From the luxurious pashm fibre derived from animals of the Himalayas to the exquisitely woven Kashmiri carpets and the indigenous embroidery styles such as aari and sozni at play on sarees and shawls, artefacts and handicrafts from Kashmir will be on display and for sale in the city from Wednesday.
Sarhad Pune, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) working towards the empowerment of Kashmiris has organised a handicraft exhibition from December 4 until December 10 at the Tilak Smarak Mandir.
The exhibition will be inaugurated by mayor Murlidhar Mohol and Purnima Gaikwad, IPS, at 11am on Wednesday.
The handicraft industry forms the backbone of economic development in Jammu and Kashmir and leads to employment opportunities, however, after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, the merchants have been hit hard.
“The past four months have been the worst for Kashmiri merchants and ever since August 5, their means of communication has been completely shutdown. Five years ago, the online boom had made a difference to their lives, but since August 5, the Kashmiris have had no access to telecommunication, phone and internet lines. Adding to these woes are transportation hassles, which has affected the business overall,” said Sanjay Nahar.
Nahar’s Sarhad foundation had provided help to Kashmiri merchants even during the apple crisis and had brought 40,000 kilogrammes of apples for sale in Pune to help the apple farmers generate some income.
{{/usCountry}}Nahar’s Sarhad foundation had provided help to Kashmiri merchants even during the apple crisis and had brought 40,000 kilogrammes of apples for sale in Pune to help the apple farmers generate some income.
{{/usCountry}}The handicraft exhibition will have on sale and display, pure pashmina shawls, kani jamawar shawls, hand embroidered suits, kurtis, jackets, kaftans, Kashmiri rugs, cushion covers, bags, aari work and sozni work sarees along with dress materials, in silk, cotton and linen, besides wood carved gift articles, silver and stone jewellery.