Stone chiselling in the midst of a bleak future

B, Pora: Stone carving has a long history in Kashmir, where people used to chisel stones into sculptors. Whether it’s utilised to build Kashmiri homes, paths, gardens, or other specific structures. Hundreds of families in Kashmir Valley rely on this activity for a living.
Stone carving has long been a favourite pastime in the valley. Kashmiris have a special relationship with stones. Our homes are built on stone plinths, our gardens have stone fountains, and we bury and honour our ancestors by engraving their names on tombstones.However, the future of art is dismal.
Ghulam Mohd dar, 74, of Bandipora’s SK Bala region, is busy chiselling the toughest of stones into ornamental forms. “For the past 35 years, that has been my occupation. We sculpt rough stones for plinths and hamams. This job necessitates a great deal of physical exertion as well as patience”, Dar said.
In Kashmir, “stone chiselling has a grim future since the new generation is no longer interested in stone carving because they are busy instudying. If this continues, Kashmir’s art will quickly disappear”, Dar said
Mughals were the first to employ these stones in Kashmir, including Mughal gardens, the Hari Parbat monument, and other mosques.
Sajad Ahmad bhat a local from SK BALA “I’ve been doing this for the past 5 years, When my father told me to join him, I was 23 years old. Unfortunately, the Kashmir valley has faced turbulence for the past three years, and due to Covid 19, the valley has seen a significant reduction in business, and the stones are now sourced from Rajasthan, which has a significant impact on our businesses, Bhat said.
Abdul Rashid wani, 60, of saderkot “We have been in this profession since my childhood, Stone-carvers in this neighbourhood are chiselling and preparing stones for the basements of houses, the roadside, and other structures in order to earn more money,but due to new technologies, old carvers are not familiar with the machines, and our business has been severely harmed as a result of these stone carving machines, and the government has paid no attention to these issues, and from last 3 years due to covid the business is damaged due to these issues and the art is fading from our hands, as well as from Kashmir”, Wani said