REVIVING HERITAGE: Kani Shawls: Kashmir’s creativity at par excellence

Award winning Ganaie brothers on mission to revive famous Kani Shawl weaving art among youngsters

Budgam: While Kashmir is known for its natural beauty and is considered as the heaven on earth, there are several art forms which have been inspired from this beauty and are as famous as the valley itself.

Kashmir holds the distinction of producing high quality handmade Pashmina shawls, which are known for their uniqueness throughout the world. Kani shawl or Pashmina is a kind of shawl woven on a handloom by using bobbins instead of a shuttle with the delicate varied- colored spinning threads wrapped around them.

Wagoora ambit is a hub of Pashmina weaving as the major chunk of the local population is believed to be engaged with this centuries-old profession, which is believed to be gifted by revered Sufi saint Mir Syed Ali Hamadani (RH). He brought various crafts and industries from Iran to Kashmir with the help of his 700 disciples including some carpet and shawl weavers.

Defying poverty, two brothers from the remote Wagoora village in central Kashmir’s Budgam district have excelled in this art of Kani shawl (Pashmina) weaving and their art has even earned then a National Award in handicraft, bringing laurels for them as well as the entire village. Bashir Ahmad Ganie was forced to quit studies and start working in his teens to earn livelihood after his father Mohd Rajab died in accident and he had to shoulder the responsibility of his younger brother Fayaz Ahmad and widowed mother.

It was the time when Kani shawls were in great demand across Kashmir and earning from this profession was quite satisfactory. So, Bashir left the work of carpet weaving and opted to learn the Kani shawl weaving from a local instructor Farooq Ahmad Wani. “I took Pashmina weaving as a career to feed my widowed mother and to educate my younger brother as well,” states Bashir. After gaining experience, he formed a village-level group, Pakiza Ruffle and Cotton Handloom (PRCH), which had 12 villagers as members.

But tragedy struck as Bashir was about to establish himself in shawl making. In 2002 he met with an accident and had to undergo three back-to-back surgeries in three months. “I found myself unable to work anymore. The unfortunate incident compelled me to take my younger brother out of school and take the responsibility of running the family as well as to bear my medical expenses,” says Bashir.

While Bashir was undergoing treatment, he also began to guide Fayaz about Kani shawl weaving. One day, an idea struck Bashir’s mind to prepare a design of Kani shawl on a simple graph paper by a pen. Bashir attempted and did it after seeking help from his younger brother. After Bashir recovered, the brothers started to transform the graph design into a pashmina shawl. Luckily, when they were weaving the shawl, Vishesh Nootel, the then director of Handloom Weaving Centre, Srinagar (HWCS) visited their home. Nootel appreciated the brothers and asked them to submit the Shawl at HWCS after completion. However, it is not an easy task to weave a Kani shawl. It takes at least two to three months to complete a shawl as it is woven with atleast 200-250 spools (Kanis) over a handloom with the delicate colored threads wrapped around them.

The shawl designed by the duo was much difficult to weave than the normal shawl as the coded pattern (Taleem) was self-produced. The pattern demanded 400-450 bobbins and six months of time to complete the shawl. The brothers were working with great enthusiasm but lack of funds posed a big hindrance. “We faced money shortage at that time. To arrange money for the basic requirements like raw material, bobbins and labour expenses, and to meet our day to day necessities, we sold the cow we had at our home,” recounts Bashir.

After many hardships, they completed the shawl and submitted it to HWCS. The shawl was then sent to Delhi where its nomination for national award was made after holding five consecutive meetings in five years. After nomination, Bashir and Fayaz were invited to Delhi in 2010 and awarded by Pranab Mukherji, the then President of India. The shawl designed by duo was returned back to them as honor.

“My eyes had tears of happiness when I first heard the news of their achievement,” says their mother Ashiya. She said the honor was not only for them, but for the entire village, as nobody else has been till date been nominated for the national award.

The brothers are now selling their shawls in the famous markets of Chennai, Delhi and Faridabad, as they see huge demand for their product. Due to their accomplishments, Bashir and Fayaz are now invited to seminars and workshops Organised to provide tips to weavers. They believe the national award was the starting point for them. “Besides enhancing our earnings, the achievement made us capable to work independently and avoid the mass brokerage of this skill,” adds Fayaz.

Bashir says Pashmina sector possess a wide range of employment opportunities. “Engaging the youth with this noble profession of craftsmanship, the state and central governments can use it as an opportunity to combat the unemployment challenges,” he opines. Bashir adds that the weaver fraternity should send their shawls directly to the customers without the intervention of brokers. He has also urged the government to provide support to weavers of Kani shawls or they will be forced to quit tis profession. “The rise of machine-made shawls, low quality material and fake registrations are the biggest challenges for professional artisans to survive in this field,” cited Fayaz.

Other weavers from the village demand that seminars and workshops must be organised to provide them exposure and also demanded availability of basic facilities, including regular health checkups, to cope up with the health issues arising due this work. They have also sought to organize exhibitions of their work at important cities so that they can directly sell their shawls to the customers.

“Bashir and Fayaz have revived the vigor for this handicraft by inspiring and motivating people opt for this art of Kani Shawl weaving as a career choice. Their proud achievement is an inspiration for all of us and we always try to seek every possible support from them and they never repudiate, so their achievement is the way one must follow to accomplish the path of success,” says a young artisan.