Kashmir

her life

Will this stag party again?

Hangul, Jammu and Kashmir’s state animal, is critically endangered. While conservation efforts are leading to a small increase in its numbers, the struggle is far from over.

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Kashmir’s kani shawl weavers feel left out in cold

The weavers of Kashmir's Kanihama village entwine the world’s finest quality kani shawls with their own hands, notwithstanding modern machinery.

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In Kashmir’s ‘Antarctica’

Snowy mountains full of majestic icicles and swathes of fluffy, silvery carpet covering the ground for miles around – that's how Kashmir's Tangmarg transforms into Antarctica. Well, minus the penguins, alas.

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Sip on hot kahwa inside world’s largest igloo cafe in Kashmir’s Gulmarg

Literally India’s coolest tourist spot, Gulmarg offers visitors a warm cup of kahwa in a cafe where almost everything is made of packed snow.

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Death on the tail of migratory birds in Kashmir

In the cold winters of Kashmir’s wetlands, migratory birds that roost and breed there under the shadow of hunters and trappers, never mind climate change, threatening their annual visit.

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Kangri, the secret to Kashmiri warmth, and the risk around it

Kashmiri villagers keep the tradition of the kangri alive – the wicker enclosed personal fire pot – despite the health risks and many urbanites turning to cheap electric heaters to keep them warm in winter.

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Kashmiri harissa: From posh grub to comfort food

Once a winter comfort food afforded only by the rich in downtown Srinagar, the minced-meat dish of harissa is now warming the hearts of people living in far-flung and high-altitude villages, thanks to online orders and delivery.

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Shrinking Wular Lake shrivels water chestnut harvests in Kashmir

Kashmiri women dependent on Wular Lake’s water chestnuts are finding it hard to sustain their livelihood collecting and processing the crop because of dumped waste and silt in the lake.

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Kashmir’s willow wickerwork gets a modern facelift

In the face of cheap plastic products from China, Kashmiri craftsmen meld traditional willow with modern designs to create a wide range of competitive products – vases, lamp shades, haute kitchenware and even sofas.

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Wakhoo: Journey from a sleepy village of timber traders to ‘Pencil Village’ of India

There’s a 90 percent chance that the pencil you’re writing with is made of slats processed in Wakhoo of south Kashmir – for it supplies more than 70% of wood to India’s pencil industry.

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The ‘faere’ tale of Kashmir’s smoked fish dish

Faere is Kashmir’s smoked fish – most loved in the cold months – that’s gone from a survival dish, when fresh food was hard to get, to a Kashmiri comfort food to a gourmet dish for foodies.

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Be in the pink this winter with Kashmiri noon chai

A symbol of Kashmir’s culture – salty, heavy noon chai – is brewed in evaporated milk and served hot at tea stalls and homes alike.

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Kashmir’s cricket bats go global, give English willow a run for its money

Bat-maker Fawzul Kabeer helps bring Kashmiri willow bats the attention and market they deserve.

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The first Indian woman who converted polythene into ashes

Despite lacking a technical education and being ridiculed for her ‘scientific pursuit,’ 48-year-old Nasira Akhtar of Kanipora village in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, is about to get a patent for her grassroots innovation of a magical herb that converts polythene into ashes.

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Women bear brunt of poor healthcare in rural Kashmir

Healthcare infrastructure is poor in rural areas of Kashmir, and it particularly affects the women, who have to rush to Srinagar to get proper medical attention, as there is a dire shortage of gynecologists in the districts

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Kangri still keeps Kashmir warm in winter

The traditional fire pot of Kashmir helps people keep themselves warm in the harsh winter, retaining its utility despite the advent of modern appliances, and assuring thousands of men and women their livelihood

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Farmers are making Kashmir a land of honey

Farmers growing fruits and vegetables in Kashmir are doubling as beekeepers to boost their incomes, taking advantage of vast tracts of horticultural land with their abundance of flowers

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Fetching water adds to the drudgery of J&K women

Lacking piped water supply, young girls and women in rural areas of Jammu & Kashmir spend hours walking long distances to get water far from their homes and waiting for their turn at the source