Kashmir Journal: the majesty of Kashmiri shawls If there is a single commodity that has over the centuries represented the beauty of Kashmir across the world, it is the Kashmiri shawl. The fineness, warmth, delicacy, and stunning designs of these products have been celebrated in historical, fictional, political, and design narratives in multiple languages. Through their trade across the Indo-Persian world starting in the sixteenth century, and later Europe and America through the course of the nineteenth century, Kashmiri shawls have served as far more than merely items of commerce, Indeed, apart from being coveted articles of clothing, they have been prized objects of gift exchange between political entities, required elements of a woman's trousseau, status-symbols, and representations of a land on the far edges of empire, the natural splendour of which endowed its artisans with inherent artistic abilities to produce such fine textiles Kashmiri shawl factory owners frequently revisited and revised shawl designs depending on the demands of the market—the size of the shawls became wider, narrower, longer, shorter, even as their colours and patterns responded to changing fashions in dress around the world. Srinagar hummed with the activities of Armenian, French, Sikh, and British shawl agents vying with each other to order the production of the finest Kashmiri shawl. By the middle of the nineteenth century, shawl designs were being copied and transformed into imitation shawis for the burgeoning European middle class Inexpensive substitutes for middle-class Indians were also being produced in the Punjabi towns of Jullundar and Amritsar, where most of the so-called "pashmina" stoles and shawls are still manufactured. The production, trade, and consumption of shawls thus linked Xinjiang, Lhasa, Yarkhand, Khotan—from where came the finest shawl wool, pashmina and tus—and Kashmir--where the shawls were manufactured--to Punjab, Persia, the Ottoman Empire, and Russia, and later England, Scotland, France, and even New York and Philadelphia-where shawls were consumed and their imitations produced. But what did/do Kashmiri shawis mean for Kashmiris themselves? For those involved in their manufacture and trade, they were a source of either a paltry livelihood, or a fairly good living, or indeed a rather luxurious one, depending on where along the production and circulation spectrum one was located and the size of one's enterprise In Kashmir, the art of weaving and embroidering shawls is dying out as young men move to other, more lucrative professions. Outside Kashmir, sales shawls have plummeted in the recent past as new fashions move away from shawls and saris towards scarves and stoles. Most people are unwilling to spend the high prices for a real pashmina or jamawar shawl and would rather purchase the fake "pashminas" that now litter marketplaces around the world. Even the elites are no longer buying Kashmiri shawis as they did in the past. [by ChitralekhaZutshi) 2/18 On the basis of your understanding of the given passage, answer ANY TEN questions from the twelve
Answers
q.1 the makers have quite often modified the shawl designs keeping in the mind
ans- the nationality of the customers
q.2 the Kashmir shawl- manufaures began trading their fine product across the indo-persaion world in the:
ans- 1600s
q.3. according to the passage, the Kashmiri shawls served a number of purposes. which of the following isn't one of them?
ans- an essential dress item worn by women.
q.4. where most of the so-called Pashmina stoles are still manufatured . the term so-called implies
ans- renowed
q.5. Raw materials used in the manufacture of Kashmiri shawls were brought from-
ans- persia
q.6. "Srinagar hummed with activities ... " the term hummed is an example of
ans- consonance
q.7. the natural splendor of which endowed its artisans with inhernt artistic abilities..." which of the following words can be used in place of ' endowed' ?
ans- equipped
q.8. why were the inexpensive substitutes of Kashmir shawls manufatured during the nineteenth century?
ans- to cater to the increasing demand for Kashmir shawls in the overseas market.
q.9. which of the following places did not produce inexpensive substitutes of Kashmir shawls?
ans- the united states of America.
q.10. which of the following is not a reason for the decline of the art of shawl-making?
ans- increasing demand for inexpensive substitutes.
q.11. for the ordinary Kashmiris, engaged in the manufacturing process, the shawls are a-
ans- symbol of luxury and status.
q.12. the target readers of the above piece of writing are-
ans- the tourists who are going to visit Kashmir ( not sure)