Pride Returns to Kashmir’s Crafting Hands

By Musaib Bilal

Srinagar in winter has a sharp, crisp air. Smoke curls from small tea stalls, streets glint under frost, and inside narrow workshops, artisans work with focus.

An elderly weaver smooths a Pashmina shawl across his lap, running his fingers over threads that took weeks, sometimes months, to knot.

Each piece tells a story of patience, skill, and generations of knowledge passed down like a secret.

These are the heart of a culture that has always expressed itself through its hands.

Kashmir crafts, including Pashmina, Kani weaves, carpets, papier-mâché, and walnut woodwork, have always been admired worldwide. Tourists and collectors marvel at them, and shops display them like treasures.

Still, behind the beauty, many artisans struggle. Machine-made imitations sell cheap