SRINAGAR: Throughout the long years of fighting in the occupied Kashmir, craftsmen like Abdul Kabeer have survived by embroidering Kashmiri shawls that are prized worldwide for their rich texture and fine designs.

Kashmiri handicraft shops in New Delhi, Mumbai and in tourist hotspots across India mushroomed after 1989 when separatists took up arms against Indian rule and tourism in the snow-capped Himalayan state slowed to a trickle.

“When the troubles broke out, I thought I might have to change jobs because there were no tourists to buy my shawls but praise be to Allah, I managed to keep going,” said Kabeer, 68, his needle moving deftly over a rose pattern.

“Working on these shawls has sustained me during these difficult years,” he added, frowning in concentration over the delicate needlework, his tiny house piled high with brightly-coloured woven fabrics.

After the revolt erupted, shops in big Indian cities took the shawls and other handicrafts of Kashmir’s skilled artisans to sell. Exporters also bought the crafts to sell abroad and set up brightly-lit showrooms in places like Dubai, London and Singapore.

More than 250,000 people in the state of ten million are directly employed in making and selling handicrafts such as carpets, shawls, carved furniture and colourfully varnished papier mache, according to official figures.

For tourists brave enough to travel to Kashmir, where at least three revolt-related deaths are reported daily and grenade attacks are common, there is a rich choice of handicrafts at bargain prices.

Prices shoot up when the same crafts are sold in London or Paris, says Mohammed Yusuf, a shawl seller in Srinagar, urban hub of the revolt in which 42,000 people have died.

Many shawls are woven using a twill technique similar to tapestry weaving.

The needlework can be so skilful that the motif — usually abstract designs or stylish paisleys and flowers — appears on both sides in different colours.

By far the most popular and most costly embroidered shawls are made from pashmina, spun from the hair of the bearded ibex goat, which lives at 4,300 metres above sea-level in the Ladakh region of Kashmir. Kashmiri carpets, renowned for being knotted by hand, are also popular.

“The more knots per square inch in the carpet the more valuable it is,” says Yasin Wani, who has been selling carpets for over 25 years.

Kashmir handicrafts export sales rose 2.5 per cent to 7.05 billion rupees in the 2005-06 fiscal year, according to the latest figures.—AFP