Kashmir
Kashmir’s willow wickerwork gets a modern facelift
In the face of cheap plastic products from China, Kashmiri craftsmen meld traditional willow with modern designs to create a wide range of competitive products – vases, lamp shades, haute kitchenware and even sofas.
Wakhoo: Journey from a sleepy village of timber traders to ‘Pencil Village’ of India
There’s a 90 percent chance that the pencil you’re writing with is made of slats processed in Wakhoo of south Kashmir – for it supplies more than 70% of wood to India’s pencil industry.
The ‘faere’ tale of Kashmir’s smoked fish dish
Faere is Kashmir’s smoked fish – most loved in the cold months – that’s gone from a survival dish, when fresh food was hard to get, to a Kashmiri comfort food to a gourmet dish for foodies.
Be in the pink this winter with Kashmiri noon chai
A symbol of Kashmir’s culture – salty, heavy noon chai – is brewed in evaporated milk and served hot at tea stalls and homes alike.
Kashmir’s cricket bats go global, give English willow a run for its money
Bat-maker Fawzul Kabeer helps bring Kashmiri willow bats the attention and market they deserve.
The first Indian woman who converted polythene into ashes
Despite lacking a technical education and being ridiculed for her ‘scientific pursuit,’ 48-year-old Nasira Akhtar of Kanipora village in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, is about to get a patent for her grassroots innovation of a magical herb that converts polythene into ashes.
Women bear brunt of poor healthcare in rural Kashmir
Healthcare infrastructure is poor in rural areas of Kashmir, and it particularly affects the women, who have to rush to Srinagar to get proper medical attention, as there is a dire shortage of gynecologists in the districts
Kangri still keeps Kashmir warm in winter
The traditional fire pot of Kashmir helps people keep themselves warm in the harsh winter, retaining its utility despite the advent of modern appliances, and assuring thousands of men and women their livelihood
Farmers are making Kashmir a land of honey
Farmers growing fruits and vegetables in Kashmir are doubling as beekeepers to boost their incomes, taking advantage of vast tracts of horticultural land with their abundance of flowers
Fetching water adds to the drudgery of J&K women
Lacking piped water supply, young girls and women in rural areas of Jammu & Kashmir spend hours walking long distances to get water far from their homes and waiting for their turn at the source