Papier Machie: A dying witness of Kashmir's colorful history

Kashmiri papier-machie is a handicraft of Kashmir that was brought by Muslims saint Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani from Persia in the 14th century. Despite being world-famous, the art is slowly dying out.

Srinagar: In a small low-lit room, Mehraj ud Din Dar (55) is keenly moving brushes over a pitcher (flower vase) made of paper pulp. Spending most of his time in a room where every item is decorated with alluring colours, his puffy eyes hidden under spectacles reflect his dedication towards the Kashmir dying colourful art of Papier Machie. He has been involved in the art for the last 41 years.

"This art was passed down from our ancestors to us. I studied till class 10th and then got into practising this art because of my passion towards it," Dar, a resident of Srinagar's Zadibal area said.

During the '90s, every individual in Dar's locality was associated with Papier Machie. As a kid, Dar would be attracted towards colours, he used to observe his father's fingers while decorating the items with different colours and designs.

Soon he earned mastery over the art, left his school and started working full-time.

Recalling the glorious days of the art, he says, "We used to have 10-20 persons working at our workshop but now there is no one. Expensive raw material and very less demand has badly affected the art. I am still with the art just because of my passion otherwise it is very difficult to sustain a living through this work. Papier Machie can now be done as a hobby, not as a profession."

He says, "Men from the area would do Papier Machie while women used to support them by making a paste of paper for making crude shapes which were later given colourful life."

For Adil Hussain Dar, Mehraj Ud Din's son, the art runs in his blood and wants the art to live forever.

"Like my father, I too have a passion for this art. I am doing this as a part-timer along with my studies. We are open to teaching this art to those who are interested. I only want the art to survive," Hussain says while asserting that the art needs to be promoted on social media.

"We are promoting the art ourselves. The J&K administration too should take an initiative for the same," he says.