It’s as if the fully matured leaves of the Chinar tree are in perfect synchrony with

nature’s music of the fall; as they gracefully part from their mother twigs and ballet
their way down to merge into the ocean of golden-red autumn-struck leaf kind.
Through centuries spell bound poets have lost themselves to romance with the
valley, but even a momentary gaze at the beauty of this red carpet laid by nature
to welcome the sublimity starved outsider, is enough to have masses indulge in
poetry.

And as if these carpets reveling nature’s opulence weren’t enough, there are the other
kind welcoming the outsiders to quietly let themselves get lost in this paradise on
earth. Namda is the craft of making carpets by felting. This craft is said to
have traveled to Kashmir from Iran along with a Sufi Saint, ‘Amir kabi Shah- e-
hamdan’ many centuries ago (600yrs to 700yrs). Accompanied by master craftsmen
who excelled in woodcarving, weaving, namdakaari, woven carpets, Papier
Mache et al, the saint came with a noble mission to generate work opportunity for the
locals. This noble endeavor of the saint is a living heritage that continues to be one of
the prime occupations and source of livelihood for the people of the valley even to
this day.

The pedigree of 49-year-old Fahrooq Ahmed Khan has preserved the spark of this
skill through generations now. With his grandfather, father and 33 years of his own
life dedicated to the pursuit of keeping this flame alive, the art of felt making has
almost become genetic. But Fahrooq ji refuses to train his successors, forhe believes
that this one craft seeks a whole lot of physical strength and remunerations are
hardly comparable. His 13 member team is now reduced to a one man army.
Such unanimous sentiment amongst the craftsmen community is the reason that the
number of craftsmen involved in this craft has dwindled from 400-500 to a mere 100
over a span of 15 years.

The felted carpets are predominately made of pure sheep wool. Cotton may also be
added in varying ratios (70: 30) to increase the thickness and whiteness of the end
product. However, pure wool carpets are much warmer.

The sheep wool ‘kat yer’ required for this technique is locally bought from Badgam,
Pahalgam (inhabited by shepherds) and Naushera (where the Govt. House for wool
distribution is stationed). Namdas made from Kullu kangada wool are known to have
more strength. ‘Marino’ is another quality of fine wool, imported from Australia in
modern days. Carding is the process by which impurities settled within the wool are
removed and a uniform & consistent thickness is achieved.

Earlier the process was carried out using hand operated wooden tool called as‘dhooin’
in the local language. Primarily a bowstring and stub kind of arrangement that
allowed the fibers to disperse into thin flakes, as the stub is struck against the string
near the heap of sheared wool. The wooden system is suspended from ceiling on a
curved bamboo section to allow carding. Today however most of the necessary
carding is carried out in mills. Bimla woolen mill, a government initiative to
facilitate the craftsmen with carded wool was established in Srinagar city 40
years ago. Besides these, two mills have been established in Gandarbal as well.

traditional geometric patterns if the base is colorful) is marked upon the jute base with
a charcoal. Woolen flakes are evenly spread all over it. It’s a trick of a long curved
stick in one hand and the carded wool in another and how the craftsman juggles with
it to form a cloud of wool with even density. The skill is used to place and relocate the
wool over the marked lines on the base mat.

Namda is usually a sandwich of many (minimum 3) such layers flattened over

each other. The order of placing the individual layers is such that the design is laid
upside down, which means the topmost layer is laid first. Hence, all the collected
wool is divided into three piles. This division is usually based on 1. The color/patterns
you want to show on top 2.There are always surplus remains of wool left from each
Namda that has been recently made, all such wool is combined and put as the
lowest most layer (not to be seen but pure wool makes it durable and warmer).

After a layer is spread, it is sprinkled homogeneously with water and pressed with a
tool known as ‘pinjra’ (woven willow wicker). For a carpet that is 2kg in weight, 2
liters of water may be required. In winters warm water is used. Consequently the
intermediate woolen layer is laid and pressed into uniformity. The ultimate layer
is eventually placed, wetted and beaten till consistent.
The sandwich of wet wool is then rolled tightly from one end with the jute mat
and the anchor metal rod. Muscular pressure has to be applied over a period to
keep rolling it tighter and squeeze the water out. The process of rolling and
pressing is carried out from 1 to 3 hours depending on the quality of wool used (local
wool is coarser and felts faster) and also on the ratio of cotton used (more the cotton
greater the time). The craftsmen use their feet to apply pressure on the carpet. The role
is eventually opened and checked for inter-layer cohesion, lumps and evenness.A
special soap with increased caustic content is then poured over the Namda. It is
rolled once again with hands and without the mat. The carpet so obtained is known as
a ‘kachcha namda’, the strength of which is further increased by binding the edges.

A dry wash is usually carried out by the women folk on the nearby ghats after 1 to 1.5
hours to remove all the soil content from the carpet. Hand embroidery ‘Aari Kaam’
using colorful dyed threads and the ‘aari’ needle is carried out if the Namda is a
traditional one. There are also examples of some beautifully crafted carpets by
stitching the pieces of old worn out Namdas together, with appliqué technique.

Since this work requires great muscular strength, it is usually carried out in
winters.The craftsmen move to relatively cooler places like Kargil during
summers. These Namdas are generally sold through stalls at ‘Craft Bazaars’.
Although the craftsmen have no overseas exposure, local bodies set up to uplift
the state of the craft sector in Kashmir, hold regular workshops to contemporize the
nature of the designs and patterns so that it may become marketable to a larger section
of consumers.

In a land that has seen chaos and ever failing systems over two decades now, beauty
still finds a way to seep through. Through crafts like Namda, one must appreciate
the endeavoring spirit of the Kashmir craftsman who has managed to preserve
the precarious honor of the craft, while standing on the edge himself