Srinagar, Nov 7: With machine made kani shawls giving stiff competition to the handmade stuff, the artisans here are see huge decline in their wages.
 According to the artisans the Jacquard loom shawls with printed imitations are produced at cheaper rates as compared to the original kani shawls which are handmade.
 They said the printed imitations are made in different parts of Amritsar and are sold by retailers in Kashmir at a very low price than original kani shawl.
 “It is very difficult for a customer to distinguish between an original Kani shawl and a fake one,” said Salman Soozi, an artisan. He said the Jacquard made shawls have imitated designs of Kani and are produced in bulk. “These shawls carry a price tag of around Rs 20,000 whereas an original Kani shawl could go as high as Rs 2 lakh,” he said.
 Soozi said the artisans of kani shawl had no option but to reduce their wages to remain in the market.
 Artisans said many individuals from non-traditional backgrounds have learned this craft and have set up enterprises, producing low quality machine made shawls increasing the competition further for the traditional weavers.
 “Hundreds of shawls can be made in these machines in a day whereas it takes us many months to weave a Kani shawl with hands” says an artisan.
 Kani shawl is woven by using small wooden spokes in the place of a “shuttle” as in a traditional loom.
 These spokes are called “tujii” or “kani” locally. Kani shawl has been historically produced from fine hand spun Pashmina and santoosh fibres. Though 80 per cent of the contemporary Kani shawl continues to be produced out of fine hand spun fibres of Pashmina, it has also expanded to include silk and other fine wools.
  “We use around thirty colors for making Kani shawls while a jacquard made shawls use only three to four colors,” said Soozi.
 Artisans complain that they are being exploited by both the traders and the exporters. “We are not getting as much share as we deserve. The retailer sells the imitated Kani shawls in the name of original hand made Kani shawl. They are cheating the customer and bringing bad name to us,” said an artisan.
 Exporters are also doing business with the machine made shawls in place of original Kani shawls thus decreasing the market for authentic Kani shawls.
 “Exporters tell us that the market for Kani shawl has decreased and we should lower our wages. But actually they deal in machine made kani shawl,” said Soozi.
 The artisans demand direct market opportunities so that they are not exploited. “Government should support us and provide us market. Plus, it should also check sale of machine made imitated form of Kani shawl in the name of Kashmir kani shawls,” they said.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 7 Nov 2009 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 7 Nov 2009 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 8 Nov 2009 00:00:00 IST