Carpet
Weaving Industry: Kashmir
Last but not the least among the
village oriented small scale handmade industry which deserves here a special
mention, and which had once revolutionized the village economy, is the carpet
weaving industry (kalin). This handmade industry was introduced in our village by 1970’s,
reached to its pinnacle and heights in no time in 1980’s and then very rapidly
started to decline from the last decade of the 20th century.
The process of a production of a
carpet was long and laborious. It involved several steps such as cultivation of
silk or wool, treating and dying it, deciding the pattern of carpet weaving and
then adding the final touches.
Mostly the system which was in vogue
was somewhat very similar to Dadni system with the trader of nearby
village or locality, or even with the trader of Srinagar, who used to provide
raw material and the loom on which the carpet was weaved.
From 1985 to 1994 this industry
flourished and reached to its highest pitch of glory in our village. Its
popularity can be gauged from the fact that this industrial unit was
established in almost each and every household, a nearly two to three members
on an average of an every household were involved in carpet weaved. This
industry has revolutionized the village economy during the period of its
pinnacle and culmination to such an extent that the people threw away their
government jobs and get involved in this industry.
But from the beginning of the last
decade of 20th century this industry declined very sharply and in no
time got completely ruined and disappeared from our village and locality. While
interviewing various persons (weavers) who were involved with this industry, I
came to know about various factors which led to the ruination of the industry.
I have categorized these incomitant factors under the following heads:
(a)Competition
in outside market: As
the machine made less expensive carpets from others parts of India made their
way in to the market, there remained fewer buyers for Kashmiri handmade
carpets. Thus this craft which was considered as the trade mark of Kashmir
succumbed to the competition, both from within and outside the state the state
of Jammu & Kashmir.
(b)Sub
standard use of raw material: Though initially the material used in the Kashmiri carpet was the finest quality,
but after the lapse of time when the weavers begin to face a competition in
markets they took recourse to the use of sub standard raw material. This
degradation has not only dented the image and reputation of Kashmiri carpets
but also let to the diminishing international market.
(c)No
innovation by weavers: lack
of innovations in carpets was yet another cause responsible for the decline of
this craft. Despite the competition the weavers remained stick to their
traditional and age old designs and patterns of flora and fauna.
hilal hayat
www.hilalhayat.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment