Digpu News

Bashir Ahmad Bhat, who has been associated with the making of Sozni Pashmina Shawls from the last four decades, is an inspirational craftsman. With fewer resources to keep working on his passion and support a family alongside, Bashir faced all odds and managed to strike a balance Bashir's craft being appreciated by a foreign customers (Photo Credits: Aasif Ganaie/Digpu) In Sonpah village of central Kashmir’s Budgam district lives a man who has brought laurels to the State of Jammu & Kashmir on many occasions. His craft in Embroidery has not only been appreciated at national and international events but has also enabled him to make a living out of his passion. Bashir Ahmad Bhat , who has been associated with the making of  Sozni Pashmina Shawls  from the last four decades, is an inspirational craftsman. With fewer resources to keep working on his passion and support a family alongside, Bashir faced all odds and managed to strike a balance. Bashir Ahmed Bhat At Work...

E-Charkha can be used by Pashmina spinners for quality hand-spun Pashmina yarn with minimum effort so as to earn maximum wages. A textile engineer from Jammu & Kashmir’s Baramulla district has developed an Electric Charkha (E-Charkha), a redesigned version of the traditional Charkha (spinning wheel). Developed by Farooq Ahmad Malik from Sopore, the E-Charkha is feasible and convenient for spinning of Pashmina yarn & the results in terms of production and quality of yarn are pretty good when compared to spinning on a traditional Charkha. “After months of research, I have developed this E-Charkha. The idea struck me after I thought of spinners especially women who are involved in spinning of Pashmina on traditional Charkha. They are being paid a very meagre amount as spinning charges i.e, they hardly earn Rs. 30-40 per day on a traditional Charkha,” Farooq Ahmad says. He adds, “E-Charkha can be used by Pashmina spinners for quality hand-spun Pashmina yarn with minimum e...

With the Government taking additional security measures as well as confidence-building measures such as the visit of the National Security Advisor to interact with the locals during a critical phase, we can safely say that this historic decision is being backed by the attention it so desperately needs. Have you felt like an outsider in your own house? Have you been denied the same privileges that your siblings enjoy? If you haven’t, then you can’t really fathom what every Kashmiri has gone through. More often than not, any news that emerges from the valley is unfortunate and even if there are glimpses of hope, various propagandists shroud the same with false information. What follows is a barrage of opinions from both; self-proclaimed experts and PhDs, all of whom have developed their own ‘perfect, vision for the resolution of Kashmir.’ As always, the ones who suffer and felt left out are none other than the Kashmiris. Do we really know what Kashmir is? Will we ever associate...

Interestingly, Ali has turned the lawn of his house into a full-fledged garden where he grows the flowers and has named it Bhat Flowers. During the times when unemployment has become worst of nightmares for the youth in the State of Jammu & Kashmir, an old but enthusiastic floriculturist from Pulwama is a great character to get inspired. A resident of New Colony area in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district, Ali Mohammad Bhat has been working as a floriculturist from the past twenty years. And, he has been successful enough to grow almost all the varieties of flower plants that he once fetched from Srinagar and other places in order to fulfil the requirements of his customers. Floriculturist Ali Mohommad Bhat “ I have done enough business with people from other districts but one thing always pricked me while making a deal. The flower plants that I used to buy from them didn’t satisfy me as I was not sure whether the plant they sold me will bear the flowers that they claimed....

A 21-year old youth from Narbal area of central Kashmir’s Budgam district has become the first Kashmiri to complete a non-stop cycling tour for a record 420 km high-altitude distance. Named Adil Teli, the youth covered this great high-altitude distance from Srinagar to Ladakh. According to Jammu & Kashmir Cycling Association, Adil started his cycling expedition on 21 July 2019 from Srinagar at 6:35 AM and reached Leh on 22 July. “He has set a new milestone for travellers and voyageurs from Kashmir,” said Mushtaq Ahmad, Joint Secretary Jammu and Kashmir Cycling Association (JKCA). Adil said that this is one of the biggest milestones of his cycling career. “There are still miles to go for more records,” he said. Adil looking at a banner about his cycling event “Adil is special because of his grit at such a young age! We were honoured to aid his journey and we hope cycling catches on as a sport to look forward to in the Valley in future,” Kamran Nisar, one of the supporter...

Working in his cramped shop on one of his most expensive shawls, an old-timer craftsman – Abdul Majeed Shah – seems quite cut off from the world outside. The focus on work hides his underlying excitement quite easily. He is just months away from finishing work on the shawl that is pre-sold to a trader for a hefty amount of Rs. 1,15,000. Adopted by a couple at a tender age of 18 months, Abdul Majeed lived in Srinagar till he grew old. After setting up a small shop in Pulwama, the veteran craftsman moved to Tenghar village of the south Kashmir district. Abdul Majeed Shah – Digpu “I have been working for more than 40 years and continued with the craft out of my love and passion for this. Otherwise, the consistently declining earnings presented many challenges which nearly choked me financially,” he says. An Ethereal Marvel Created By Shah That Will Remain For Generations Altogether About his latest assignment, Majeed says, “The shawl is pre-sold to a trader in Srinagar. It has t...

The first ever cricket tourney of its kind for persons with blindness was organised here on Saturday. The tournament was organized by J&K Handicapped Association Srinagar and Empowering Persons With Disabilities Trust in collaboration with Humanity Welfare Organisation Helpline and D. P. Dhar Memorial School Athwajan Srinagar in the playfield of the school. Players from all districts of the Valley are taking part in the tournament which consists of four teams – Team Red, Team Yellow, Team Blue and Team Green. The first match was played between Team Red and Team Yellow while as the the second match was played between Team Blue and Team Green. “Final match of the tournament will be played tomorrow between Team Yellow and Team Blue as both these teams won their qualifying matches,” said a spokesman from the organizers. “The match is to create awareness among masses that disability in no way is inability. The cricket match has an objective to provide a platform for young ...

Senior IPS officer Basant Kumar Rath has become a ray of hope for indigent students who are preparing for various competitive examinations in the valley of Kashmir. The officer has made a wide variety of books available for exams like NET, GATE, NEET etc and has been receiving an overwhelming response. From the last couple of months, he has been posting updates on his official Twitter handle regarding various books and their availability with him. “On Sunday (between 7 to 8 AM), any deserving student preparing for NEET examination can just come to my place and take more than ten books in one go. No questions asked. No documents needed. A relative must accompany them,” reads one of his tweets. Basant بسنت @KangriCarrier On Sunday (between 7 to 8 AM), any deserving student preparing for NEET examination can just come to my place and take more than ten books in one go. No questions asked. No documents needed. A relative must accompany them. Address - Hut N...