KASHMIRI SHAWLS AND PHERANS

KASHMIRI SHAWLS & PHERANS

If there is a single commodity that has over the centuries represented the beauty of Kashmir across the world, it is the Kashmiri shawls and pherans. Kashmiri shawls are made of Wool, Pashmina and Shahtoosh. Woolen shawls are the cheapest while Shahtoosh, made from the wool of the toosh goat, is the most expensive. Woolen shawls are popular because of the embroidery worked on them, which is a specialty to Kashmir. Many kinds of embroidery are worked on shawls- ‘sozni’ or needlework is generally done in a panel along the sides of the shawl. Motifs, usually abstract designs and flowers are worked in one or two, occasionally three colors, all subdued. Another type of needle embroidery is popularly known as Papier Mache work because of the design and the style in which it is executed. This is done either in broad panels or on either side of the breadth of a shawl, or covering the entire surface of a shawl, Ari or hook embroidery motifs are well-known flower designs finely worked in concentric rings of chain stitch. Pashmina shawls are unmistakably soft and its yarn is spun from the hair of the Ibex found at 14,000 feet above sea level. Shahtoosh is the legendary ‘ring shawl’, since it can pass through a wedding-ring, and is renowned for its lightness, softness and warmth. Pherans, a loose, rough, plain tweed cloak for men and women, it is believed that the word Pheran is a mix of the Persian word pehra-han . This would imply that the Mughals brought this unisex dress to Kashmir to de-martialize the brave Kashmiris. A fusion of a coat and a cloak, it is loose enough to admit the brazier of live coals (Kangri) for warmth. Men’s Pherans are always made of tweed or coarse wool while women’s Pherans are most commonly made of raffle with splashes of ari or hook embroidery at the throat, cuffs and edges. Lastly, Kashmiri shawls are the token of commemoration and gifts of love deeply associated with the land.