The centuries-old papier-mache, an art form that is deeply interwoven with the culture and traditions of Kashmiri society, is dying a slow death as the number of people involved in the trade has decreased due to various reasons.
Once a thriving art, thousands of families in Kashmir earned their livelihood by selling and making papier-mache items. The emergence of the art of papier-mache accompanied the advent of Islam in the region. It was introduced to Kashmir by Sufi scholar Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani, who arrived from Persia with skilled craftsmen in the 14th century.
However, the art is declining now as youngsters from the families involved in the business are not interested to carry on the legacy due to lesser returns. Based on paper pulp, it is made into a richly-decorated and colourful artefact. Untouched by machines, it is most likely the only art that is purely handmade.
Artisans work from morning to evening, but the returns are not commensurate with the long hours of work. On average, an artisan earns Rs 250-300 a day and has to live a hand-to-mouth existence.
“We want our children to get educated so that they have a better life. My daily income means nothing. We don’t want our children to carry on with the art,” Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, an artisan from old city Srinagar told DH.
He said most of the people left the art after duplicate things were used which led to the decline in the demand.
“The demand for papier-mache products as of now is very low. However, as foreign tourist arrivals have increased in the last few months, we expect the market to be better in the coming time,” Bhat hoped.
His views were echoed by Umar Dar, a businessman dealing with Kashmir arts products. “Handicraft industry needs to be revived for which intervention of the government is a must. We have put forward a charter of demands before the government for the complete revival of the handicraft sector and we hope things will move,” he said.
Now on the verge of extinction, some artists are trying to introduce innovation to keep it alive. Hashim Ali Khan and Maisar Ali Khan, siblings from Srinagar, introduced the latest designs and patterns and advertised the same on social media to save the dying art.
They learnt the craft from their father - Shabir Hussain Khan - who has been into the art for the last five decades. “We decided to take forward the work done by our father. We have been working on new designs and colour schemes. Customers like it and the demand is growing,” they said.
Asked what the reason was for the falling number of people involved in the craft, they said, “Unfortunately, the younger generation is not keen on pursuing the traditional art forms. This work demands a lot of patience, which, unfortunately, our young generation lacks.”
The siblings emphasised that reviving such traditional art forms can also be commercially viable.