M Aamir Khan
Srinagar: Bashir Ahmad spends his entire day working alone at a 122-year-old dyeing ‘karkhana’ located at Bohri Kadal in the old city.
Right from his childhood, he has been in the business of dyeing woollen curtains that are later sent for crewel and chain stitch embroidery.
Though he inherited the art of applying colours from his forefathers, Bashir said his children refused to take up the profession and that he now was the last dyer of the family.
“This karkhana is 122 years old and my forefathers have worked here. Though my uncle too is in the same business, our children refused to take up this profession. Now, I am the last dyer in the family,” Bashir told The Kashmir Monitor.
Though he regrets that nobody in the family would now take up the profession, Bashir said nobody had paid much attention to the issues faced by the dyers.
“What to do now as our children do not want to be part of this profession. I regret the same but one does not earn much now through this work now. At the same time, we have been neglected and not much attention has been paid to our welfare,” he said.
Concerned by the shortage of timber and fuel to set up the process of heating the water where the colour and fabric are dipped profusely, Bashir said he now uses synthetic dyes to make the process convenient.
Director, Handicrafts and Handloom, Kashmir, Mahmood Ahmad Shah said Bashir was the ‘last sentinel of this craft from his family.
“Dyeing is the art of infusing different colours into the fabric to give it a lustrous tinge matching the ambience of any space. In the 122-year-old karkhana, Bashir Ahmed, the last sentinel of this craft from his family, dyes woollen curtains later sent for crewel and chain stitch embroidery,” he said.
He said the 122-year-old ‘karkhana’ has been included in the itinerary of the ‘Crafts Safari’ that was started in the wake of Srinagar making it to the coveted list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in Crafts and Folk Arts Category for the year 2021.
