People & Crafts
Poets, mystics, and craftspeople who shaped the shared heritage of the valley — honoured across communities.
Pashmina is a fine wool from a Himalayan goat, spun and woven into very soft shawls. Kani weaving uses small wooden sticks instead of a needle to make patterned shawls. Kashmir has been famous for these shawls for centuries and they were once traded across Asia and Europe.
Papier-mâché is the art of shaping objects from paper pulp and then painting them with fine floral and bird designs. The craft came to Kashmir from Persia in the 14th–15th century. Today it decorates boxes, bowls, and Christmas ornaments sent all over the world.
Kashmiri walnut wood is strong and dark. Skilled carvers cut deep floral and chinar-leaf patterns into it by hand. Walnut furniture and panels from Kashmir have been prized for generations.
Traam is the copperware of Kashmir, used at home and for feasts like Wazwan. Craftsmen from Srinagar's old city hammer flowers, leaves, and calligraphy into samovars, plates, and bowls. The craft has been passed down family lines for centuries.