Duwa Bisati
Making of one of the notable handicrafts ‘Gabba’ (embroidered Kashmiri rug) has been carried out since the late 16th century, i.e., from the Mughal period. Gabbas are made up of wool blankets. The old blankets are dyed in vegetable colors and are attached together along with a cotton backing.
Gabba making, one of the oldest surviving and popular handicrafts of Kashmir valley has its cropping clusters in many districts of the valley. By examining various historic sources, it is clear that there is no particular birthplace of Gabba making in the valley, but its roots touch the far-flung areas of the valley. In earlier times, Gabba was used as a source to keep warm during long and harsh winters.
During the Mughal era, the Gabba was used by both the wealthy and the not-so-wealthy since the prices were affordable.
Owner of a handicraft shop ‘AB Arts Anantnag’ has worked with a number of artisans in the valley on Gabba manufacturing. With several employees at work, AB Arts provides raw material to a number of workers in the autumn season and then the working hours begin during bone-chilling winters. These products are ready by the spring season.
Their dimensions range from five to seven feet, costing fifteen hundred to eight thousand each depending on the quality. Then Nakashi or Chaap are stamped on these raw blankets. Two types of wool are used including one ply and two plies. The wool is distinguished by its price according to the demand. Appliances like mini needles, Ari hooks, and scissors are used to turn the rugs into Gabba and a decent look is given to them.
However, the centuries-old market of Gabba has witnessed a steep decline since 2016 in Kashmir and outside Kashmir as well, since there has been a dominance of machine-made carpets over the market. Due to the machine-made carpets, the profession of Gabba making and the professional Gabba makers are facing an existential threat. The majority of these professionals have resorted to switching to alternative professions.
Today, making Gabba is a part-time job. The development commissioner for handicrafts listed it as a “Identifiable endangered craft of India.” The craft’s decline can be seen in the craft’s exports, which between 1998 and 2008, fell by almost 100%.
“I have hardly sold two Gabba in the past year. Their demand is declining day by day. There are a lot of reasons associated with the decline in orders, such as a change in local standards, the impact of westernization, and machine-made products, “the owner of AB Arts told The Kashmiriyat.
The owner of AB Arts, who’s in his 50s, says that he, along with his two colleagues, used to work in this profession but unfortunately the two are not with him anymore. “Their absence didn’t affect my profession and I kept my hopes high and have kept going in this field during the tough times also,” he said.
He says that the newer generations do not find this profession suitable for living because of low profit.
“On the other hand, to maintain flexibility in this profession local artisans are charging fifty percent more than their actual wages and they also label this act as their backup cushion. When we get the stamped carpets, firstly we face bobbles on it, then we start working on it with the help of Ari hooked needles. The fleece in it causes various infections in eyes and throat, which goes from mild to severe sometimes. And because of these reasons many workers have left this profession and have found a new source for their livelihood,” he narrates.
Through the eyes of a Gabba artisan
“We used to look for various things in nature and make chaps or nakashi on the gabbas to make it attractive with various colors of threads and designs,” Ghulam Mohammad, reminisces, adding that in earlier times they would get around a thousand rupees for it, although today, they get four to five thousand for each, it still is not satisfactory to meet day to day needs.
The local women work on gabba making and get insufficient wages which hardly facilitate their day to day needs.
With each passing day, the Iranian carpets and other handicraft materials are influencing the lives of local people. In order to meet the demand of commodity and in order to beat foreign materials, some second class sellers have started to bet the trust of customers by handing them the low grade material. Additionally, Kazakhstan’s traditional carpet making cannot be strived off by foreign material including Iran.
There is a vital role of import and transportation in gabba making. Firstly, the raw material is extracted from multiple sources. Besides wool, the raw material of yarn is bought from various countries like Australia and New Zealand. In India, the raw material is gathered from states including Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Haryana etc. But one major concern associated with this is the high transportation charges. While fifty-four thousand rupees are charged for transportation from Iran to Mumbai, from Mumbai to Jammu and Kashmir, the rates touch the skies.
What irks the Gabba artisans?
“Given the boost in machine made carpets from other countries and India itself, we, the local artisans, have to undergo through misfortunes,” Ghulam Mohammad says.
Despite giving a huge benefit to customers and government in terms of quality and import, the government has not provided any assistance to us till now. I appeal to our respective government and especially the officials of Handicraft Department of Jammu and Kashmir to look into the matter and to offer a helping aid to us, for our boost and survival, he appealed.
In the 28th GST council meeting held in 2018, 18% GST was reduced on gabbas which gave it a boost, and also improved its marketability. It was believed that it will also get the GI tag along with five other crafts in Kashmir, however, later it failed to get the GI tag.
A shopkeeper who used to sell gabbas said that he would sell gabbas earlier, but with time, the sale dwindled like it never existed because of the high demand of other carpets. “The people of Kashmir started ignoring the only carpet used in earlier times to protect themselves from harsh winters. It was used by both rich as well as poor. The main reason in declining is the non-availability of artisans and another is the disinterest of the younger generation in reviving it,” lamented the shopkeeper.
The old artisans are also not able to work on these now due to the diseases caused by it, he added.
Gabbas are still used by some in far-flung areas of the valley or outside the valley. It is treated as the special rug in many houses, and some have also preserved it.
“We have stopped making it because it is not in demand these days. There’s also a lack of artisans. Nowadays, it is only made on orders which rarely happens and when an order does come in, the customer demands a lessening in price resulting in suffering of artisans,” said Ghulam Mohammad, the owner of AB Arts in the southern Kashmiri district Anantnag