Author: ValleyObserver

NASIR YOUSUFI

SRINAGAR: With sheer passion and unmatched brilliance, a specially-abled artist, deaf and mute since the birth gives life to wood. He is the man with golden hands – 55-year-old Muhammad Yusuf Muran!

As soon as the clock tickles to 9:00 AM in the morning, sporting a festive smile, he comes downstairs and slips into the backyard of his house. After giving a thorough look, he selects a block of round wood among a number of cut logs, lifts it into his two hands and slips into a small room. Keeping the wooden block on a raised platform in his long but narrow workshop, the man begins to mark it all over with a marker. Hours after the intense chisel and hammer work, a triumphant smile flashes on his face as he is able to see the first outline of imagination.

Hailing from Srinagar’s downtown area or Shaher-e-Khaas, he produces a class of art in the form of artifacts and mementos carved in wood.

Nestled in the lanes and bylanes of the Narwarah area of Srinagar, Muran’s small workshop can send any onlooker into nostalgia. An elderly Kashmiri puffing a traditional Hookah, family enjoying the samovar tea in rural land-scape, a group of elephants strolling in a field, a large sized eagle spreading its wings, Sir George seated on magnifi-cent horse fighting a dragon and the replica of famous Jamia Masjid in Srinagar are among his outstanding artworks showcased at the workshop. Made at this small workspace, these replicas and mementos have won Muran a world-wide recognition and accolades.

“I am a staunch lover of wood carving art. I have seen many masterpieces from various artists, but this man has got a unmatchable class in his work. I have never seen such a perfect art elsewhere in the field,” says Sumaira, inte-rior designer and ardent lover of handmade art from Central Kashmir’s Budgam. This man has simply got golden fingers, she adds.

Defeating his disabilities with a mix of imagination and perfection, the deaf and dumb wood carving artist, has learned the art from his father and elder brother. “He has learned this art since childhood. Initially, he learned it from his father late Ghulam Ahmad Muran and then from his elder brother Abdul Ahad Muran, who passed away few years ago,” says Arsalan Yousuf, younger son of Muhammad Yusuf Muran.

“My father is like any other artist in the field, but one of the reasons behind the popularity of his artwork, I think, is his dedication and hard work. Every day, he works for almost nine hours on wood from 9 am to 6 pm except on Friday. In the first half of the day, he goes to local market for purchasing the raw material and in the other half, he visits different religious places to offer prayers,” says Arsalan.

“Almost a decade ago, our family faced a lot of financial instability. A chunk of a people used to benefit from my father’s hardwork. He was only paid peanuts while the major portion of the profit used to fill the pockets of the mid-dlemen.”

“However, after my cousin brother opened a wood carving store, our family has witnessed a huge change in in-come, as we are able to sell our products to customers directly now,” adds Saqlin, Muran’s other son.

“Presently, I am able to sell the products of my father both offline as well as online. I even receive orders on social media handles too. Our customer base is increasing day by day, as apart from the buyers within the country, many orders come from Arab and European countries. Since my father cannot talk, I am looking at marketing part of my family craft,” says Saqlin.

As the 200 year old family craft is finally paying benefits to Muran family, the business suffers the shortage of quality wood. There is a dearth of superior walnut and deodar in the market, the artisans say. “We have to often pay extra money for getting the quality material and that makes the craft more costly,” Saqlin adds.

Muran, who only uses quality wood of walnut or deodar for his work, takes special care while choosing the mate-rial for his artwork. “I have never seen him using substandard material”, says Saqlin while referring to his father who works in a corner of his workshop, carving a replica of “Old man holding Hookah”.

While Muran is busy in creating scores of masterpieces, annually earning the family a name and fame in the field, unfortunately, there are almost no new takers to learn the art from this brilliant wood carving artist!

NASIR YOUSIFI

CHANGTHANG: The cold desert where climatic conditions otherwise prevent establishment of even small a kitch-en garden, is now a hub of modern agricultural practices. Nyoma, the high altitude village in the Changthang region of Ladakh is now a home to a variety of vegetables and crops.

Changthang is located in the eastern part of Ladakh Union Territory. With altitude ranging between 4000 to 7000 meters above the sea level -the region is one of the highest inhabited in the world.

Lying in the rain shadow of Himlayan ranges, the area experiences cold and long winters and a very less plant production.

Amidst the gusty winds outside, a young woman is busy pruning the soil inside a low lying tunnel made mostly of mud bricks. Her tunnel, located at Nyoma, one of the world’s highest altitude village is one among the scores of tun-nels and green houses growing green vegetables.

Dechan Chogdol, a 35-year-old farmer grows thousands of cucumber in her farm. Interestingly, she also grows a variety of other green vegetables in few more tunnels built on an open patch of her ancestral land.

Nestled amidst the barren mountains, the high altitude Nyoma could only produce few varieties of arid crops like barley or turnip till a few years ago. But thanks to modern agricultural practices, the region witnesses now an agri-cultural prosperity.

“Nothing grows in Changthang, these words said in a high level meeting about the prospect of agriculture in Ladakh’s high altitude region, pinched me a lot,” recalls Dr Jigmet Yangchin, Programme Coordinator and a head of Krishi Vigyan Kendra SKUAST-K, Nyoma.

“As soon as I left the meeting , I along with others devised a plan for mass agricultural reforms in the area. With the support of the department, our unit launched a mass awareness campaign among the farmers about the benefits of agriculture. Since the people in the region are mostly nomads, to motivate them to use new technological inter-ventions was a challenge. But we succeeded in motivating many people including women to take onto modern agri-cultural practices,” Dr Jigmet explains.

Dr Jigmet says that the green house in Changthang looks quite similar to any other green house in plains, but in structure there is a vast variation. “These houses are made from clay bricks which are arranged in two layers. The straw is used to fill in a gap between the two layers of bricks which acts as an insulator. The roof is made from wil-low and popular branches… The green house in the region have south fencing,” the senior scientist says.

“These green houses are low cost structures, since they are made from locally available resources. These struc-tures are designed to trap maximum amount of solar energy.”
Besides green house, the farmers in the high altitude region also use low tunnel and trench techniques to grow vegetables.

In a small low lying tunnel in the same village ,Tsering Angmo, a 55-year- old women farmer spends most part of the day growing mushrooms. “Few years ago, I was only growing barley or occasionally turnip, I used to grow in this patch of land. But thanks to KVK, that now I am able to grow a cash crop,” the progressive farmer says while refer-ring to bags of sprouting mushrooms in a tunnel.

Traditionally the region has been growing barley, a crop that successfully grows in arid conditions. For the want of conducive climatic conditions, the vast patches of land amidst the mountains have remained untouched.

Records available with the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Nyoma suggest that there are around 500 farmers in the area and about 2200 in the whole Changthang region. Since most of these farmers are nomads producing meat and wool, however, there are many farmers now who are growing green vegetables and other cash crops. A large number of women in the nomadic community are showing a special interest in modern agriculture.

In Muth, a model village which is considered a hub of cucumber cultivation, Sona Chungdol grows a large quantity of cucumbers. “Cucumber is not an only source of income, I grow around six varieties of tomato and one variety of brinjal in these farms,” says Chungdol, while referring to a group of green houses and trenches made on her farm land.

Srinagar: Amidst the overwhelming tourist footfall this year, Kashmir tourism has added one more feather in its cap. Kachri Mohalla, a picturesque village in world famous Dal Lake has been developed as the floating village with home stay facilities.

The picturesque habitation nestled amidst the waters of the lake between Zabarwan and Kohimaran hills has made it to world tourism map. Conceived as the model tourist village, Kachri Mohalla a small village is being flagshipped as a tourism destination fully equipped with the state of the art facilities.

The Kachri Mohalla was developed as a Model village comprising home-stay and other facilities by Indian Army with support of some government departments. This would be a revolutionary transition for in influx of tourism towards inlands of Dal Lake. Subsequently government of Jammu and Kashmir would undertake five more hamlets for developing as Model Village.

The location is away from congestion and overcrowding which leads a peaceful, natural, serene homely stay. Experts said this would be major boost to tourism industry, employment generation and upliftment of the society.

According to official of the Indian Army,  who looked after the development of Kachri mohalla into model village, “the Jetty or Ghat has been developed near the destination and the houses of village have been painted to give aesthetic taste to the onlookers.”

“We also undertook the leveling of the ground and plantation drive. The labour involved in face-lifting the neighborhood was all from the locality and that has also helped in providing employment avenues for local population.”

The area has been declared as plastic free. Bestowed with the serene beauty and calm, the destination is projected as one of the better home stay abode in the valley as the place is away from the congestion and crowded commercial places. As the valley has recently seen the full occupancy of accommodation across the major tourist destinations, it is believed that the place is going emerge as a major crowd puller in Dal Lake.

“Conventionally the place has been almost cut off from the city for the lack of proper road connectivity. The development of the area as a model village will definitely help in proper connectivity with city on modern lines “, says Muhammad Afzal Moti, a local resident from Kachri Mohalla.  Moti further says, that the project has given the local population a ray of hope for better life.

Since the place is bestowed with natural landscape, the culture and tradition exhibited in the village provides on hands experience of local and natural lifestyle. Apart from having insiders feel in the village, there are many things tourists can indulge in. Angling, boating and swimming are another activities the people can enjoy from in the village.

As the houses in the locality glow in same colour for their “painted roofs and similar walls”, the beauty of the village serves a treat for the eyes of the visitors, who approach towards the village on water jetty. This is really a new look of the area. It is extraordinarily amazing! I have come here for a photoshoot, says a Majid Ali, a college student from neighboring town Pampore.

While the village is being projected as a major tourist attraction, local inhabitants are optimistic about future of the village. “They will come here, stay, buy consumables, handicrafts and our services. And this will surely help in generation of the employment in the area,” hopes Tasaduq, a young local.

Experts believe that the village with humble economic and educational parameters would see the boost in socio-economic indicators with robust tourism activity.

As the jetties with tourists move across lake from Boulevard to Kachri mohalla, the development of the floating village inside Dal lake is seen as an act of empowerment in the area. As the tourism activities picks up, the area will see more happiness and prosperity, believe the experts.

As Kachri mohlla emerges as the first model tourist village in  Dal, Tourism department along with other government agencies are mulling to develop four more such villages around the water body to increase the tourism avenues in the valley.

Srinagar Municipality Corporation has recently announced the development of cycle tracks in the area. According to an official from the corporation, the cycle track will come up under the smart city programme in the area and would cater to long pending demand of adventurists and cyclists from the city. The paddling activity in the area will add to the projected hustle and bustle around the lake.

Tourism community too is feeling buoyed by the tourism related developments in the area. People from the trade believe that it would provide more options of accommodation and sightseeing for tourists. They believe that such projects should be taken in other parts of the valley too.

While the boats and jetties  steer towards the interior neighbourhoods of Dal, tourism activities in Kachri mohalla, the first floating village of the valley are gaining momentum.

NASIR YOUSUFI

SRINAGAR: As the valley witness bumper production of milk over the past years, the dairy farmers have taken to production of nature based home made dairy products. Be it curd, butter, ghee or cheese, the demand for these home preparations trends in urban Kashmir.

Equipped with two large canes, a man juggles door to door early morning in a distant village of South Kashmir. Most of the households scattered over a picturesque hamlet at Ladhu in south Kashmir’s Pulwama produce surplus milk. Ghulam Mohammad Lone , a middle aged milk vendor from adjacent locality regularly collects the surplus yield from the village. Lone does not resell the raw milk but he uses it to make paneer for the market. Lone says, He has found a new line to earn a livelihood.

Lately hundreds of dairy farmers are engaged in the production of homemade dairy products in the valley. Owing to the increased demand coupled with surplus yield, dairy farmers find extra cash in homemade milk products.

While demand for dairy produce across the country is growing, the price of milk and allied products across Jammu and Kashmir is also picking up. Seeing the grass greener, many farmers across the valley have taken to the produc-tion of homemade dairy products to capitalize on the increased demand.

Thirty kilometers away from Lone’s home, 45 year old Abdul Ahad Bhat pushes curd laden bicycle through subur-ban Srinagar. Every day, the old aged Bhat , flaunting a trimmed grey beard paddles twice through the lanes and by lanes in Ishber and Shalimar. While on the evenings, he purchases loads of raw milk from the households, Bhat spends the whole mornings in supplying the ‘Zamdud’ or curd to the market.

My single daughter and an elderly wife spend hours together to process the days collection. After boiling the milk for hours together, they distribute milk among ‘ vaer’ or earthen matka of different sizes and 15 litre buckets. After adding a pinch of ferment, the pots are left overnight to get the curd, says the septuagenarian.

Five year back, I used to sell raw milk in the market. But as the competition increased due to surging production, I switched to curd making. There is a good demand for curd. I sell about 100 units of curd packed pots every day, says Bhat, while delivering the value added milk to roadside eatery adjacent to a famous tourist spot, Mughal garden Shalimar.

The contribution of the dairying sector to the national income is invaluable. This sector helps in increasing the crop production by providing the drag power, organic manure and cash income on a regular basis,” said the experts. Ex-perts also say that it is very easy to produce milk in a green land like Kashmir.

Not too far from Shalimar , Mohmmad Aslam Khatana a middle aged man from Dara village has taken to the pro-duction of Ghee. Located in the foothills of Mahdev mountain peak, the remotest village in the Srinagar has good population of livestock. Area supplies hundreds of liters of milk to urban areas every day. Seeing the surplus sup-ply, like many others, Aslam has taken to the making of Desi ghee.

The increased level of health consciousness gradually creates a demand for the nature based food, the demand for homemade dairy products gets the boost.

A large number of customers prefer the home made dairy products. I usually sell the stock of homemade curd and butter within an hour in the morning. There is a growing demand for these dairy products. People often ask for these products. However, I can cater to few given the limited stock I get from a local dairy farmer. In particular, there is a dearth of desi ghee and butter in the market.

Towards the north, in Odina village of Bandipora, middle aged , Shakeela along with her husband , Mohammad Jaf-far Bhat runs a successful business of Cheese making. Within a few years, the family produces about a 300 kilograms of Cheese every day from hundreds of litres of surplus milk collected from cattle rearing households in the nearby villages. Like Shakeela, there are many dairy farmers who are taking to newer means of value addition to their pro-duce in the market.

“Jammu and Kashmir is producing 70 lakh litres of milk per day, also strengthening the public private partnerships, besides this Kashmir alone is producing 40 lakh litres of milk per day,” says Ms Purnima Mittal, Director Animal Husbandry Department Kashmir.she said Kashmir alone produces 40 lakh while as Jammu produces 30 lakh litres, respectively.