Traditional Kangris Continue To Keep Kashmiris Warm Amid Harsh Winters

As the harsh winters have set in, Kashmiris have started using the traditional Kangri locally known as Kanger, a fire pot filled with embers and held against the body under a pheran, an over garment unique to Kashmir, for providing warmth. Kashmiris call the kangri a mobile heater as it can be carried along anywhere under the pheran.

Despite a number of modern-day heating appliances available and being used frequently, Kangris continue to keep Kashmiris warm during the winter months as the temperature falls to minus ten degree Celsius. ¡°Kangris are the lifeline for Kashmiris during winters,¡± says 57-year-old Ghulam Qadir Khanday, a kangri seller at the busy Batmaloo market of Srinagar.

Idrees Ahmad

He said that unscheduled power cuts are frequent in Kashmir in winters because of heavy snowfall. ¡°Despite having many electric appliances available to people, they still prefer fire pots as it is cheap and the charcoal to burn it gets easily available to them,¡± said Khanday who hails from Mujgund area of Srinagar.

Against all odds

Ashiq Ahmad Lone, 26 who sells the Kangris at Boat Colony area of Srinagar said that youth was facing a tough time in handling the Kangris. ¡°They don¡¯t wear pheran and take it under the blanket and that means demeaning of Kashmiri culture. They consider wearing pheran an old fashion,¡± Lone said.

Idrees Ahmad

Informing about the origin of the Kangri, Lone said that it is believed that Kashmiris learned the use of the kangri from the Italians who were in the retinue of the Mughal emperors and usually visited the valley during summer. ¡°But later it was used in the time of the Mughal empire and later Kashmiri people adopted this tradition,¡± he said.

Demand of kangris still high

Mohd Yousuf, a kangri seller at Batamaloo area of Srinagar said that demand for the kangris was much higher. ¡°We sell around 10-15 kangris per day and every kangris has a different rate,¡± he said.

Idrees Ahmad

¡°The rate of Bandipor kanger goes up to Rs 260-400, charar kanger sells at Rs 260- 400, Kulgam kanger sells between Rs 150-Rs 250,¡± he said.

Yousuf said that the demand for the Bandipor kangri is much higher. ¡°It is being made of pure wicker twigs brought from the forest and is considered a strong one,¡± he said.

Idrees Ahmad

Yousuf believes that Kangris have an unending life in Kashmir. ¡°They will continue to serve the people and people will continue to buy them. Kashmiris are incomplete without Kangris,¡± he said.

Feeding hundreds of families

The Kangri business has been feeding hundreds of artisans affiliated with the work. ¡°Our family runs on this work only. I have been in the field for the last 40-years,¡± says Mohd Ashraf Khan, 58, a kangri seller at Charar-i-Sharif area of central Kashmir¡¯s Budgam district.

AP

However, Khan is upset with the new generation as they were not opting for this work. ¡°Youth are looking for shortcuts in life. They want an easy way of earning but it is not possible. Making kangri is a hardworking process and needs a lot of patience and time,¡± he said.

Charar-e-Sharief is a beautiful town located in central Kashmir's Budgam district known for the highest production of kangris. The town is famous because of a shrine build in the memory of Sheikh Noor-ud-Din Noorani, a sufi saint who is said to have brought Islam in the Kashmir.

Making charcoal, a good business

A number of families are also dependent on making charcoal which is used in the kangri. ¡°We do it with the onset of autumn as the leaves start falling and we start selling them in the market to the customers,¡± said Bashir Ahmad, a resident of central Kashmir¡¯s Ganderbal district.

Reuters

Bhat said that he has been doing this for the last many years. ¡°We are earning good and demand for charcoal also goes up during winters,¡± he said.

'Chillai Kalan' all set to begin

'Chillai-Kalan', the 40-day period of the harshest winter in Kashmir will begin from December 21 and will continue till January 31 followed by Chillai-Khurd and Chillai-Bachha. A 20-day long Chillai-Khurd (small cold) starts from January 31 to February 19 and a 10-day long Chillai-Bachha (baby cold) occurs between February 20 and March 2.