Falak Bilal
Srinagar, May 7: In a quiet corner of Danamazar in Srinagar’s old Safa Kadal locality, where narrow lanes echo with the sounds of everyday life, a wooden handloom continues its timeless rhythm. The clacking of pedals and the soft pull of threads rise from a modest workshop where 58-year-old Mohammad Lateef Shah spends his days preserving one of Kashmir’s most treasured crafts — handmade pashmina weaving.
“Machines can make fabric faster,” Lateef says, adjusting a bundle of fine thread beside his loom, “but they cannot put life into a shawl. Hands carry emotion, patience, and honesty.”
For Lateef, weaving begins long before the first thread reaches the loom. The process starts with raw pashmina fibre, which must be cleaned, washed, spun into yarn, wound onto bobbins, dyed, and prepared with extreme care. Only after days of preparation does the weaving truly begin.
“It is not a one-man task,” he explains. “Every stage demands concentration. If one step goes wrong, the shawl loses its beauty.”
Completing a single handmade shawl can take him up to 12 days, depending on the complexity of the design. Every thread is guided manually, row by row, with precision developed over 37 years of practice.
Unlike many artisans who inherit their craft through generations, Lateef entered the world of pashmina weaving entirely on his own. No one in his family had worked with shawls before him. What drew him to the loom, he says, was fascination.
“I saw weavers working when I was young, and I felt connected to the art immediately,” he recalls. “People told me to choose easier work, but my heart stayed here.”
That decision shaped his life.
Over the years, Lateef has woven more than a hundred customised patterns, many created from his own imagination. Floral motifs, intricate borders, and traditional Kashmiri designs have all passed through his hands. Yet despite his experience, he still approaches every shawl with the same care as his very first.
“A handmade pashmina is not only cloth,” he says. “It carries the identity of Kashmir.”
But keeping that identity alive has become increasingly difficult.
The veteran artisan says the market today often favours machine-made products because they are cheaper and quicker to produce. Genuine handwoven pashmina, which requires days of labour, struggles to compete in a fast-moving commercial environment.
“There was a time when artisans were deeply respected,” Lateef says quietly. “Now many craftsmen are leaving this profession because survival has become hard.”
Even so, he refuses to abandon the craft.
“Hardship comes to everyone,” he says. “But if a person remains sincere with his work, he never regrets his journey.”
His greatest concern is the fading interest among younger generations. Many young people, he says, prefer jobs that promise faster income and modern lifestyles, leaving traditional crafts vulnerable to decline.
Yet Lateef has not lost hope.
“If young boys and girls want to learn, my doors are always open,” he says with a smile. “This art should not end with us. Someone must carry it forward.”
He believes proper support for artisans can help revive interest in traditional weaving. According to him, recognition should not remain limited to exhibitions or official events.
“Authorities should visit workshops and meet the real craftsmen,” he says. “Many artisans spend their entire lives working quietly without ever being recognised.”
Lateef also stresses the need for stronger market access and direct support to local weavers so that authentic handmade pashmina can survive against mass-produced imitations.
As afternoon light filters through the small workshop window, Lateef returns to his loom once again. His feet press the pedals with practiced ease while his fingers guide threads into another emerging pattern.
The movement is slow, patient, almost meditative.
In an age of machines and speed, Mohammad Lateef Shah continues to weave by hand — not merely to earn a living, but to protect a tradition he believes still has a soul. And with every shawl that leaves his loom, a piece of Kashmir’s heritage endures.
