From the Himalayan highlands of Leh-Ladakh to the banks of River Ganges in Varanasi – the heritage handicraft of Pashmina has got a brand new identity. The premium Pashmina products prepared by the highly skilled Khadi weavers of Varanasi was launched by Chairman KVIC, Vinai Kumar Saxena on Friday in Varanasi. This is for the first time that Pashmina products are being produced outside the region of Leh-Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir.
KVIC will be selling the “Made-in-Varanasi” Pashmina products through its showrooms, outlets and through its online portal. Minister of State of Uttar Pradesh Ravindra Jaiswal, MLA from Varanasi Cantt Saurabh Shrivastava, Jaiprakash Gupta, Member KVIC were also present on the occasion.
A KVIC official said that while Pashmina is famed as an essential Kashmiri art form, its production in Varanasi liberates this heritage art from the regional confines and creates a fusion of diverse artistry from Leh-Ladakh, Delhi and Varanasi.
The first two Pashmina shawls produced by the weavers in Varanasi were presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the Chairman KVIC on h March 4, before the formal launch of Pashmina products in Varanasi.
The journey of Pashmina production in Varanasi begins with the collection of raw Pashmina wool from Ladakh, This is brought to Delhi for de-hairing, cleaning, and processing. The processed wool, in the form of roving, is brought back to Leh where it is handspun into yarn by women Khadi artisans on modern Charkhas provided by KVIC. The finished yarn is then sent to Varanasi where it is woven by trained Khadi weavers into final Pashmina products.
As a mark of authenticity and belongingness, the name of the weavers and the name of the city Varanasi will also be subtly marked on the Pashmina products made by Varanasi’s weavers.
The KVIC Chairman lauded the highly skilled Pashmina spinners and weavers and the sheer amount of hard work involved in making this heritage craft. “Just as the fragrance of a flower does not have any colour, a stream of water or the blowing wind does not have any destination and the rays of the rising sun or the smile of an innocent child does not have any religion; a thread of Khadi too is a unique creation of the nature because the one making them does not belong to any region or religion…He is just an Artisan,” Saxena said. He added that Pashmina production in Varanasi alone would add nearly Rs 25 crore to Khadi’s turnover in Varanasi.
The main idea behind this rediscovery of Pashmina in Varanasi is to generate sustainable employment opportunities for women in Ladakh and diversify the skills of traditional weavers in Varanasi, as envisaged by the Prime Minister, he said.
As a special case, the Pashmina weavers in Varanasi are being paid over 50 percent extra wages which comes as a big boost for these artisans. As compared to Rs 800 wages for weaving a normal woolen shawl. Pashmina weavers in Varanasi are paid wages of Rs 1300 for weaving a Pashmina shawl. Pashmina weaving in Varanasi would ensure round-the-year livelihood to women artisans in Leh-Ladakh where spinning activities are suspended for nearly half the year due to the extreme cold. To facilitate this, KVIC has also set up a Pashmina wool processing unit in Leh.