Pashmina, A Sight For Sore Eyes

From Kashmir and Jaipur, Pashmina Shawls travel all over the world, priced for the intricate weaves and needlework

- Tanya Baisoya

Pashmina — the term evokes images of people clad in light wool, dyed in tasteful colours — a sight for sore eyes. The meticulous embroidery that goes into ornamenting these shawls is absolutely breathtaking. Traditional weavers keep this art alive but, leftto themselves, they cannot sell their ware at sustainable prices from their homes in Jaipur and Kashmir. They need the support of able and committed middlemen, who can take their work to international markets. One such agent is Babar Afzal, a former McKinsey analyst.

Afzal left his high-paying job in Silicon Valley and moved to Kashmir only to save the dying industry, and became a shepherd. He says, “It’s been almost six years now, and I have never once regretted my decision. I have been travelling and living with the nomads, shepherds, weavers, craftsmen and their families, and have become one of them without realising that I have spent these many years with them.”