Kashmir By Hand: A Journey to Kashmir

Breakaway is an Indian based company specialising in creating tours off the beaten track, where you will meet the real india.

Craft is not any ordinary enterprise in Srinagar. It is symbolic of the history and culture of Kashmir and its people. Experience the rich cultural diversity of this region through its crafts and built heritage.

Lose yourselves in meditative craft work, meandering streets, strolling into various markets and learning its forms and practices by being a part of it.

Saffron fields, apple orchards, silk carpets woven around prayers…the imagery of Kashmir is exotic, beautiful and startling. The land is soaked in the history of the ancient Greeks, the Mughals, Buddhists, Hindus, and the British. Thanks to these varied influences, Kashmir today is a melting pot of cultures and traditions. The breathtaking landscape has yielded literature, poetry and handicraft that is both exquisite and unmatched.

This breakaway encourages you to get up close and personal with Kashmir, Kashmiriyat (the way of life of and traditions), and Kashmir’s rich handicrafts.

Master weavers let you watch them weave impossibly delicate Pashmina, one of the finest fabrics known to man made from Pashm fibre that is 1/10th the width of human hair. Visit the handful surviving Kani weavers and discover how several thousand lines later, a two-meter shawl is ready. Watch embroiderers work with silk skeins on Jamavaar shawls that take months to create. Learn why mystic Sufis practised this art for its meditative qualities and found it a perfect way to surrender themselves to the divine.

Gold, mineral dyes and cats’ hair brushes make up the delicate art of papier mache. Watch master craftsmen create delicate art that is a legacy of the ancient Persians. Witness the birth of incredibly intricate poetry in walnut and gape as elaborate carvings of the beautifully grained wood are transformed into eternally elegant and elaborately grand works of art.

Walk through history at Zaina Kadal, and through narrow streets into the Jama Masjid, and Shah-e-Hamdaan. Meander through old bazaars bedecked with dry fruits, silks, spices and much more. Work up the appetite to feast on Wazwan, a traditional Kashmiri banquet.

From man made marvels to works of nature, enjoy a day trip to Aru, a small hamlet in a wildlife reserve 12 km beyond Pahalgam. Trek amidst fragrant pines, dip your toes in glacier streams, fish for trout and greet the Gujjars, a nomadic community that calls the valley home.

Your escort for this trip will be someone who has lived and worked with craftspeople in Kashmir and who will add tremendous value to your experience of the place and its people. So come, craft yourself a new experience.