The lifting of the lockdown after two years of Covid has led to a joyous celebration of Christmas across the world and also brought good business dividends to artisans and artifact houses of Kashmir.
Amjad Ali, owner of Shah Handicrafts told Awaz-the Voice that he had employed about 250 artisans for the last six months to complete the orders for some 2 lakh items.
Papier-machie trees and stars
“We made Christmas trees, balls, stars, and bells”, he told Awaz-the Voice from his Zadibal office.
“Art connoisseurs from Europe and the Middle East book orders for Easter Eggs, Christmas tree stars, camel figures, Turkish, and other exotic designs”, an official of the Directorate of Handicrafts and Handloom, Kashmir said.
Several other items like hanging balls, hanging bells, birds, and animal shapes apart from other hanging items are also being produced, which find a market not only within the country but in the world outside, said Fayaz Ahmad Jan from the Hassanabad area of the city.
Kashmiri Muslims attending the midnight mass in Srinagar
There have been fewer orders from abroad during the past two years due to Covid protocol, but this year the artisans have received orders in bulk. Nearly 3000 families across Kashmir are associated with papier-mache.
These items are also in demand by the domestic tourists who buy these at kiosks on Dal lake, and Mughal Gardens around the year.
For the midnight mass, the small community of Christians living in Srinagar was joined in by a group of local Muslims at the Holy Family Church. They wore Santa caps and some were distributing sweets.
A member of the group said that their gesture was aimed at spreading the message of brotherhood, communal harmony, and peace. “Being a small community, Christians n Srinagar feel isolated on such an occasion, and we wanted to address this,” he said.
The members of the Christian community said that the Muslim population has always stood by them, especially on festive occasions.
On Friday, the Directorate of Tourism organized a cake competition at the Institute of Hotel Management here as part of the year-end festivities and Christmas celebrations. The competition was based on two rounds-preliminary and final rounds which saw encouraging participation from young enthusiasts from across the Kashmir valley. Many well-skilled entrepreneurs entered the final round.
Cake-making competition organised by the Tourism department in IHM, Srinagar
With the start of the Christmas festival, different kinds of celebrations are going on in Kashmir valley and the Department of Tourism is organizing interesting activities to make the festival more joyful for the tourists and locals in the valley.