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Everybody associates Kashmir's handicrafts with carpets, but there's a whole lot besides. Depending on the quality of your purchase, you can either pay as little as Rs.10, or a few lakhs. Very many qualities exist side by side in Kashmir to suit a variety of budgets.

Shawls:

There are pure wool shawls called raffal which have different counts of wool - 40, 60, 80 etc., and the shawl is progressively more expensive as the count increases. Shawls mixed with other fibers like cotton and cotton derivatives are far cheaper. On the other and, woolen shawls mixed with pashmina will be far more expensive. Then too, there are shawls that look and feel like pashmina and which are priced between wool and pashmina.

Naturally a pure pashmina shawl will run into thousands of rupees. Depending on the count, two similar looking pashmina shawls will differ in price if they have a different count.

And then there are the embroidered shawls. Embroidery is of two kinds - hook and needle, and the former is generally less expensive than the latter.

As a general rule, the better the material of the shawl, the better the embroidery, with pashmina having the tiniest stitches in needlework, and the less expensive mixed woolen shawls having either hook work or somewhat coarser needlework stitches.

Some shawls have gold zari embroidery worked on them in hook work are highly prized.

Papier Mache:

Here too, the quality of papier mache differs markedly, depending on two factors. The first is the papier mache in its raw state. Unless it is smoothened adequately to be silky to the touch, it is not considered high grade. On the other hand, inexpensive papier mache, brightly painted and varnished, makes a variety of gifts and souvenirs that do not cost a fortune. Eggs, eggcups, candle and pen stands, kum kum boxes and cigarette boxes are just a few options at the low end.

At the other end of the scale, high grade papier mache is used to make vases, bowls, trays and a number of other products all painted by expert craftsmen in lifelike images of kingfishers, chinar leaves and other motifs. Gold used on these products will be real gold leaf. On lower range products it will poster paint. The real difference however lies in the skill of painting and not in the product itself - two trays or vases can appear roughly the same at firs glance - it is the execution of the painting and the type of gold used that will determine the price One may be a collector': item, the other an inexpensive souvenir.

Walnut Wood:

Items made from walnut wood come from three parts of the tree: the branches, the trunk and the root. The branches have the pales colour of wood, and the trunk the darkest Branches have no veins trunks have the strongest marked veins. Objects made out of the root will be the costliest because of the wood used.

Shopping

As walnut is a soft wood, it takes carving very well. Chinar leaves, vine leaves and flowers can be either carved along borders or can fill entire surfaces the artistry of the carving and its abundance dictates the cost. Trinket boxes and the larger jewellery boxes shoul have invisible seams. Other walnut wood objects are salad bowls, nut bowls, photo frames, trays and furniture. This cans Srinagar from a simple telephone stand or nesting tables to a dining table with six chairs.

In the case of furniture, the price is dictated by the thick-ness of wood used. Two very similar writing desks can be priced very differently, if one used ¾" wood and the other ½" wood. The difference is barely discernible to the untrained eye, but no dealer will sell precious root wood, ¾" thick for the same price as his competitor who has economized on the quality and quantity of wood for a cheaper product.

Saris:

Kashmir has extensive mulberry cultivation. Silkworms feeding on this produce resilient silk. Kashmiri silk may be thin, but it is strong nevertheless, as is chiffon. Very little silk is actually woven in Kashmir - Kashmiri silk is the term. Used for silk produced in Kashmir. It is mainly used to make saris.

Basket Weaving:

Surprisingly strong, wicker baskets can be used as picnic hampers, lampshades, and glass holders for holding hot tea, work baskets, even packing cases which can be sent unaccompanied by road. The main centre of this craft is at Hazratbal in Srinagar.

Cricket Bats:

Kashmir's willow is so highly prized, that most of the national team uses cricket bats from Kashmir.

Other products of Kashmir include saffron, grown in Pampore on the way to Pahalgam. It is one of the only two places in India where saffron is grown, the other being
Kishtwar, also in Jammu and Kashmir. This expensive spice, requires only a few strands to flavor a dish serving ten people and hence you need to buy very little of it, 5 or 10 grams being enough for several years. Preserved in airtight containers in a cool dark place, saffron can keep indefinitely and hence is an excellent buy. Walnuts and almonds are available in the market throughout the year. Being substantially cheaper in Kashmir than elsewhere, they too make good gifts. Other food products from Kashmir are shah zira (also called kala zira), Kashmiri chilies and honey.

Jammu & kashmir Travel Guide