The Tale and Craft of Kashmiri Paper Mache

Kashmir’s breathtaking valleys earned the name “paradise on earth” a long time ago. But the picturesque mountaintops and the fairy-tale gardens are not the only things that make Kashmir outstanding. The ancient paper mache craft adds to the sublime offerings of the valley. This old craft has quite a shining history, although it is facing a decline in contemporary times.

Paper Mache Boxes, Source: Wikimedia Commons

A long time ago, somewhere in the first millennium of AD, the Chinese developed the first paper in the world. Soon the paper-making craft travelled west and earned the fame of being one of the most utilitarian objects ever discovered. Around that time, in India, kings and emperors fancied writing now and then. As they waited for the paper to arrive in this part of the world, they carried out their written ventures on tree barks, leaves, stones, metal plates, and bamboo.

That’s when the Aryan invasion began to take place in most parts of Asia. They occupied Samarkand in central Asia, which currently is in Uzbekistan, and captured Chinese prisoners who knew how to make paper.

Emperor Akbar's Court, Source: Wikimedia Commons

At a time when paper-making continued to move toward the Arabian countries, the Mughals set up their reign in India. During Akbar's reign, Persian scholar Syed Ali Hamdani flew from Iran to Kashmir and brought with him not just the art of making paper, but something even more precious: the craft of paper mache.

Sultan Zain-ul Abideen, the then ruler of Kashmir, appreciated this craft and helped the Persian scholar promote it. He hired many skilled craftsmen from Samarkand who were already aware of the process of making designs from paper pulp, which forms the heart of the paper mache craft.

The curious thing is that it was not called paper mache back then but was known by the name kar-i-kalamdan, where kalamdan means pen stand. It was so named because the paper mache art was originally used to make intricately-designed pen stands for elite customers, like professionals at the courts of emperors and kings.

Paper Mache Designs, Source: Wikimedia Commons

As soon as Delhi’s emperor Akbar got a whiff of these uniquely crafted pen stands, he began to do his best to further promote the craft. The emperor had such an attraction for this Kashmiri craft that he built karkhanas (factories) specifically to employ skilled craftsmen to manufacture a variety of artifacts based on kar-i-kalamdan.

Creating such sublime objects did not just require creative minds; it also required hard labor. At first, the artisans of one karkhana would prepare the molds, usually out of clay. Then they would attach layers and layers of prepared paper pulp to the molds and leave them to dry. Once thoroughly dry, they would cut the shape of the object out of the mold with extreme precision.

These shapes, molded from paper pulp, would then travel to another karkhana, where painters with exceptional artistic quality would use natural colors to draw a wide variety of designs, including historical figures and events, animals, flowers, shrubs, and trees. Many of the designs were unique to the natural landscape of the valley of Kashmir, for instance, almonds, apple trees, and chinar trees.

Paper Mache Paintings on Walls, Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Mughal emperors knew art. And they soon realized that the paper mache craft had the potential to expand beyond paper pulp. So, they allowed the painting group of the craft to engage separately in creating motifs on other bases, such as metal objects, walls of palaces and shrines, window panels, and ceilings.

As time flew by, around the 19th century, the form of art began to be recognized in European countries, particularly in France. This is the period when the export of pashmina shawls, which is another unique craft of Kashmir, rose significantly. Along with it, paper mache objects also began to reach France. The French, and later most of Europe, fell in love with the intrinsic designs, creativity, and longevity of the colors of these imported objects. This is when they named the craft “paper mache,” as it is known today.

Meena Bazaar on Dal Lake in Kashmir, Source: Wikimedia Commons

The ancient art of paper mache continued to make waves, thanks to the elite classes and their tendencies to decorate their homes with beautiful pieces, which may or may not be utilitarian. The secret of the craft was handed down from generation to generation, that is, until modern times.

In today’s world, there remain very few skilled craftsmen in the valley, and even fewer markets in Kashmir sell them. Kashmiri paper mache is slowly dwindling into oblivion and obscurity. But as with anything else, there is hope that more awareness about this ancient craft can still save it and help it upscale and upgrade to cater to modern consumer requirements.