Paper Mache: Kashmir's Shafiya Shafi emerges from depression to give life to this dying art of the valley

Shafiya Shafi, 28, a self-taught artist from Srinagar’s Lal Bazar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir has taken a pledge of reviving and preserving  ‘Paper Mache’, a fading art of Kashmir.

Paper Mache, a combination of craft and fine skills, is an ancient craft, brought to the Kashmir Valley by Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani in the 14th century with a group of skilled artisans. He introduced numerous crafts and industries to Kashmir including Paper Mache. Later it became one of the main artistic specialties with the arrival of Islam, having significant religious significance in the valley.nIt is one of the oldest crafts, intricately intertwined into Kashmiri society’s history and heritage, whose legacy has been passed down from one generation to the next for generations.

Papier-mache is a French word that means chewed paper and the process of making it involves two steps: Sakhtsazi and Naqashi. Sakhtasazi, the initial stage of preparation, includes the making of the figurine from a mixture of paper pulp with the help of rice straw and copper sulfate. In the final step of Naqashi, several coats of paint are applied and the figurine is decorated. Artists prefer to use organic colours to paint their mesmerizing products. The entire procedure, which is done manually, requires much care and deliberation and is tedious and time-consuming.

Shafiya Shafi is reviving and preserving Paper Mache through her extraordinary artistic skills. She believed that Paper Mache faded due to the transformation of this art from generation to generation and this art never came open to the public. Once a generation showed disinterest in it and left, this art found no bidding by the general public because it was not open to all, which became the reason for its decline.

Shafiya said, “During a lockdown period, I visited a pottery and Paper Mache shop located at Dargah, Srinagar to buy some instruments for my work. I was pained to see and hear that the art is at a receiving end and these shopkeepers are receiving a very low number of customers. The shopkeeper told me that it is becoming hard for them to survive as the art of Pottery and Paper Mache is fading with each passing day.”

She further said, “On that day, I made up my mind to put all my energy into reviving this dying art. I stayed faithful to the old tradition while incorporating modern designs. My art focuses on the fusion of mandala art (a mandala is a complex abstract design that is usually circular) and calligraphy.”

Shafiya is taking Kashmir’s richest art — Paper Mache — to new heights and this art is finding a new life in the young generation of Kashmir. She is a self-taught artist and didn’t obtain any training or degree.

“I am designing calligraphy and paper mache patterns on pottery and musical instruments. During the marriage season in Kashmir, I take orders from brides. My clients are mostly based in Kashmir but I have received orders from outside as well. I am trying to revive the age-old art by making decorative items to attract the new generation to Kashmiri art,” said Shafiya.

How and what made her an artist?

Shafiya was around 2-3  months old when her mother met with a deadly accident, resulting in grave injuries, months of long treatment, and separation from her daughter. l

“I was brought to my maternal home and returned when I was in 7th class. During the initial years, I lacked the much-needed parental attachment which every child should get. When I returned home, I started feeling the heat of ideological differences with my family which start affecting my mental health,” said Shafiya.

“I can easily say, once a woman goes through these phases, she feels herself in an emotional jail and even can’t think properly. Whenever I see a woman suffering from physical or emotional torture, it hurts and disturbs me mentally. To come out of these trials and tribulations, I used art and tries to express it through my art. I believe that art has helped me to survive when I was suffering from trauma. If I hadn’t chosen this profession, I would have died from depression,” she said.

Shafiya, a modest and reclusive girl’s grit and determination about painting couldn’t find the much-needed support in her conservative family but during her schooling at Green Valley Educational Institute, teachers appreciated her neat handwriting and diagramming skills.

She opted for a non-medical stream but quickly realised that it was not her field.

“I felt disoriented and convinced that this was not my world since I was unable to put my mind at peace with my decision. I have always had an interest in a subject, which is related to humans. I changed my mind and completed my bachelor’s in Humanities from MA Road Women’s College,” she said.

Talking about her journey, Shafiya said, “One day, I decided to participate in the Digital India Campaign competition. I was taken by surprise when I came second in the poster-making competition. That gave me a much-needed boost and inspired me to compete in more events. During my Initial days in 2016.” While roaming outside the Fine Arts department of the University, I saw a group of Fine Arts students painting on a fallen Chinar. I went to them and requested a chance to paint, which they refused. It was after the intervention of a senior that I got a chance to paint. I sketched two lips holding a chain and wrote a caption ‘congratulation it’s a girl’, which left the standby students amused.”

After a few months, a reputable media outlet from outside Kashmir arrived at the University of Kashmir to film a documentary about artists. They shot the film and captured the sketch drawn by Shafiya on a fallen Chinar.

“I was unaware of the development until a student came running to me and played the same documentary on my phone. I was overjoyed to see that they had emphasized my contribution and considered it a massive achievement for myself and from that day, I haven’t looked back,” said Shafiya.

Shafiya is promoting her art through social media and has received a heartwarming response from the public. A massive response was given to some Paper Mache paintings of Shafiya, posted Instagram handle, which has over 55K followers. She is now receiving recognition for her Paper Mache work on a national and international level. The effort to restore the art form has given the Paper Mache art form a boost and it is now gaining momentum in the market. Shafiya hopes to popularise this at a global level so that other artists can also enjoy its benefits.

“I used to express myself through sketches and paintings because I considered it my lone tool to express my feelings. It served as a conduit for me to release my suppressed feelings,” said Shafiya.

The author is an independent Journalist based in Jammu and Kashmir. His work has been published in The Quint, The Wire, Asian Sentinel, Mongabay, Boomlive, TwoCircles.Net, Women Media Centre and other platforms. He tweets @sule_khaak.

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