• last year
For Sajjad Ahmad, making shawls is more than just a job—it’s a family identity. For generations, his family living in the small town of Kanihama, located in the Budgam district in the Indian-administered region of Jammu and Kashmir, has created hand-knit masterpieces. These pashmina creations, fashioned from the dyed wool of goats from the nearby Ladakh region, are so central to the village that they’re woven into its very name.
Transcript
00:00 For hundreds of years, a small town in what is known today as the territory of Jammu and Kashmir
00:08 has crafted shawls coveted throughout history by Sikh Maharajas, Mughal kings and European monarchs.
00:17 Taking anywhere from four months to two years to complete,
00:21 these intricate textiles become extensions of the weavers who create them.
00:27 And this artistic legacy can be found anywhere,
00:31 whether a friend's well-stocked wardrobe or in a world-famous museum.
00:37 This is the town of Kani Hama, ancestral home of the Kani shawl,
00:43 a Pashmina textile masterpiece that has become inseparable from the town's identity.
00:51 My name is Sajjad Ahmed. I am from Kani Hama village, where the Kani shawl was revived.
00:57 The name of this village is Kani Hama.
01:00 Kani because of this wooden school and Hama means village.
01:03 Hama is a village.
01:05 Although Kani shawls have an extensive legacy in this part of the world,
01:10 the craft almost vanished due to punishing taxes levied against weavers.
01:16 It took people like Ahmed's father, Gulam, to help revive and nurture the art form
01:22 that had for generations been intrinsically linked with his own family.
01:27 My father thought that this craft was part of his family,
01:32 so he wanted to revive it.
01:36 If you ask anyone in Kashmir about my father, Maroon,
01:40 they will say that he left this legacy behind and is now helping people.
01:48 Despite these shawls teetering on the edge of extinction,
01:52 Kani Hama is now the champagne of the shawl world.
01:56 Sure, other manufacturers can make shawls,
01:59 but only this small town in Kashmir can lay claim to its heritage of craftsmanship.
02:06 And that craftsmanship begins long before an artisan ever sits down at a loom.
02:14 The process begins by sourcing Pashmina wool from native Kashmir goats in the nearby region of Ladakh.
02:23 Workers separate hair, debris and other impurities from the soft wool,
02:29 before spinning it into yarn.
02:32 Pashmina is naturally white, so the yarn is then dyed in a variety of colours.
02:38 Once this high-quality yarn is ready, the weft and warp,
02:43 the two basic components that turn yarn into fabric, are prepared for the loom.
02:48 A weaver, a designer and their guide sit together and decide on a shawl design.
02:58 This is the technicality of the process, and then the team work is done to make the shawl.
03:04 The guide and weaver determine the shawl's price based on length,
03:09 while the designer goes over the intricacies of the shawl.
03:13 Finally, the weaver gets to work. Small wooden kani are set up on the loom.
03:19 One shawl can use up to 500 of these sticks at a time.
03:24 The weaver then creates the shawl using a coded pattern known as a tayalim.
03:30 And it's at this point that the artisans truly become one with their work.
03:36 When the weaver tightens the cloth, it becomes a habit to weigh the weight of the cloth.
03:48 If we have another weaver, who has a lighter weight,
03:54 the design becomes distorted, and it doesn't remain the same.
03:59 We have to be very careful with this, and there is no room for compromise.
04:04 If we have a weaver, how can we compromise?
04:07 It can take a weaver four months to create a basic shawl,
04:11 or up to two years to finish a highly intricate one, which can cost upwards of $12,000.
04:18 It's a process of meticulous attention, artistry, and hard work.
04:24 It takes one and a half years to work on one thing,
04:28 and one and a half years to sit on it, and one and a half years to tolerate it.
04:34 It's like putting a stone in the sea.
04:37 The weaver puts a stone in the sea every day, and after two or one and a half years,
04:41 the artist's work becomes more vibrant.
04:43 Today, more than 5,000 workers in the Kanihama region are involved in making Kani shawls.
04:50 And just as Sajid's father inspired him,
04:54 future generations are similarly taught the family business.
04:59 [SPEAKING HINDI]
05:02 [SPEAKING HINDI]
05:05 [SPEAKING HINDI]
05:08 [SPEAKING HINDI]
05:11 [SPEAKING HINDI]
05:15 [SPEAKING HINDI]
05:19 [SPEAKING HINDI]
05:23 [MUSIC PLAYING]
05:27 [MUSIC ENDS]
05:30 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Recommended