Kashmiri Migrants, Kashmiri Shawls...a Wow!!

Over the years, Cashmere/Kashmiri shawls have shrunk to stolls, yet the pace the industry has grown fast. The warm fabric deserves a wow, especially for the popularity that the Cashmere/ Kashmiri tag enjoys. Lofty price tags, the rarity factor, and appearances of exquisite cashmere shawls on the shoulders of many a heroine in history, literature and on stage have no comparison... Cashmere has been made for centuries, but it used to be much more expensive and rare than it is today, and so was used primarily by royalty. Apparently a European fad for cashmere was started by Napoleon Bonaparte, who gave his wife seventeen cashmere shawls; Queen Victoria had several, and Beau Brummell was the talk of the town with his white cashmere waistcoat. It has an ultimate style statement attached along with the comfort. Cashmere is a type of soft, luxurious goat wool that comes from ‘The paradise on earth’: Kashmir.

No wonder with winter onset wait for Cashmere/ Kashmiri shawlwalas begins… In the afternoon as soon as women, the undisputed patrons of shawls move out in the verandah for basking and chitchatting, the seasonal immigrants from the ‘(paradise) janat on earth’ come riding on bicycles with bundle of exquisite shawls tied on its rest. Pashmina shawls and Pashmina wool apparel are gorgeous, comfortable, and a joy to wear. Pashmina wool is the finest and most exquisite cashmere.

“Well! What can be more handy to brave the cold than a cozy shawl,” says Paramjit Kaur a city-based housewife who is passionate about pashminas. “No woollen can match its elegance. The beauty of this seamless robe lies in its adaptability to adopt wearer’s attitude, be it a maharaja or a destitute,” she adds.

44-year-old matric pass shawl vendor, Mohammed Ramzan Mir from Mattan Khairbug, Anantnag has been coming down to Chandigarh every winter for past 22 years. But each time with a different style statement. He says, “There are many fashion designers, weavers, embroiders and other craftsman involved. So, it has turned into important industry that provides employment to thousands of Kashmiris facing the music.” It appears to be a seasonal job but keeps them on the run round the year. Before moving out of their territory they need to have ample of pieces ready. That’s what keeps them busy in summers.

Mir says: “Due to disturbance in valley, its hard to sustain on tourism. So, to earn dal-chawal for the family and maintain a decent living, we were forced to switch over to a new profession.” It’s better than permanently moving out of your homeland.
Another Kashmiri who eagerly waits for November to come down to the city beautiful is Bashir Ahmed Mir. He rightly calls Chandigarh his second home and addresses Chandigarhians as “style ke shaukin.”

Bashir says: “Every year he is here with his buddies.” They stay in groups of four-five people, including a cook. Though these Kashmiris are regular migrants, yet each time they hit the place they ought to get identification done. “As soon as we reach Chandigarh we would get a house on rent and inform the police station about our residence and get registered on basis of our voter ID card.” Well! Laws are laws and they have accepted it. what bothers them is getting a gas cylinder. “The biggest problem we continue facing year after year is of gas cylinders.”