiritual heir.
While personifying the Hindu-Muslim culture of the Valley, Nund, later named Naruddin, 'the light of faith', fully believed in the immanence and transcendence of God, hoped for a society based on moral values and preached against indulgence. All his life he wore a coarse pheran. Within two days of his death in 1438 at Charar, nine lakh people are said to have gathered at the Shrine, including the King, Sultan Zainul Abdin.
He preached against communal hatred and wrote: "We belong to the same parents. Then why this difference? Let Hindus and Muslims together worship God alone. We came to this world like partners. We should have shared our joys and sorrows together."
Kashmir- Its Constitution
Text of Article 370
In view of its importance the text of the article 370 (Without amendments) is reproduced below:
Article 370 of the Constitution of India
1. Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution:
a. the provisions of article 238 shall not apply in relation to the State of Jammu and Kashmir,
b. the power of Parliament to make laws for the said State shall be limited to;
i. those matters in the Union List and the Concurrent List which, in consultation with the Government of the State, are declared by the President to correspond to matters specified in the Instrument of Accession governing the accession of the State to the Dominion of India as the matters with respect to which the Dominion Legislature may make laws for that State; and
ii. such other matters in the said Lists, as, with the concurrence of the Government of the State, the President may by order specify.
Explanation—For the purpose of this article, the Government of the State means the person for the time being recognised by the President as the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir acting on the advice of the Council of Ministers for the time being in office under the Maharaja’s Proclamation dated the fifth day of March, 1948;
c.the provisions of article 1 and of this article shall apply in relation to this State;
d.such of the other provisions of this Constitution shall apply in relation to that State subject to such exceptions and modifications as the President may by order specify
i. Provided that no such order which relates to the matters specified in the Instrument of Accession of the State referred to in paragraph
(i) of sub-clause (b) shall be issued except in consultation with the Government of the State:
ii. Provided further that no such order which relates to matters other than those referred to in the last preceding proviso shall be issued except with the concurrence of the Government.
2. If the concurrence of the Government of the State referred to in paragraph
(ii) of sub-clause (b) of clause
(1) or in second proviso to sub-clause
(d) of that clause be given before the Constituent Assembly for the purpose of framing the Constitution of the State is convened, it shall be placed before such Assembly for such decision as it may take thereon.
3. Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing provisions of the article, the President may, by public notification, declare that this article shall cease to be operative or shall be operative only with such exceptions and modifications and from such date as he may notify: Provided that the recommendation of the Constituent Assembly of the State referred to in clause (2) shall be necessary before the President issues such a notification.
4. In exercise of the powers conferred by this article the President, on the recommendation of the Constituent Assembly of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, declared that, as from the 17th day of November, 1952, the said art. 370 shall be operative with the modification that for the explanation in cl.(1) thereof the following Explanation is substituted namely:
Explanation—For the purpose of this Article, the Government of the State means the person for the time being recognised by the President on the recommendation of the Legislative Assembly of the State as the *Sadar-I-Riyasat of Jammu and Kashmir, acting on the advice of Council of Ministers of the State for the time being in office.
Implications of Article 370
This article specifies that except for Defence, Foreign Affairs, Finance and Communications,(matters specified in the instrument of accession) the Indian Parliament needs the State Government's concurrence for applying all other laws. Thus the state's residents lived under a separate set of laws, including those related to citizenship, ownership of property, and fundamental rights, as compared to Indians.
Similar protections for unique status exist in tribal areas of India including those in Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Nagaland however it is only for the state of Jammu and Kashmir that the accession of the state to India is still a matter of dispute between India and Pakistan still on the agenda of the UN Security Council and where the Government of India vide 1974 Indira-Sheikh accord committed itself to keeping the relationship between the Union and Jammu and Kashmir State within the ambit of this article .
The 1974 Indira-Sheikh accord mentions that " The State of Jammu and Kashmir which is a constituent unit of the Union of India, shall, in its relation with the Union, continue to be governed by Article 370 of the Constitution of India " .
Indian citizens from other states and women from Jammu & Kashmir who marry men from other states can not purchase land or property in Jammu & Kashmir.[1]
Some argue that the President may, by public notification under article 370(3), declare that Article 370 shall cease to be operative and no recommendation of the Constituent Assembly is needed as it does not exist any longer. Others say it can be amended by an amendment Act under Article 368 of the Constitution and the amendment extended under Article 370(1). Art. 147 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir states no Bill or amendment seeking to make any change in the provisions of the constitution of India as applicable in relation to the State; shall be introduced or moved in either house of the Legislature. As per Art. 5 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir the executive and legislative power of the State extends to all matters except those with respect to which Parliament has power to make laws for the State under the provisions of the Constitution of India as applicable in relation to this state.
Constitution of Jammu And Kashmir
Art. 1 of The Constitution of Jammu And Kashmir states that the State of Jammu and Kashmir is and shall be an integral part of the Union of India. Art. 5 states that the executive and legislative power of the State does not extend to matters those with respect to which Parliament has power to make laws for the State under the provisions of the Constitution of India. These provisions cannot be amended. The constitution was adopted and
Applicability of the Constitution of India to J&K
In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of article 370 of the Constitution, the President, with the concurrence of the Government of the State of Jammu and Kashmir made the The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954 which came into force on 14/5/1954.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)