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ALabour of Love
For generations my family has been involved with
Pashmina weaving. I grew up watching the women in
the family hand-spinning pashm wool into fine yarns,
and seeing my grandfather and father weave soft,
exquisitely patterned shawls with those very yarns.
The entire production of Pashmina from wool to shawl
took place at home. It was a natural activity for us and
our lives were in sync with the production of Pashmina
shawls.
I have been weaving Pashmina and Kani Pashmina
shawls since my young days. Since my grandfather
and father weave, I learnt the finer details of weaving
first-hand frommaster weavers. I can weave both plain
Pashmina shawls as well as Kani Pashmina shawls with
intricate and elaborate details. Kani shawls are woven
with scores of spools that have coloured yarns wound
around them. I have made Kani shawls bearing portraits
of members of the Gandhi family. Apart from weaving
shawls with traditional motifs such as the paisley motif, I
also weave shawls and stoles that have modern, trendy
patterns and colours that go well with western attire.
If you give me a photograph of yourself or of anyone
whose image you wish to have on a shawl, I can make
it for you. In fact, I can weave any motif, pattern or
image on a shawl. If you would like a shawl to match a
particular saree or dress, I can make that too. Pashmina
shawls are beautiful and extremely warm. Even if the
temperature is –10 degree celcius, a Pashmina shawl will
keep you warm. My family and I are deeply involved in
Pashmina weaving, and are happy to welcome people to
visit our home and see us at work.
Hakeem Jan Mohammad Shah
the embroiderer to correct it. If there isn’t any
defect or fault, he passes it on to the shopkeeper
or exporter. The shawl is now finally at the store,
ready to be appreciated and bought by most of us
who buy a Pashmina without knowing the many
stages and the effort that goes into creating one!
Gulzar Hussain
Gulzar Hussain is a leading young naturalist and
a western Himalayan ethnographer from Ladakh.
His childhood and adult life has been spent
exploring this remote and harsh region with a
passion for its remarkable and delicate eco-system.
Gulzar speaks all the languages of the region
and has just concluded his MBA in Tourism &
Hospitality from the Business School, Kashmir
University. He is the co-founder of Frozen
Himalayas and the founder of Nomadic Center
for Arts and Crafts at Puga Changthang. He has
recently co-authored an extensively researched
guide book,
Journey Through Paradise
(Kashmir,
Ladakh & Jammu). This book can be found on the
shelves of leading book stores across the country.
He is currently working on a high quality picture
book on Ladakh & Kashmir.
The weaver is the person who
actually waves the shawl. He
deftly weaves weft yarns, for
different colours, and turns
them into a textile masterpiece.
