Showing you some of the beautiful crafts that do come from this part of the world. Right in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir State of India, husband Pieter did observe the making of those famous Silk & Wool Rugs, also the tedious embroidery of Pashminas, woven from the finest cashmere fibre. Pashmina is derived from the Persian Pašmina, meaning made from wool. This wool comes from the Pashmina goats that live at the high altitudes of the Himalayas.
Young boys weaving the very fine silk rugs...
Keep in mind that they almost work in the dark; husband Pieter used his flash!
The older brother in the front, does have the age old pattern in front of him and he is chanting it so his younger brother can follow him.
Eye sight deteriorates quickly and from the finer silk weaving they than have to shift to the coarser wool...
Two brothers working on a silk rug...
Don't know what the blue blob is on the boy's face; must be from the flash light.
A male teacher, as pointed out by Pieter's friend Dr. Parimoo (his hand...) is teaching this group of women how to embroider cashmere wool Pashminas.
On the bridge in Srinagar, J & K State, you can see a very colorful array of crafts, lots of hand knitting and such.
The lady walking to the right is wearing a beautiful Pashmina...
Life sure is colorful but by far not wealthy!
There was a request on June 25, 1983 for a World Bank assisted project for Jammu & Kashmir State in India.
A Telegram from June 27, 1983
But Campbell's Soup Company would not allow such a function...
Sadly, husband Pieter had to let go because we started working for Campbell's Mushroom Division in the USA!
But Campbell's Soup Company would not allow such a function...
Sadly, husband Pieter had to let go because we started working for Campbell's Mushroom Division in the USA!
Dachshund Mauzie is seen to the left near the wood edging...
In the mid 80s I have imported lots of handmade craft from Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India with the help of Pieter's friend Dr. Parimoo.
In the mid 80s I have imported lots of handmade craft from Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir, India with the help of Pieter's friend Dr. Parimoo.
The freight was always a big issue as it was quite expensive and not living in a cosmopolitan area here in central Georgia was also difficult for reaching the proper clientele.
Now with Internet and e-commerce that would have worked better.
Such cashmere Pashminas are so light and oh so warm; pure luxury!
People in Srinagar were really great artists and these Bells from Chinar wood (Platanus orientalis, or oriental plane) and Papier Mâché items are all hand made and hand painted, than lacquered. Also those bangles.
Little bowls with brass inserts...
All came from NEW JAN KHAN & CO - Srinagar, J & K - India (just click the link to their FB Page.
All came from NEW JAN KHAN & CO - Srinagar, J & K - India (just click the link to their FB Page.
But look how it often arrived at our home...
Cut open by the US customs, looking for drugs inside and thus ruined for sale!
I really did try hard for helping at least some of those poor people!
Related links:
{Part IX of Trip to India - Lal Mandi Srinagar, J & K People - Living} | previous post by me
{Part VIII of Trip to India - Lal Mandi Srinagar, J & K State - Mushroom Village) | previous post by me
{Part VII of Husband Pieter's Trip to India - Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir} | previous post by me
{Part VI of Husband Pieter's Trip to India - Shimla, Himachal Pradesh} | previous post by me
{Part V of Trip to India - Chail Himachal Pradesh & Highest Cricket Ground in the World} | previous post by me
{Part IV of Husband Pieter's Trip to India - Solan, Himachal Pradesh} | previous post by me
{Part III of Husband Pieter's Trip to India - Maharaja Amarinder Singh, Patiala Punjab} | previous post by me
{Part II of Husband Pieter's Trip to India - Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh} | previous post by me
{Part I of Husband Pieter's Trip to India - Arrival in New Delhi} | previous post by me
{The Mission of H.R.H. Prince Claus - Husband Pieter's Trip to India} | previous post by me
the fabrics are beautiful and colorful. i can imagine how soft. the boxes are awesome! so sad about customs having to cut into that!
ReplyDeleteDearest Theresa,
DeleteThose silk rugs are also incredibly beautiful and the Pashminas are such a soft luxury. Yes, several times I had my order being damaged like that, a sad fact.
Hugs,
Mariette
Dearest Mariette - I'm always left in awe ... how beautiful these treasures are. What a blessing to have been able to experience them first hand. Your cashmere Pashmina is beautiful!!! Wishing a blessed week hugs, Celia M. (HHL)
ReplyDeleteDearest Celia,
DeleteIt all has made such a tremendous impression on Pieter for watching how such incredible silk rugs are actually being made. Also the embroidery of those cashmere Pashmina shawls is mind boggling. How many hours that they put into such work of art! Also the hand painted art is unreal and very beautiful with all its intricate details.
Hugs and stay warm!
Mariette
Wonderful hand crafts. The people are well skilled in hand work.
ReplyDeleteDearest Kay,
DeleteYes, they did bring exceptional skills from 15th century Persia...
Hugs,
Mariette
Que gran visje Marietta querida ! Me gusto mucho esa colección de cajas !,
ReplyDeleteQuerida Angélica,
DeleteEn todo ese viaje ha sido un grandioso y que todos esos motivos viejos de Persia, utilizando en esas cajas son increíbles obras de arte! Solía importar y vender...
Cariñosamente,
Mariette
Dearst Mariette,
ReplyDeletethose handcrafts are wonderful! I saw a documentation on TV, about making those silk stuff...it is amazing, how quick they are!
Wishing you a wonderful week,
Love and hugs
Claudia
Dearest Claudia,
DeleteThe Kashmir crafts are such beautiful pieces! The silk rug weaving is not at all going fast... But I don't know what you have been looking at.
We have cold and wet weather but Monday it will be 25°C again!
Hugs,
Mariette
Liebe Mariette,
ReplyDeletedas ist wunderschön. Ich staune darüber.
Alles Liebe
Elisabeth
Liebe Elisabeth,
DeleteJa, da kann man mit Recht staunen um zu sehen was die Menschen dort mit ganz wenig noch produzieren können an Schönheit!
Liebe Grüsse,
Mariette
Hello Mariette, It is constantly amazing that the finest crafts and arts are often produced with the most primitive tools. Those looms appear to me to be made of a few pieces of almost-raw wood, but look at the quality of their output, the sturdiness of the material as well as the intricate designs. I was just reading about shatoosh, a type of shawl, now illegal, that is woven from the fur of an endangered antelope. The fur was so fine that only weavers from that area had the skill to weave it. Did you even encounter this type of shawl?
ReplyDelete--Jim
Dearest Jim,
DeleteSure we too have so often looked with amazement at how they create beauty with medieval looking tools! As for the Shatoosh shawls, no we have never encountered them and let's hope they will not bring the Tibetan antelope further into extinction!
Kindest regards,
Mariette
Je hoopt dat de mensen die het handwerk doen er ook wat beter van worden. De douane doet zijn eigen werk zo te zien.
ReplyDeleteBeste Marianne,
DeleteMeestal is dat in de praktijk echter niet het geval. Dat zijn geweldige artiesten die zo'n oude handwerken van de 15de eeuw nog in hun vingers hebben. Maar de tussenhandel etc. maken meestal meer geld dan die arme mensen. Voor mij was het al absurd dat de inkoop van hun prachtige spul veel minder was dan b.v. het verzenden. Verzekering betaalde ik ook nog maar dat heeft nóóit gewerkt; dus dat was je er ook nog bij kwijt. Jámmer dat de douane zoiets van vernielingen doet. Dat kan toch wel anders lijkt mij om te checken of er iets in zit!
Liefs,
Mariette
Liebe Mariette,
ReplyDeletewenn die Reise auch schon lange her ist, so hat sich bis zum heutigen Tage nicht
viel geändert. Kinderarbeit damals und heute. Ds ist deprimierend.
Schöne Aufnahmen von Dir.
Einen schönen Tag wünscht dir
Irmi
Liebe Irmi,
DeleteJa, Kinderarbeit ist einiges aber mein Mann sagte immer, wenn die das nicht hätten dan gab's eben nichts zum essen. Wer hat da eine Lösung und wovon sollen sie dann leben?!
Danke, die Aufnahmen von mir wo ich die Pashmina trage bringt auch schöne Erinnerungen zurück. Ich habe noch welche von der Zeit und es ist herrlich zum tragen!
Liebe Grüsse,
Mariette
Dear Mariette,beautiful handmade!I like the silk rugs and the wodden boxes!
ReplyDeleteSo preety!!Hope you have a lovely week!Hug!
Dimi...
Dearest Dimi,
DeleteThose silk rugs are exceptional and also their Papier Mâché boxes are very unique!
Sending you hugs from a wet and cold Georgia,
Mariette
How special your husband Pieter got to see the silk and wool weaving. It's a bit shocking to see such young kids working in the dark. But I imagine it's just the way it is over there. Pashminas look very soft and beautiful. And those hand crafts are really gorgeous. I feel bad for the people who made the crafts to see some of them cut open like that. But you sure have helped those people xoxo
ReplyDeleteDearest Tamago,
DeletePieter did see a lot during that trip but this was very interesting and he also did bring home such a silk rug, for on the coffee table. Yes, what is the alternative if those young kids don't work? Pieter often pointed that out, if you take that away, they have nothing! So true... not easy to solve the world's problems!
Can you imagine the person that painstakingly created that papier mâché ball and painted, lacquered it meticulously only to have it brutally cut open by some idiot custom. Why not scan them through?!
Yes, I did try to help those people... You feel like you never can do enough for them but at least I tried hard!
Hugs,
Mariette
Dearest Mariette,
ReplyDeleteWe often admire beautiful items and crafts without knowing how hard it is to produce them!!! Those young boys worked in terrible conditions!! The pashminas are so fine and beautiful as well as the boxes and bells. What a pitty some of them were destroyed passing through the customs!!
Thanks again for sharing Pieter's precious experience in that part of the world!
I wish you a nice new week!
Many hugs!
Dearest Marie-Anne,
DeleteOften when we purchase such pieces people have no idea what went on before this was being put on the shelf in the stores! Hard and tedious work in an environment that is by far not optimum.
All their goods looked equally beautiful and indeed it makes one cringe when seeing such balls being destroyed.
You are most welcome, glad you enjoyed Pieter's pictures and a little story with it.
Hugs and enjoy your remainder of the week as well.
Mariette
They are so lovely
ReplyDeleteDearest Jo-Anne,
DeleteEverything they produce is lovely!
Hugs,
Mariette
Beautiful products, it's true. It is a pity, however, that used to work with children. One powiiny have fun, not work and lose health. It is sad that it is, however, one must earn life. Regards.
ReplyDeleteDearest Giga,
DeleteGuess if they could not do this, there would be no way to earn a basic living...
Hugs,
Mariette
هჱ⊱
ReplyDeleteSão obras de arte, específicas do lugar onde moram. São primorosas!!!
Mas, também é trabalho escravo... isso é degradante para toda humanidade.
Onde está a dignidade do ser humano, do trabalho do ser humano?
Perdoe-me pelo desabafo... eu queria que o mundo fosse melhor para todos.
Ótima quarta-feira!
Beijinhos do Brasil.
ه°·✿✿
Querida Inês,
DeleteEstás tão bem no seu trabalho de arte feito em casa é tão bonita. Na sua pobreza se eles não estaria fazendo este tipo de trabalho não nem teriam alguma coisa para comer. Qual é a sua alternativa? Quem mais está disposto a alimentá-los...? Pelo menos tentei apoiá-los através da importação de seus ofícios, mas isso é tão pouco. Infelizmente, esta série de posts está tendo um final terrível, hoje à noite eu posto outro, mostrando sua luta pela vida e no dia 27, você pode ler um final mais chocante para esta história. Coração quebrando e nós só pode rezar e espero terminar esse dia!
Abraços,
Mariette
The working conditions sadden me. Life isn't so easy in some parts of the world.Beautiful products.
ReplyDeleteDearest Janey,
DeleteFor the majority of the worlds citizens, life is not easy at all!
Regardless their harsh life conditions they still do create remarkable art work.
Hugs,
Mariette
Excelentes fotografias de belo Artesanato....
ReplyDeleteCumprimentos
Dearest Fernando,
DeleteThank you and glad you got to see it.
Kindest regards,
Mariette
Dearest Mariette,
ReplyDeleteYour husband meking of those famous silk & wood and pashmina is derived from the persia pasmine.
The wood come from the perhmina goats that live high altitudes of the himaleyas.
Young boys wearing the very fine silk rugs keep in mind.
The older brother in does old patten in front of him but he is chanting in younger brother can follow him. Two brother's wearhing on a silk rug..
A mals teacher as pointed by Piter's friend Dr parmoo his hand.
The lady welking to the night is wearing a beautiful pashmine.
Dachs hund maugie is seen to the left near the wood edging.
Platanus orientalis or orientel plane and papier mache items are hand painted also those bangles.
Pieter got to see the silks and wood weaving to see imagine look very beautiful hand crofuts are really gorgeous,I feel bad for the people who made the crafts to see some of them CUT open like that but you sue have helped those people..
Your Husband pieter and your both of wonderful gorgeous love life.
I lealy love to see you always.
Hugs and Lots of Love both of you!
Michiko
Dearest Michiko,
DeleteThank you so much for your visit and for your kind words. It is a pleasure to share such photos with you.
Hugs and love from both of us!
Mariette
Dearest Mariette; First of all, I tried to check the word 'Pashmina', reading on you explained it to us :-) Oh, I DO wish their working condition is better (poor young boys!) ; it is not by far fair that I complain my eyestrain from using pc. Cashmere Pashminas look so GORGEOUS，so are you wearing it♪
ReplyDeleteHow pity that custom had to(?) do thing like that... maybe more dogs are needed!!!
Sending Lots of Love and Hugs from Japan to my Dear friend in America, xoxo Miyako*
Dearest Miyako,
DeleteOh isn't that the truth about all of us? We can use the perfect light, whatever system we would like to, from the ceiling, or just on our hands/book... We also have access to expert eye glasses for correcting. There is just no comparison with so many people in this world!
No we both don't think that the customs have to do anything like that. Why not screen it like they do with hand luggage at airports? And yes, a sniffing dog could tell certainly IF something would be inside. This is just abuse of power in a very rude way.
Hugs and love back to you all the way from Georgia/USA,
Mariette