The story of the Pashmina is studded with several myths – often, contradictory theories about its qualities, geographical origin and source and method of production. Between fact and fiction, it has become something coveted or owned by many but never fully understood. Pashmina: The Kashmir Shawl and Beyond, by Janet Rizvi with Monisha Ahmed, aims to eliminate the chaff.
A presentation held at British Council recently saw the launch of Marg Publications’ new book as well as an exhibition and fashion show by Ahujasons showcasing the Pashmina. “The book was the start of a learning curve that continued to this day. Existing literature on the Pashmina shawl was full of gaps. I promised myself that I would try to write a book on the complete Pashmina story,” said Janet about the book that took up six years of research. Janet holds a Ph. D in History from Cambridge.
“At best, the stories started in Srinagar. Most books circulated and recycled old myths... The Western audience found it exotic and bizarre.” Pashmina: The Kashmir Shawl and Beyond follows the origin of the fibre right to the Changra goats, which are specially reared by the nomadic Changpa tribes of Ladakh, and then its refinement at the hands of the Kashmiri artisans and subsequent export and consumption by the rest of the world. Monisha, a D.Phil in Anthropology from Oxford who has previously researched and lived with the Changpa, played a crucial role here.
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“She agreed to document the contemporary trade that existed between Ladakh and Kashmir,” said Janet. Throwing light on the Changpa, Monisha spoke about the tribe’s present population, which is less than 9,000, and the adverse climatic conditions which force them to keep moving 10 to 12 times a year.
“In Ladakh, merchants pay Rs.1,200 to 1,500 for a kilogram of raw Pashmina,” she added. “The rock-and-bushes theory (on the way Pashmina is produced) has finally been laid to rest,” grinned Janet.
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Janet spoke about the defining characteristics of a Pashmina shawl, like the twill tapestry (where the design is woven into the fabric) and design parameters, pre-eminently the buta. Sixteenth century central India manuscripts, Mughal era texts, 19th century documentation – all provided important reference material for the book.
The different ways and forms in which the Pashmina shawl kept appearing in history – as Jamawar believed to be first popularised by Akbar, exported to the Ottoman empire as shawl material in the 16th and 17th centuries, used as waist girdles in West Asia, turning a rage in Europe in the late 18th and early 19th centuries “affordable only to the seriously rich”, and comparisons with the Iranian Termeh – made for another interesting part of the presentation.
Following the discussion, different types of the Pashmina shawl, like the pure black-and-white variety, the kalamkari Pashmina, the kani shawl, jamawar and the more ornate gold-thread Pashmina, were showcased in a fashion show choreographed by Lubna Adams and put together by Ahujasons.