Kashmiri, Central Asian artisans reconnect under one roof in Srinagar

Seventeen artisans who have travelled from Iran, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Russia to Srinagar, are reviving lost crafts and the cultural links between Kashmir and Central Asia

Artisans from Kashmir witnessed a rare reunion with master craftspeople from Central Asia after a gap of about 500 years at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre in Srinagar on Wednesday (November 27, 2024), at an event held in the backdrop of the ‘World Craft City’ tag being awarded to the J&K capital earlier this year.

While artisans from Kashmir traced the roots of many handicrafts to Central Asian countries, their counterparts were mesmerised by the traditional processes preserved by Kashmiri craftspeople. Majed Shahriari, a suit-wearing woodcarver from Iran, and Ghulam Nabi Dar, a ‘Khan suit’-wearing master woodcarver from Srinagar, had only heard stories about each other’s art forms and geographies. 

“It’s my first trip to Kashmir. There is a lot of similarity in the wood carving though the techniques do differ. Kashmir’s intricate wood carving uses two tools — chisel and hammer — while in Iran, just one chisel is employed to carve flowers and patterns on wood,” Mr. Shahriari told The Hindu. “Art, and not craft, is very central to artworks of Iran,” he added. 

According to popular history, Zain-ul-Abidin, the ninth sultan of the Kashmir Sultanate from the 15th Century, promoted the local wood-carving industry with the help of master artisans from Central Asia’s Samarkand, Bukhara and Persia. After his death, however, craft interactions between Kashmir and Central Asia dwindled with the passage of time, and almost came to an end by 1947, when borders were fortified around Kashmir.

Seventeen artisans, who have travelled from Iran, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Russia to Srinagar, have revived lost crafts and cultural links between Kashmir and Central Asia. The artisans came to Srinagar as part of a rare three-day craft exchange initiative, which concluded on Wednesday (November 27, 2024).

The World Crafts Council (WCC) granted Srinagar the tag of ‘World Craft City’ in June this year.   

“There is a lot of similarity between crafts in Uzbekistan and Kashmir. I would like artisans from my country to see how artisans in Kashmir have preserved many processes for centuries. We look forward to more such exchanges in the future too,” Aziz Murtazaev, a delegate from Uzbekistan, who has earned fame for ikat fabrics, said. 

Uzbekistan’s suzani work, which apparently travelled to Kashmir, is widely known as sozini art here, and uses the same techniques, colours and floral schemes. “For me, it was going back to our roots as I observed the Central Asian art form. Our aesthetics and exquisite designs match a lot, from carpets to shawls,” Nazima Jan, a sozni artisan from Srinagar, said. 

The stall set up by Hamid Mahmoudi and Marjan Kakouei, an Iranian couple dealing in woollen carpets, attracted the attention of carpet dealers and artisans from Kashmir. In the family of knots, Kashmir, for centuries, preferred Farsi baff and the Persian system known as the Sehna knot to weave woollen and silk carpets. Sehna is a style of knotting where the ends of the yarn loop around a warp thread, and appears at each of the interstices between adjacent threads to produce a compact and relatively even pile effect.

“The Kashmir carpet industry’s link with Iran is evident from the fact that carpet patterns are named after Iranian cities, including Kashan, Kirman, Tabriz, Isfahan, and Meshed. It is, however, the first time that artisans from these cities, and Kashmir, get to see each other’s work and observe it closely. It will help artisans in Kashmir upskill and inspire them to do better,” Saleem Beg, head of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage-Kashmir.. 

Other talking points came up as the artisans conversed. “Kashmir is very beautiful. The place is mesmerising, closer to the stories we heard about Kashmir back home,” Feruza Kulmatova, a suzani artisan from Uzbekistan, said.

Buoyed by the interest generated among artisans, WCC president Saad Al-Qaddumi urged the government to throw its weight behind such initiatives and organise more such interactions. “Such initiatives need handholding from governments,” Mr. Qaddumi said.

J&K Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo said the tag of ‘World Craft City’ was going to be a gamechanger. “Srinagar has been awarded ‘World Craft City’ in recognition of the hard work of artisans. The event is going to connect the artisans of Kashmir with global markets,” Mr. Dulloo said.

Mahmood Ahmad Shah, Director, Department of Handicrafts and Handloom, said the event saw delegates from North American, European and Asian chapters of the WCC, and further strengthened the buying ecosystem. “The event is also likely to take the historic influence of Central Asia on Kashmir’s art forward,” Mr. Shah said. 

Published - November 27, 2024 11:12 pm IST