Danishwar Hameed
Aayat al Qursi- the longest verse and believed to be one of the most powerful verses of the Quran by Muslims, has been inscribed by a Kulgam woman on her hand-made shawl.
A white colour cotton shawl which is about five feet wide and three feet tall has the Quranic verse at the face of it with neat and polished handicraft work.
Shaheena Banoo(42), who is a resident of Gopalpora Kulgam has worked on the completion of this Shawl for several days and nights. “The Arabic words are not easy to write and then the symbols also require a lot of patience and pure art. This is not overnight work,” Shaheena told The Kashmiriyat.
The Shawl is precious to Shaheena and she could not fix a cost for it. “I have also crafted nature, flowers and some words on the shawls. But this Shawl, has Quran written on it and if it costs my life, I would give it up. There can be no price for the Shawl,” Shaheena said.
Shaheena has been learning the art since an early age and has become a face of change in her entire area as she has trained dozens of rural women and guided them to earn their livelihood. Speaking to The Kashmiriyat, she said that she has been associated with handicrafts for the last two decades and has trained dozens of women in handicrafts so far who are now earning their livelihood well.
I trained hundreds of women who are financially independent now, she said. “Even right now Twenty women are working with me, she said.
“I had taken loan from government some three years before and started a centre at home to train women folk and for the last three years, I have trained dozens of girls who are earning their livelihood themselves,” she told The Kashmiriyat.
“Women Development schemes have been very helpful to me. It has helped me grow. Now i have been campaigning in my vicinity and teaching the art to other women with a sole intent of helping them grow independent. I try my best to teach this art to every women in my village. I used to travel to different areas to train women. I have been doing this since a very long time. Right now I am 40 years old, I have been doing this since my childhood,” she told The Kashmiriyat.
I have four children, it sometimes becomes hard for me to manage things but my husband and children have been very much supportive since beginning. Among four children three are girls and along with study I have also taught them this work, she concluded.