Culture of jammu and kashmir

JAMMU

(a) Kud: It is basically a ritual dance performed in honour of Lok Devatas. This dance style is performed frequently during nights.l

(b) Heren: It is a traditional theatre form performed during Lohri festival by 1005 members. This style ot tradition is mostly performed in hilly regions of Jammu. 

(c) Fumenie and Jagarana: This dance style is performed by the ladies on the eve of groom’s departure to in-laws house. Both the songs are sung by a group of females comprising 15-20 members. This dance form depicts the feelings and emotions of women folk.

(d) Bakh/Gwatri/Kark/Masade: It is a chorous narrative singing sung by a group of 10 singers without the accompaniment of any musical instruments.

(e) Gwatri: It is a combined tradition of both singing and dancing, in which the singers narrate some text which is by the Gwatari dancers.

KASHMIR

Other Popular Performing Traditions of
Jammu and Kashmir

1. Rouf: This dance is almost steeped in antiquity. Rouf is always performed in the appendage of pleasant pathetic song.
2. Hafiz Nagma: Hafiz Nagma is based on the classical music of Kashmir- the Sofiyana Kalam. The Sufiyana Kalam has its own competition known as Muquam. The leading instrument used in Hafiz Nagma is called Santoor ( santoor is an instrument stringed a hundred musical sticks) . The dance use in this tradition is known as ‘Hafiza’.
3. Song of Habba Khatoon: Habba Khatoon was the renowned princess of Kashmir. Her feelings during her separation from the Yousuf King isdepicted in this song. The song is based on the folk restatement of Kashmiri Music.
4. Jagarna: jagarna is marriage song cum dance form has the elements of theatre. While the menfolk of the bridegroom’s house have gone with the Barat ceremony, and the women folk are left alone in the house.
5. Surma: This song in Dogri, set to dance reveals the agony of a newly married girl whose husband is away in the Army. The ever increasing yearning of re-union is depicted through this song-dance.
6. Bakhan: This folk song is a widely ,common form of mass entertainment in this region. The haunting refrain of Pahari songs add to the beauty and joy of daily life. There are certain songs which bare independent of Instruments. “Bakhan” is such a best example. “Bakhan” are in verse.
7. Geetru: Geetru is a dance-song of Dogra Pahari region of Jammu which is being performed at the occasion of feasts, festivals and marriages by the rural folk parties of this region.

CRAFTS OF KASHMIR

 in the course of history kashmir is famous all over the world for its arts & crafts as for its scenic beauty and bracing climate. The diverse articles range from woollen textiles of fleecy soft texture and matchless excellence in weaving, hand-woven carpets of finest warp and weft, to the excruciating designs worked on papier-mache, wood work, silverware, etc are the products of unique craftsmanship.

FAMOUS SHAWLS 

A distinctive position among Kashmir textiles is held by the commemorate Shawl of kashmir. The process of shawl-making is captivating from the start. sedulously women sort out of the lustrous, rough substance from the smooth wool of the Kel goat, and they sheet it over a handloom of the .primeval type, while chanting folk-songs. This fabric, called pashimina, takes two forms of the loom: the loom shawl (completely woven on the loom) and the embroidered shawl, which is woven with an embroidered pattern. The famous ‘ring shawl’ has been given in the popular name, because it can actually pass through a small ring. Another Rare and different from of the shawl is the Jamavar shawl. In this case, the threads of the distorted and woof are dyed before weaving. The curius charm of this famous shawl is derived from the symphony of colour schemes depicting architectural and mythological figures interwoven with landscape designs.

Carpets of kashmir

1. nameda, felt rug, is made from beaten wool, which is then decorated over, is an important branch of the kasida industry of Kashmir.
2.   gabba—it is a idiosyncratic type of floor covering, which is prepared from old woollens in a different variety of forms and designs—come next to the namda industry, and its manufacture in Anantnag (Islamabad). Baramulla specialises in printed Gabbas. The chain-stitch rung, which resembles the gabba carpet, is also manufactured economically, as the base is finite cloth and shaggy wool, over which flowery and other patterns are worked.

The carpet industry, in the valley was introduced by Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin, justly renowned. From the work of weaving, carpets are broadly divided into two classes: smooth-faced carpets and pilecarpets.

 Pile carpets ( known in kashmir as kalins), are made in Kashmir since the Muslim rule, attained great perfection. Worked with beautiful flowery and other designs, the hand-woven pile carpet became the national craft of Kashmir.

Silver and Copperware

Both plain and imprinted work is carry out to catch to the differing choices or tastes of buyers, which include many American tourists. The range of silverware is indeed wide: silver tea sets (chaiset) in local launguage, flower vases, toilet sets, scent chests, ornamental picture-frames,cigarette-cases, tumblers, etc. Among the flora and fauna, leaves of the chinar tree and the lotus embellish the popular patterns. Designs of the (lilac)It is a popular flower of the Valley of kashmir , are also wrought in silver.

 The Kashmiri artisan also produces magnificentproducts of copper-ware consisting mostly of cooking pots and samavars (tea-kettle of Russian origin) and sundry articles for the brood or the mantelpiece. There is a superior demand for lovely copper trays inlet into tables of sculpted walnut wood, the carpenter working in cooperation with the deft coppersmith. Enameled silver work is also pretty.