Reviving Kashmiri Art.

Kashmir has been considered as the paradise on earth from centuries altogether. The beauty of Kashmir has attracted people from round the globe. Many great authors have praised the beauty of Kashmir in their writings. Whenever there is a talk about Kashmir, people think of snow laden mountains, open grasslands and meadows, green forests, beautiful lakes and multi-coloured flower gardens. Yes the fact remains that if few years back the talk of Kashmir had happened one more thing would have come into minds of people, “Kashmiri Arts and handicrafts”. The question is why Kashmiri arts and handicrafts lost their charm and demand? Why Craftsmen which once were so busy in their work are now sitting idle looking for work? Why this industry lost ground and is almost dead now? And finally can life be rebreathed in this industry and if yes how?

Kashmir was also called as “Small Iran”, it is because not only Kashmiri culture was affected and influenced by Persians but the handicrafts work was also gifted to Kashmir by Persia. Kashmiri handicrafts include a variety of products that reflect the creative and pure art of Kashmiri craftsmen. These products include Carpets, Namdas, Papier-mâché, Shawls, Chain Stitch, Crewel Furnishings, Saffron, Walnuts, Almonds, Honey, Silks, Tweeds, Pherans, Basketry, walnut wood works, Copper and Silverware works. This art has been practised in Kashmir since centuries now and these products remained a symbol of lavishness till some bad practises marred these crafts.

Kashmiri handicrafts lost the ground in market because of bad marketing practices. Every single bit of marketing was wrongly done, be it pricing, channels of distribution, packaging, or the people involved, branding was nowhere and channels of communication were disturbed. These are the main factors why Kashmiri handicrafts were thrown out of market and today nobody seems to be buying these products. Talking about pricing every vendor used to price products according to his own choice and the standard of the buyer and still this practice is going on. Channels of distribution and people involved were totally amiss. Usually these people were not honest in their dealings and once their stock was over they sold sub-standard material to buyers at super normal profits. These factors were predominantly responsible for heightening the lack of trust among buyer towards seller. As the time passed people started doubting the quality of these products plus the price was too high. There was one more problem which the buyer faced this was a serious one. Once the buyer realized that he or she was cheated by the seller he/ she couldn’t find the seller as he had no permanent shop or address. The lack of branded products made it difficult for the buyers to believe in the claims of the salesman. Slowly people realised why to buy a shawl or anything made from Kashmir at a high price without knowing that whether the product would render the services as promised by the sales man and that too without a warranty and guaranty. These were the main reasons why the profits of this industry started to decline in late nineties. Later the problem aggrieved and the profits turned into losses and now the situation is that this industry is almost dead in Kashmir. Although Govt. has been trying to revive these arts and handicrafts in Kashmir but the work done so far is almost negligible. Thus it has come to the shoulders of young entrepreneurs to breathe a new life to this industry.  Many of the young men who belong to these families and have grown up watching their father and relatives making these products can take this up as a business line and believe me one doesn’t need an MBA degree to be a good businessman. Now let’s discuss some of the many points that can help these handicrafts to be world famous once again.

The first thing that comes to my mind is branding. Branding helps the buyer to differentiate the products with respect to their quality and manufacturer. Kanwal has done a fabulous job in branding Kashmiri spices. It is through their efforts Kashmiri Spices are now being shipped to Gulf Nations. Likewise if we can brand our Kashmiri handicrafts and even each product separately that would help in building customer loyalty.

Second thing that needs to be mended is the channels of communication and channels of distribution. To me door to door selling and too aggressive selling mar the image of these handicrafts. As far I`m concerned Kashmiri traders should turn to internet as a channel of communication and channels of distribution should be shortened to direct or zero level. This will ensure a better control of the businessman on the quality and price of the product that reaches the customer. Opening of e-shopping sites has been a trend in India for last one year or so and it has done wonders to many companies and many handicrafts across states in India. This is also a way forward for Kashmiri Handicrafts, online sites will not only ensure that maximum customers can reach to the seller but it also ensures that a seller and buyers won`t be doing too much dickering for the product. It also ensures a global reach to the seller and will facilitate the reckoning of these arts throughout the globe. Online banking has facilitated the job as transactions can be done instantaneously and seller can get the money deposited in his account within minutes. These e-sites will also ensure that a buyer has an address to reach out if he finds that the product he has got is not up to expectations. This will enhance a trust between the buyer and seller and once the buyer gets good and quality products he can turn to the seller again and again. On the sellers part it will ensure that quality and honesty is strictly followed because almost 90% of dissatisfied never turn back to the seller again and not only that they ensure that others won`t also.

Packaging is also an issue; we can see the results by declining sales of Kashmiri Apples. In this competitive world quality product is not enough; it should be properly packed also. Pricing should be fair and reliable. Fair and reliable pricing ensure that customers not only buy for themselves but provide an impetus to others interested in buying. At last but not least the quality and durability of the product should never be compromised in any case. Surely if one follows the points discussed above with honesty and integrity he can not only revive these arts but earn a hefty amount of profit. These are only few of the many important issues that if corrected and followed properly will breathe a new life in Kashmiri art and handicrafts.