The freezing cold experienced in the federal capital is the severest recorded by Pakistan Meteorology Department (PMD) since 2008 with the temperature falling down to -3 degree Celsius night. Nevertheless, winter is a season of activities, a time that brings to life many traditions and provides opportunities to families and friends to get together. For one thing, this exciting season brings about a change in the way people dress. This winter, beautiful traditional and contemporary pashmina shawls in pastel colours have come out of the closet or being bought from shops. Shawls are not only a part of the traditional attire of shalwar kameez, as many young people also make a fashion statement wearing dark and bright shawls with jeans, tee-shirts and kurtas. The more formal and the stylish are now wearing shawls on top of sleeveless shirts, paired with formal trousers and heels, not mention trendy accessories.
Shawls are also available at many of handicraft shops in various sectors of Islamabad, while middle lower class females visit weekly ‘Landa Bazaar’ of G-6, G-10, and H-9 for having a trendy and chic pashmina shawls at lower prices. A smoky ambience covers many shops and pavements of the city in various main markets. This is not only because of the occasional mist which stays heavy due to the pollution and dust; the smoke is created by people who circle together in front of a makeshift bonfire, made in the middle of a pavement.
As visitors throng various shopping malls for shopping to experience the winter chill and snowfall over the hills, it is a good time for weavers as there has been a rise in the demand for traditional ‘Kashmiri’ and branded pashmina shawls available in various shops.
The hand-woven soft multicoloured shawls, dyed with natural vegetable colours and famous for their finesse and warmth, are available at Aabpara Market, Melody Market (G-6), Karachi Company (G-9) Super Market (F-6, Jinnah Super and Rana Market (F-7), I-10 Markaz, F-8 Markaz, F-10 Markaz, F-11, where a large number of female shoppers have been witnessed to purchase it.
While a pure pashmina shawl can carry a price tag of as much as Rs 2, 000, most buyers prefer semi-pashmina shawls which are difficult to distinguish from the pure variety and are available in price range of Rs 800 to Rs 1000.
The exquisite shawls, famous for their intricate geometrical designs, carry special significance and depict the designs and colours on the walls of Kashmiri tradition though few are simple and plain.
According to a customer .shopping for a shawl at Karachi Company market (G-9), the colours used in patterning carry a mythological background – white signifies water, yellow stands for earth, red for fire, green for air and blue for ether.
A shopkeeper at F-10 said the demand for warm clothes like sweaters, shawls and other clothing had witnessed noticeable increase in view of the weather.
Shops and makeshift stalls of winter clothes including pashmina shawls can be witnessed at Faizabad, Commercial Market, Sadiqabad Chowk, Raja Bazaar and at many other big shopping malls and markets to attract the customers in sister city Rawalpindi.
Talking to this scribe, a shopkeeper at F-10 Markaz said that the weaving of a pure pashmina shawl was a very intricate job as it took about a year to finish a shawl.
Amna Raza, a customer who is wearing pashmina shawl for many years, told this scribe that Pashmina shawlis very warm stuff. “In winter season if you do not want to wear a sweater as sweater hide your dress designing. So to fulfill this purpose you can buy a pashmina shawl to remain warm and stylish girl. These can be equally used by aged as well as young girls. The real one pashmina shawl is you can find at high prices such as the price range is 2000 to 20000 rupees, she maintained.
When asked how one could identify weather this shawl is of genuine Pashmina or not, her colleague Nudrat Aftab said normally experienced ladies know and can judge by touch the fabric in hand whether is it pashmina or not. “You can judge the fabric purity by checking how much the stuff is soft, warm, and thin. These three points should remember when you go to buy. Always go to famous shops as they can not sell wrong stuff. If you are in Lahore, then the best places are Liberty market, Anarkali and Defence market while in Islamabad few shops in Super Market, Jinnah Super Market and F-10 markaz are having the original stuff,” she added.
