HISTORY
& EVOLUTION OF THE CRAFT
The wood carving
craft came to Kashmir from CENTRAL ASIA (IRAN )
600-700 years ago it was the time when Saint Shah Hamadan [RA] came Kashmir to spread Islam.
During the period Zain-ul –Abidin “BUDSHAH” [1420- 1470]. This craft
reached its excellence .Earlier carving was mainly done on the walls, doors and
pillars of shrines, mosques and on the royal buildings. With the passage of
time walnut artisans made walnut wood gifts for Kings and high profile
personalities. This gave popularity to the craft and wood carving craft begin
to become famous.
According to an
artisan, Mr. Kalwal sahib , a throne of
walnut wood with carving was gifted to a high rank British official and craft
began to became famous outside Kashmir .
PROCESS
Raw Material
The raw material used are different
types of wood like Walnut wood, Deodar and Kayur but mainly Walnut wood is used
in wood carving craft The material used in walnut woodcarving is obtained from
walnut tree locally known as Dhoon Kul in
the kashmiri This wood is also considered very special as it is available
only in Kashmir in India.
The wood used can be from the root or
stem(trunk). According to an artisan Mr.Fayaz kalwal nowadays branches of
walnut tree are also used due to shortage of raw material.
The wood is hard and durable, it’s
close grain and even texture facilitates fine and detailed carving work.
The wood derived from root is almost
black with the grain more pronounced than the wood from the trunk which lighter
in color. Branches have the lightest color almost blond with no noticeable
grain. It is actually the dark part of wood which is best for carving as it is
strong. The value of the wood differs with the wood from the root being most
expensive.
The tree, which is found only in
Kashmir region (i.e. in India ),
is of four varieties; categorized on the basis of the fruit the tree bears
namely;
·
Khanak
or wild walnut whose tree is diminutive in size
·
Wantu
or Vont Dun , the fruit has a hard
shell
·
Dunu
·
Kakazi
or Burzol which is considered to bear the best fruit with the lightest shell
Wantu,
Dun and Khakazi are cultivated
while the khanak is found in the
wild.
The Walnut tree is cutted only if the
tree stops giving fruit. Govt. permission is necessary for it.
The manufacturers bought wood
from the private depots at Iddgah HMT
Zainakote. These logs of wood are sold at approximately Rupees six hundred to
fifteen hundred per cubic feet and the quality of wood is always at the buyers’
risk and his experience of selection. The logs are then cut into planks of
desired thickness with the help of machines. The saw mill locally as band saws and the process is locally
known as laker chiren or simply as chirun. There is lot of wastage when the
log is cut into usable raw material and the cost per cubic feet goes up. Width
of logs starts from 1 foot to 6 feet.
In the past
cutting was done manually it is called “Arikashi”.
These planks are then put for
natural seasoning for six months to three years depending on wood. Mr. Fayaz
said autumn season is the best for seasoning. The first stage in seasoning is
to keep the planks in an erect position so that the sap in the plank
descends.
The wooden planks so obtained are then are
piled along the edges one upon the other alternately almost in the manner of
header and stretcher. The process is never carried out in the sun but always
takes place in shade. The gap in between the different layers of the planks
allows the passage of air, which helps in the seasoning process.
Regarding the raw material supply
the artisians are not satisfied. Mr M. Ashraf, a wood carving manufacturer said
the rates are fluctuating these days and there is corruption at many levels.
Green gold furniture manufacturing unit owner Mr. Rashid told there are hindrances
in getting raw material like permission process is hectic.
Manufacturing
The seasoned wood is
then sent to the
Carpenter who makes
the required object from it, which may be a box, a piece of furniture like
table, chair etc. The traditional tools that the carpenter uses in the
manufacturing of various items are chisels of different tips saw (leter); planer (randha); measuring tape (phet
gaz); L-angle for obtaining parallel, perpendicular lines (khari hat) and Wooden scale (khat chhal), tur etc.
The planks are cut in the required size
and then it is planed with the help of planer this process is called “randh
dun” made into uniform thickness of regular size. He also use template called
Farma
From the carpenter who is generally
referred to as furniture chan
(furniture carpenter), the object is then passed onto the wood carver or the naqash.
II.
Carving
The various steps in carving are :
1.
Inscribing(
laakhun): in this step a drawing of motifs is made on wood with the help of a
pencil.
2. Marking/Punching (Dagun): it involves digging out the material
according to pencil lines. It is done with the help of chisels called dagi vaal and a mallet called
thaap.
3. Zameen Kadun This
involves deeper digging around the motif so as to obtain the required depth of
the relief.
4.Giving
shape(guzar dun): This involves broader outlining of the inner intricacies
within the motif. It gives the shape to the motifs.
5. Texture (Sumbh Kadun): sumbh is a
nail like tool with teeth like structure.
Polishing
After carving the item undergoes
finishing/polishing process. The person engaged with this work is called
“Roshan Gaar”. Steps involved in this process are:
1.
The wood is smoothened with sand paper. The various
sand papers used are No.60, No. 80, No. 100, No. 120. To give dark colour to
the product a solution is coated to it. This solution is prepared by boiling
walnut bark in water.
2.
The wood is then rubbed with a semi precious stone
locally known as pullet fastened at
the end of a specially crafted penholder (kalam).
After the application of pullet wax
polish (mansion) is applied with the help of cotton rags (khaddar) and left to dry 3 hrs to 24 hrs. In case of high relief
work the polish is applied in between the inner intricacies by means of brush.
The polish is applied in 5 to 6 coats
