Visits to Kanihoma and Dachigam are parts of such surprising encounters in my life, parceled away to be later recalled in moments of leisure and self indulgence.
Dachigam is a wildlife sanctuary a mere 13km away from the heart of Srinagar-yet this world is far removed from the cultivated charms of the kashmiri capital, covering highlands of rarified stillness, green drenched pristine forests, bubbling streams, small rivers, created by the winter snow melts, that still provides drinking water source for the entire Srinagar. To add to this, Dachigam is one of the last reserves protecting a disappearing population of Hungals or the red deer - on the endangered list of world wildlife.
To have a fighting chance of seeing these shy animals, the kids and I left for Dachigam in the dark pre-dawn hours, arriving as the first visitors to the park. A walk with our guide in the hushed quietness of these early hours, looking for signs and presence of Hungals, was filled with suspense and bursting excitement. It took an hour or so of wandering before the guide spotted a herd of about six deer at a distance. What we saw were moving smudges against matching hills-moving higher and fast-apparently we had been spotted way before we saw the herd, and they were taking no chances with humans-smart choice!
I cannot say what it was about Dachigam that impressed me-seeing the deer, walking through the forests, or encountering spaces that seemed so unharmed by human presence. It seemed that whatever the practical merits, human life cannot but be enriched by close presence of wild and wilderness, in sensitivity its quietness instills within us and the lessons that it teaches for free.
Scenes from Dachigam
Kanihoma is a tiny village on the road from Srinagar to Gulmarg. Its name derives from 'kani' - the wooden bobbins used in weaving of traditional Kani shawls with their rich tapestry of colors and patterns drawn from the mughal era. These shawls became a rage in European courts and fashion world in 1800s till the British cloth mills started mass production of cheaper imitations usimg raw materials procured from India. Recent efforts to revive this rich and elaborate weaving tradition is meeting with some success, as I discovered on a visit to Kanihoma.
A small street along a creek, houses of exposed, unbaked bricks, thatch roof, small yards with hanging chillis, a patch of mustard, a few flowers, a couple of fruit trees-at this time in blossom.
Inside these small homes, hidden from prying eyes, masterpieces were being created-soft as clouds, in colors of brilliant rainbows, fabrics woven of finest pashmina and shatush, in intricately woven patterns of ivory, gold, crimson, jade, purple...with love and patience each thread was wrought, in and out, up and around, taking 18 long months of labor, to produce a small piece, a few feet wide and long, to wrap privileged shoulders in riches rare. Kani shawls come at a price tag upwards of Rs. 60,000 an extremely modest cost for an effort so long and hard, and craftsmanship so rare. However, takers for this rare crafts are few within India, and most of these shawls make it to appreciative markets abroad-mainly in the middle east. For this one is grateful-since it preserves and propogates a tradition, saving it from becoming a dying crafts form, to a living, evolving and thriving artistic expression.
Art and the artisans
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