Kashmiri and Central Asian Artisans Reconnect at World Crafts Council Event in Srinagar

• Kashmiri artisans and Central Asian craftspeople reunited at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre in Srinagar.

• The event, held in the backdrop of the ‘World Craft City’ tag awarded to Srinagar earlier this year, aimed to reconnect lost crafts and cultural links between Kashmir and Central Asia.

• The artisans, who have traveled from Iran, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Russia, have revived lost crafts and cultural links between Kashmir and Central Asia.

• The World Crafts Council (WCC) granted Srinagar the tag of ‘World Craft City’ in June this year.

• The artisans from these countries, including Uzbekistan, have preserved many processes for centuries in Kashmir.

• The event, which concluded on Wednesday, attracted the attention of carpet dealers and artisans from Kashmir.

• The event also highlighted the link between the Kashmir carpet industry and Iran, with carpet patterns named after Iranian cities.

• The WCC president, Saad Al-Qaddumi, urged the government to support such initiatives and organize more such interactions.