SHAWLS

It is said that the shawls were famous from Kashmir even in the times of emperor Ashok (3rd C BC) but many writers credited Sultan Zain-Ul-Abidin (1420-1470 A.D) as the initiator of Shawl industry in Kashmir. It may be the Sultan whose enlightened rule encouraged promotion of arts as an organized trade and the Pashmina or in Persian called "Pashm" that we know today is a legacy of that period.

Shawls have been worn and used as a warm protective garment by kings and queens since ancient times. However, the Mughal emperor Akbar experimented with various styles and encouraged weavers to try new motifs, which helped establish a successful shawl industry.

Derived from the Persian shal, which was the name for a whole range of fine woolen garments, the shawl in India was worn folded across the shoulder, and not as a girdle, as the Persians did. Even today, we sometimes see old Parsis with a shawl tied around their waist during their religious ceremonies.

Though shawls are worn and used as a warm protective garment all over the northern states today, Kashmir has become synonymous with shawls all over the world. There are no earlier indications but around the Mughal rule in India, Kashmir soon overtook the northwest frontier and Punjab, as the center of shawl- making. Akbar was greatly enamored by the Kashmir shawls and the way it was worn, folded in four, captured his imagination. He experimented with various ways of wearing it, and found that it looked good worn without folds, just thrown over the shoulder.

Pashmina is unmistakable for its softness. Pashmina yarn is spun from the hair of the ibex found at 14,000 ft above the sea level, although pure pashmina is expensive, the cost is sometimes brought down by blending it with rabbit fur or with wool.

Shahtoosh, the legendary ‘ring shawl’ is incredible for its lightness, softness and warmth. The astronomical price it commands in the market is due to the scarcity of raw-material. High in the plateaux of Tibet and the eastern part of Ladakh, at an altitude of above 5,000 meters, roam Pantholops Hodgosoni or Tibetan antelope. During grazing, a few strands of the downy hair from the throat are shed and it is these which are painstakingly collected until there are enough for a shawl. Yarn is spun either from shahtoosh alone, or with pashmina, bringing down the cost somewhat. In the case of pure shahtoosh too, there are many qualities-the yarn can be spun so skillfully as to resemble a strand of silk. Not only are shawls made from such fine yarn extremely expensive, they can only be loosely woven and are too flimsy for embroidery to be done on them. Unlike woolen or Pashmina shawls, Shahtoosh is seldom dyed-that would be rather like dyeing gold! Its natural color is mousy brown, and it is, at the most, sparsely embroidered.

Closely linked with the climatic conditions of the region, the warmth and popularity of the shawl decreases as we travel from Kashmir to southern part of India; in fact, south of the Deccan plateau, there is hardly any shawl weaving industry. There are shawls to suit every budget. The warm and absolutely soft pashmina shawls of Kashmir, made from the soft wool from the underbelly of the Tibetan mountain oat. The expensive kani and amli shawls again from Kashmir, beautifully reflect the chinar leaves, and other natural beauties of the state.

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