India: Padma Shri awardee from Kashmir inspires younger generation to take up walnut woodwork

The Indian city of Srinagar is among the most creativein the world, and its artisans are working round the clock to keep its art and craft alive in the valley. Ghulam Nabi Dar, a master craftsman of walnut woodwork was recently honoured with India’s fourth-highest civilian award the Padma Shri. The recognition of his hard work has led to a new interest among the young towards the craft.

Ghulam Nabi Dar, a 72-year-old master craftsman of walnut woodwork has suddenly become an inspiration for hundreds of youngsters in Kashmir after being honoured with the Padma Shri. He has been creating masterpieces from wood carving for six decades and has received various accolades and awards for his exemplary work. And after his recent Padma Shri Award, he has been getting lots of calls from youngsters to help them learn the craft.

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“The new generations especially after the award have been reaching out to me to learn the craft and I am very keen on teaching them too. I really have a lot of interest in teaching the young and I am sure more will come. I have started getting many calls from young people who want to learn. I am sure when I teach with my heart they will learn a lot, sometimes they are scared to learn from me as my craft is considered very difficult but it’s not impossible to learn the craft,” said Ghulam Nabi Dar.

Dar lives in Srinagar’s Safa Kadal area and has been working from his workshop for decades. He has sold his artefactsto people from across the world andis considered the best in walnut woodwork as he has always maintained highquality ofwork. According to Dar, he was ten years old when he started the craft.

Dar says the government needs to intervene now to protect the craft and make sure it does not die. He requested the Indian government for a comprehensive institute or workshop to train and draw the attention ofyoung artisans towards safeguarding the art ofwood carving in Kashmir.

Dar says some youngsters get scared when they see his work as they think that they might never be able to learn it, but he wants to give his best to help the younger generation imbibe the art form

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“I started when I was ten years old, and we were very very poor and that led me to take up the craft. We were a poor family and for the first ten years I kept learning the craft and later I started working on my own. My teachers taught me well. I consider myself a student and keep learning every day. When someone receives awards or recognition, it helps in building morale. We need to save the craft and I am making sure my children learn it and I hope others will take it too. I have taught many children who have become better than me,” said Ghulam Nabi Dar.

With his children taking up the craft, he is hopeful that the art ofwood carving in Kashmir will notdie.