Kashmir papier mâché artists got thousands of orders from across the world for Christmas. 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, bringing cheer among the papier mâché artisans.

Kashmir's 'Paper Mache' decorations gain global popularity

Best known for making ‘Paper Mache’ art, an artisan from Kashmir, Maqbool Jan endeavours to retain old culture of Srinagar. He is making an old map on 5X7 ft cloth art paper of Srinagar, which showcases past Dal Lake and other famous tourist places of the district. Maqbool is working for last one year on the map, keeping an eye on minor details. He wants the map to be preserved in the Parliament. Maqbool’s aim is to spread awareness about Srinagar’s culture to new generation.

Kashmiri artisan making old map of Srinagar to retain culture

An award-winning 'paper mache' artist in Srinagar, Maqbool Jan has been making a masterpiece.

He is making a map of Srinagar city on a cloth by using 'paper mache' techniques. He wants to see the&nbsp;masterpiece displayed in the Indian Parliament.&nbsp;

''My actual wish is that this should be put up in Parliament. Or if they can put it in the Kashmir assembly or a big art gallery. The new generation should see our culture through our art. I would be extremely happy if it was put up in Parliament. It would give a boost to artisans of Kashmir Valley. They would make better things in the future,&nbsp;'' said artist Maqbool Jan.

Maqbool has been working on the&nbsp;map for over&nbsp;a year and says it will take a few more months to complete. The inspiration for the&nbsp;map has come from a shawl which&nbsp;is displayed&nbsp;at the Srinagar museum. The map on the&nbsp;shawl is drawn by Sozni work. He wants to recreate the same with 'paper mache'.&nbsp;

''I got the idea from a shawl in the museum and wanted to bring that art alive again. I wanted to show how Dal Lake used to be, how old Srinagar looked like and that's the reason I created this. The new generation should take up this art. It took me a year to make this and it will take me a month more to complete this. I thought about the colour scheme first and how water colours used to be. How our shrines and mosques and gardens used to look,&nbsp;'' said Maqbool Jan.

<img alt="Paper mache artist in Kashmir Valey" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="7e661ace-a4ba-44ea-8c61-ed44a2ed536c" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Tot1.jpeg" />

There is no school where the art of paper machie is taught to the youngsters of Kashmir Valley. The artists have been demanding that a degree course should be introduced by the institutions of Kashmir Valley to uplift the&nbsp;art form.&nbsp;

''Our children are extremely talented but we don't have any local designers. We have to get designers from outside, so we want the government to start courses so that students can learn here. Our children want to have a degree before starting&nbsp;work, they don't want to leave education and then pick this up. We want the government to introduce a degree course. They say artists are not respected here,'' said Maqbool.&nbsp;

The centuries-old art is being revived by artists&nbsp;like Maqbool Jan. He is making sure that this art form survives in tough times and emerges again in the Kashmir Valley.

Maqbool has won four&nbsp;national and one international award for his contributions towards this art.

An award-winning 'paper mache' artist in Srinagar, Maqbool Jan has been making a masterpiece. He is making a map of Srinagar city on a cloth by using 'paper mache' techniques.

An award-winning 'paper mache' artist in Srinagar, Maqbool Jan has been making a masterpiece. He is making a map of Srinagar city on a cloth by using 'paper mache' techniques. He wants to see the masterpiece displayed in the Indian Parliament. ''My actual wish is that this should be put up in Parliament. Or if they can put it in the Kashmir assembly or a big art gallery. The new generation should see our culture through our art. I would be extremely happy if it was put up in Parliament. It would give a boost to artisans of Kashmir Valley. They would make better things in the future, '' said artist Maqbool Jan. Maqbool has been working on the map for over a year and says it will take a few more months to complete. The inspiration for the map has come from a shawl which is displayed at the Srinagar museum. The map on the shawl is drawn by Sozni work. He wants to recreate the same with 'paper mache'. ''I got the idea from a shawl in the museum and wanted to bring that art alive again. I wanted to show how Dal Lake used to be, how old Srinagar looked like and that's the reason I created this. The new generation should take up this art. It took me a year to make this and it will take me a month more to complete this. I thought about the colour scheme first and how water colours used to be. How our shrines and mosques and gardens used to look, '' said Maqbool Jan. There is no school where the art of paper machie is taught to the youngsters of Kashmir Valley. The artists have been demanding that a degree course should be introduced by the institutions of Kashmir Valley to uplift the art form. ''Our children are extremely talented but we don't have any local designers. We have to get designers from outside, so we want the government to start courses so that students can learn here. Our children want to have a degree before starting work, they don't want to leave education and then pick this up. We want the government to introduce a degree course. They say artists are not respected here,'' said Maqbool. The centuries-old art is being revived by artists like Maqbool Jan. He is making sure that this art form survives in tough times and emerges again in the Kashmir Valley. Maqbool has won four national and one international award for his contributions towards this art.

Award-winning paper mache artist makes Srinagar map masterpiece

One of the oldest crafts of Kashmir called 'paper mache' has been dying a slow death. An artist in the valley has, however, emerged as a hope for the survival of this craft.

Iqbal Ahmad Wani from Srinagar is working hard to revive and introduce new designs in the paper mache. In an effort to take this art to those who can’t see he has uniquely started a series especially for visually impaired people. He has introduced braille into this age-old craft of Kashmir.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/specially-abled-artisans-saving-the-pashmina-and-sozni-craft-381154" hreflang="en">Specially-abled artisans saving the Pashmina and Sozni craft</a>

''Paper mache is an art of colours but we couldn't use these in the case of braille. So we only used three colours. As I haven't studied braille so I sought help from a designer in developing this. We have written a message on all the pieces that 'Life is a struggle and we all need to keep going','' said Iqbal Ahmad Wani.

The response towards the new designs and especially braille pieces has been good. People have appreciated the effort of the artisan and designer who came up with the idea of developing something so unique.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/iit-madras-alumnis-startup-3d-prints-600sqft-concrete-home-comprising-hall-kitchen-bedroom-381123" hreflang="en">IIT Madras alumni’s startup 3D prints 600sqft concrete home comprising hall, kitchen, bedroom</a>

''We did the first exhibition and the response of people was really good. People appreciated our efforts and said that they have seen something new in a long time. Of course, traditional stuff needs to be made but new designs have to be developed so as to keep the people interested. But we can never let go of our old designs as they are the reason for us being where we are," Wani said.

In the whole process, an NGO is helping Iqbal make this project a reality. The NGO works with artisans to help them with new innovations so as to increase the market.

''Connect to Kashmir is an organisation working in the valley since 2011. We chose 22 craftsmen from the valley to help them reinvent the art. We have a team of seven designers who, along with the artisans, came up with new ideas and designs. &nbsp;Iqbal and our designer had a brainstorming session wherein they came up with an idea of developing pieces for blind,'' said Javid Ahmad, consultant.

One of the oldest crafts of Kashmir called 'paper mache' has been dying a slow death. An artist in the valley has, however, emerged as a hope for the survival of this craft.

One of the oldest crafts of Kashmir called 'paper mache' has been dying a slow death. An artist in the valley has, however, emerged as a hope for the survival of this craft. Iqbal Ahmad Wani from Srinagar is working hard to revive and introduce new designs in the paper mache. In an effort to take this art to those who can’t see he has uniquely started a series especially for visually impaired people. He has introduced braille into this age-old craft of Kashmir. Also read | Specially-abled artisans saving the Pashmina and Sozni craft ''Paper mache is an art of colours but we couldn't use these in the case of braille. So we only used three colours. As I haven't studied braille so I sought help from a designer in developing this. We have written a message on all the pieces that 'Life is a struggle and we all need to keep going','' said Iqbal Ahmad Wani. The response towards the new designs and especially braille pieces has been good. People have appreciated the effort of the artisan and designer who came up with the idea of developing something so unique. Also read | IIT Madras alumni’s startup 3D prints 600sqft concrete home comprising hall, kitchen, bedroom ''We did the first exhibition and the response of people was really good. People appreciated our efforts and said that they have seen something new in a long time. Of course, traditional stuff needs to be made but new designs have to be developed so as to keep the people interested. But we can never let go of our old designs as they are the reason for us being where we are," Wani said. In the whole process, an NGO is helping Iqbal make this project a reality. The NGO works with artisans to help them with new innovations so as to increase the market. ''Connect to Kashmir is an organisation working in the valley since 2011. We chose 22 craftsmen from the valley to help them reinvent the art. We have a team of seven designers who, along with the artisans, came up with new ideas and designs. Iqbal and our designer had a brainstorming session wherein they came up with an idea of developing pieces for blind,'' said Javid Ahmad, consultant.

Art for all: Keeping 'paper mache' alive in India through braille

The Paper Mache has traveled from Iran to Kashmir in the 15th century. The Kashmiri Paper Mache artisans, they have converted a variety of articles into attractive works of art.

Paper Mache: One of the oldest crafts of Kashmir

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