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Show next day we started on our trek to Nowshera, the ancient paper village Nowshera is a suburb of Srinagar and was reached by driving throug dirty, narrow, winding Janes and roads flanked on cither side with dilapidated dwellings, markets open to flies and crippled dogs, and tumbledow shops, making and selling every Indian nece ~~1ly Tnasmuch as the n of thisregion spoke only Kashmiri, it was necessary to find an in lplck:r\\h could speak Hindustani, as the language of Kashmxr was as unfamilia . Rao as it was to me. Our party now consisted of Mr. Rao, Mr. Pestonjec our driver our interpreter, and myself, ll bent on locating th papermak , we discovered, w of other ancient buildings, all reached through narrow path ‘mud. The mountain air was exhilarating as we the little group of carved half-timbere houses where the vats of th permakers were onWereame upon dozens of chattering, jostlin men, old and young, all Mohammedans; many had the charcoal braziers m which they warm their hands, suspended from girdles underneath thei heavy brown robes. The paper district had been previously informed of ou sy and excited, but I could not understand wh our coming had caused so m\lch confusion, loud talking, and seeming illtemper. Mr. Rao explained to me that all of these men were papermakers and that they were fighting among themselves in an effort to determin which craftsman of the group should be the favoured one who would hav the privilege of showing the art of making paper to the visitor from beyon the seas It was the cold season and the "mills" were not regularly in operation I was taken from one house to another and had the opportunity of inspecting the dipping-vats, which had been drained and laid aside for the winter This enabled me to make measurements which would not otherwise hav bee possible Finall w wer take to wha ha onc bee a fin ol house, now in utter disrepair, photograph 16. The vat in this building ha Digital image© 2005 Marriott Library University of Utah, All rihts reserved |
