Dr. ANJU BATTA SEHGAL
During my stay in Kashmir, Srinagar, I not only became appreciative of mesmerizing beauty of Nature but also got greatly impressed with the industrious nature of people of the valley. Daily observing the life style and livelihood means of my neighbourhood brought me to the conclusion that I must pen down few lines about innovative and hardworking people of the Valley. If I admit it honestly, my heart and mind compelled me to write. Not only the affectionate dialogue impresses me but beautiful attire self-made, leaves me astonished. I am left dumbfound when I watch the aboriginals working throughout the day in a very innovative style. Despite having lesser space and resources, a house adjacent to Director Residence National Institute of Technology, at the back of Holy Shrine Hazratbal, left me astonished.
As I sit in my lawn for reading newspapers or evening trawling for relaxation, fantastic views of self reliant people comes in front of my eyes. A house of Washerman (Dhobi) enthuses me to write. How smartly the entire family, each and every member of house contributes its bit in washing, drying, ironing and supplying back the order. It’s being the daily routine of the house to wash more than hundred clothes and dry them in the back, without having much space, by opening windows. There seems to be a pulley like innovative style for hanging clothes on the back, which touch the back wall too. Not only this, the roof of the house is being innovatively utilized for birds (Pigeon) rearing. The Pigeons are bred and kept under domestication. It’s daily view when a small boy aged not more than ten years performs his duty of sending them away with a long bamboo stick. The Pigeons being domesticated come back soon to these aerial bamboo network made of sticks. The birds too are a source of income for the family.
Art of harvesting Lotus Stem (Nadru) impressed me even more. Small boys sitting on the country side crude boats, start their day, early morning after breakfast for harvesting lotus stems manually. While interviewing one of the persons, I found that each person harvests around 40-50 Kg of lotus stem a day. The price of one Kg is around 200-300/Kg. The indigenously designed long sticks with a hook like metal attached to it made of lighter woods are used. The length of the sticks vary from 20-50 feet. Earning livelihood through naturally grown Lotus of lake depicts the conscientious nature of inhabitants of the valley. I was further staggered to see the division of water with long standing bamboo marks, done by the rural populace for harvesting.
Being inquisitive I visited the Papier Mache industry. Got startled and impressed to see how people of the valley work throughout winters in making lovely pieces of Papier Mache. On discussion with one countryside Papier Mache owner, I got to know that around 200-300 people, (old, young or small) work within one unit. Each one out of them is helping in Making of Papier Mache articles, Painting, Packing and supplying of the items and earns between 500-800 Rs. daily. The bulk orders are supplied to Netherlands, England, United States and few more countries.
The lovely, decorative and dazzling embroidery on Suits, Shawls, Phirans, Carpets, Curtains, Caps, Purses, Wallets further fetch handsome amount to the family. The focus of the article beyond doubts is to highlight the industrious and hardworking nature of lovely people of Srinagar. Wood carving, hand crafted Copper utensils, artificial jewellery, Kahawa cultivation and hot serving of Kahawa, Saffron plantation, Dry fruits along with apple orchards also provide opportunity of elevating austerity. Greatly impressed with the involvement of residents in all these occupations, it’s my suggestions that residents of all other states can also find opportunities in adversity.
Pheran is the traditional outfit in Kashmir both for males and females. Pheran is a corruption of the Persian word ‘perahan’ which means cloak. The outfit has been in vogue in Srinagar since before the 15th century. It was introduced by Mughal Emperors. Historians believe that this elegant art of copper utensils and painting on Papier Mache, was introduced by artisans and traders from Iran and Iraq over seven hundred years ago. An Islamic scholar from Persia, Mir Sayyid Ali Hamdani, was instrumental in making copperware popular among the natives and he brought craftsmen from central Asia to train locals.
(Author is Ex Principal and former Professor of Botany Govt. P G College Hamirpur Himachal Pradesh. Presently residing in Srinagar & Studying Ethnobiology of the area)
