-
-
PASHMINA
₨ 25,164The classic Kashmir shawl is among the most exquisite textile woven, the product of consummate skill and artistry applied to one of the world’s most delicate fibres. It has been an object of desire for Mughal emperors and Sikh maharajas, Iranian nobles, French empresses, Russian and British aristocrats and, eventually, for the increasingly prosperous bourgeoisie created on both sides of the Atlantic by the Industrial Revolution. It has left a permanent imprint on the aesthetic sensibility of the modern world in the so-called paisley, derived from a motif developed in the ateliers of Kashmir’s shawl designers.
This authoritatively study introduces the Kashmir shawl as cultural artefact with known history spanning four centuries, and a geographical reference from Tibet to the United States. The authors’ original research lays many persistent myths to rest. Monisha Ahmed provides the first authentic account, based on years in the field, of the production of the raw material, pashm or “cashmere”. Janet Rizvi shows how the manufacturing technique of the shawl is rooted in skills indigenous to Kashmir’s villages, and invites the reader’s sympathy with the weavers whose skilled fingers created these amazing textiles, but who were themselves the poorest and most exploited section of the people. She traces the development of technique and design, takes a fresh look at the nature and use of the shawl in Mughal India, and analyses the structure of the industry in the 19th century. Her research reveals the extent of the trade in shawls to Iran and the Ottoman Empire long before they became an article of high fashion in the West. finally, she documents the recent revival in Kashmir of ancient skills believed to have died out.
Lavishly illustrated and accessibly written, this book has much to offer textile scholars, and those interested in the history of Kashmir, or of India’s material culture or its pre-modern trade. It will also delight anyone who has ever owned or admired a shawl from Kashmir.
-
Sindh
₨ 20,446Sindh represents a unique geopolitical entity in the history of the Indian subcontinent. Drained by the Indus, its fertile plains stretch between the mountain ranges of Balochistan’s to the west and the Thar desert in the east. Across the passes through Balochistan, Sindh connects with Iran; on the eastern side the desert cuts it off from the mass of India barring a few caravan routes. The Indus delta makes up for this acting as a trade artery along its length and giving Sindh strong maritime links with Kutch and Gujarat and across the Arabian Sea with the Persian Gulf. Situated at the crossroads of diverse cultural influences, its physical terrain has fostered a variety of crafts from the time of the Indus Civilization to the present. Three major events have contributed to the shaping of Sindh’s history, politics, and culture: the Muslim conquest in 711, the British conquest in 1843, and the Partition of India in 1947. The last has been the most dramatic and far-reaching, altering the demography of the region when the Hindus moved out and Muslim refugees from other parts of India moved to Pakistan. This is the first lavishly illustrated book to look at the heritage of Sindh, with chapters by scholars from both India and Pakistan. The first half takes note of the famed Indus Civilization; the Buddhist Stupas and Sculpture, Hindu temples, Islamic monuments and tombs; the port city of Banbhore; and the coinage and economy up to the time when the British annexed Sindh. Later chapters evoke a sense of cultural nostalgia on a range of subjects: the colourful woven and embroidered fabrics of Sindh; the visual records of the region by British artists and photographers; Karachi, cosmopolitan city of Sindh, modelled on Bombay, as remembered by those who once lived there; the sense of tumult and displacement which still resonates in works by artists on both sides of the border; and the distinctive cuisine of the province as remembered by Diasporic Sindhis.
-
-
