Kashmir papier mâché artists get thousands of orders from across the world for Christmas

It's Christmas and the artisans of Kashmir Valley start preparing for this festival months before December 25. The age-old art of papier mâché decorations from the Kashmir Valley is in immense demand during the festival. The orders are not only pouring in from India but abroad too, brongingcheer among the papier mâché artisans.

We have all seen the Christmas decorations hanging on the Christmas tree, but little do we know that most of it is made in Kashmir by the age-old papier mâché artisans. The Christmas decorations hanging on the Christmas trees, walls and ceilings, from balls to bells, easter eggs and even trays are made months before the festival. These artisans in the Valley have sold thousands of papier mâché decorative pieces to customers across the world just before Christmas.

“Christmas orders are pouring in bulk. Earlier we used to get orders only from European countries and were confined to that only. But now the orders have been placed from other countries as well. We are getting a huge response from the Middle East as well. Now the domestic orders from all across India are increasing as well. We have sold huge quantities so far and are still dispatching the orders. We have been making different theme-based items for the Europe market and its getting a great response as well. We make decorative pieces and sell them in bulk, '' said Nayeem Mir, papier mâché artist, Srinagar.

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The artists in the Kashmir Valley have introduced new designs in these decorative pieces. They are trying hard to grow the customer base across the world. And this year, there has been a huge demand for papier mâchéitems. These handmade papier mâché decorative items are in high demand. The increase in demand has brought joy to the faces of these artisans, who are working tirelessly to fulfil the Christmas orders. The artisans are working day and night to complete these decorative items on time.

“Earlier, these items were made of plastic, which had no aesthetic value. But with these paper mache, ' decorative pieces last longer and are beautiful too. We are using natural dyes and colours and our products are eco-friendly, '' said Nayeem Mir, papier mâché artist, Srinagar.

These papier mâché artists work tirelessly for months to complete the Christmas decorative orders, and this year, the response has been huge as compared to previous years. The market for the items has also spread across various parts of the world.