IF U VISITING SRINAGAR ,,,,, DONT FORGET TO BUYING KANI SHAWL .AUTHENTIC HANDICRAFT FROM KASHMIR SRINAGAR

intricately woven into the history of the fabled valley is the centuries old tradition of producing exquisitely woven shawls . Kashmir owes part of its fame to these masterpieces in fabric both made by hand and loom .

The method in which it is made decides its name; the ones woven on looms ar kani shawls while the needle - embroided ones are Sozni shawls . known by different names such as Tiliwalla. Tilikar for Kani Kar , Kani shawls are worn by many all over the world not just for their warmth but also for the grace they bestow on the wearer .

History is replete with accounts of beautiful Kani shawls produced in the valley .Emperor Akbar's liking for Kani shawls is reflected in the Ain - I - Akbari , an account of the Mughal period in Kashmir (1586- 1752 ).

The text narrates how, mesmerized by their intricate beauty . Akbar went on to become a keen collector of Kani shawls . The Kani shawl is the product of laborious days and a suprising weaving technique . first, a design is selected for a shawl and the colours for the thread are chosen . it is then woven with the weft thrown across the breadth of the shawl .

to arrange colours and patterns , a specialised coded language , known as taleem, is drafted on paper. this language helps position the colour and location of threads - precisely ensuring that the final design which emerges is intricate and exquisite in detail.

the master weavers say the labour necessary to produce a Kani shawl is five times more than would go into Sozni shawl . it is no suprise then that a kani shawl is five times as expensive .

the concentratration that goes into weaving a Kani shawl can be gauged from the fact that an artisan cannot weave more than an inch a day . A Kani shawl is about 1 x 2 metres in size aand it takes two craftsmen  nearly two years to complete one . depending on the intricacy of the design , the making time can even stretch to five years . Frank Ames , author of the Kashmir shawl wrote in 1853 that a Kani shawl ordered by the Empress of France took 30 men approximately nin months to complete .


'KANI' is Kashmiri for wooden spool , the main loom element used the most to produce a shawl .
Kanihama , a village is western Kashmir , has mastered  the art of producing ad trading Kani shawls over centuries . in an attempt to keep this craft alive , the government is helping sustain 300 looms in Kanihama .

Kani shawls come in varied patterns and de signs . in a doubled - sided or Dorukha shawl , it is difficult to distinguish one side from the other . it has two colour codes for its two faces and the designon one side is reproduced in another colour on the other . The epitome of craft and skill is , however, seen the Aksi (reflection ) shawl . The design on one side is produced by splitting the wrap threads into half , leaving the other side plain or embroidered with another pattern