Ali Muhammad Beigh Sahab is a renowned master artisan of Sozni Kari. He has been a part of this traditional art of Kashmir since his childhood; a lifetime of kasab (art) that ran into his family for years together. Beigh Sahab is an award winning artisan with as many as 50 plus awards of excellence, recognition and honor. A humble man of age, with a noble disposition and an aura of a learned man who has seen a lot in his lifetime, which you just feel in his presence. He is a teacher, a master artisan that has inspired this blessed art into many a people who came to him to be taught the skill that a few people now find interesting to learn. His workplace has produced master artisans in Sozni Kari, under his guidance and humble demeanor.
“I am an illiterate, what can I possibly have to boast of. People these days have so many degrees, when I look at them, I feel how blessed I am to be among those who in this world and times, being an illiterate am still someone, whom people come to speak to, to learn from. I am a simple man who has been blessed by the Almighty with this skill. I did not do anything to earn it; it is just His blessing that I am an artisan, a Sozni Kaar. I am proud of this hunar (artform), it is my passion, my bread earner and my whole life has been around it.”
“People have a tendency to forget and now I guess this tendency has only increased exponentially with time. We are away from our roots, we are racing towards money, and everyone is just mad about money. It is like money is everything now for everyone! This art was brought to Kashmir like many other arts, by Ameer Kabeer from Iran. He was a God loving person who taught us Kashmiri’s to live a dignified and honorable life through work. If you ask anyone in the younger generation who he is, they won’t have heard anything about him. He is a forgotten patron now. These young people cram the names of only heroes and heroines today. They are turning away from their roots and they are not interested in knowing it too, it makes me very sad to see that.”
“I was a milking baby when I lost my father. A couple of years later, I lost my mother too. I am the youngest of my four brothers, of which only two remain now. We were brought up my eldest brother and his wife. What his wife did for us, today, not even a real mother would do that. She was a blessed lady who managed our home and supported small finances by spinning the wheel. Those were great times. A small income would sustain large families of more than 10 members. In contrast, today every home has about 4 earners and still it doesn’t suffice them, a mere family of five or six. We lived in a blessed time.”
“My elder brother took charge of this Karkhana (workplace) after my father. He was skilled in needle work, Sozni. They used to be six or seven people working here when I loitered here as a boy. Gradually, I learned the art by observation before my brother formally trained me in it. I still remember, my first assignment was the Palang Chaddar (bed sheet). I had to work on the four corners of it and the middle portion. I was so excited. I completed it religiously in details and everything. My brother was really impressed by my work and gave me shawls to do after that. Since then, I have been working on shawls.”
“Pure Pashmina beauties are handed over to me with chaap (embroidery print). I nurture every shawl as a baby.” “It is my love after all”, Beigh Sahab with twinkling eyes responded to our smile. “Each shawl takes me 15 to 20 days to finish. I specialize in Kani Pashmina embroidery. It is the Kani shawl print on Pashmina which is done in Kani colors of sozni kari. This is my degree, pointing towards the absolute beauty of colors over a shawl, he is currently working on. I am proud of it. This is my achievement, my purpose of life. Allah has blessed me in it. This is why I am still living.”
“I am working on this Kani Sozni Shawl. It is for a would be bride. Her sister who got married a couple of years back had taken a similar one from me. This younger one, she loved it so much that she asked me to make an exact replica of that. I am getting older and weaker. Somehow I feel it is the time. I just want to complete this one for her. She is going to start a new life. I wish her life to be as colorful as this one. “
Would you like to say something to people?
“What can a person of my position say to people? I am an old man now. You have come here, let me begin with you. You can tell it to others for me. You should learn this art. Not just Sozni Kari, but other traditional arts as well. Know your roots, be proud of who you are, where you have come from. Never compromise on your beliefs. Never! Be proud of your identity. Know yourself and then be you always. Don’ let the times drown you with them. Seek knowledge, seek the truth. Find your purpose in life. Your purpose in life is what drives you. If you don’t have a purpose, you are not living then. Your purpose in life is what drives you ahead. Don’t just exist, seek togetherness with your Creator, life has a higher purpose than just stocking up money.”
Have any message for the authorities here?
“Everybody is a leader here. They learn one syllable and think of themselves as a know all. All I can say to them is to promote our culture, our heritage. We should be proud of our heritage. We promote everything but our own roots. Why are you embarrassed to do that? Ours is a heritage loved by the world! Why be reluctant to promote that. Your generation knows nothing about the art and craft culture of Kashmir. Who is responsible for that? It is us, who need to make them aware of our glorious past. To make them love our roots and be proud of that. Am I right or is it just the feeble man talking in me?”
“We are living now in a different time. Now, it is only about money. People would cut throats to have more money. People have become selfish worrying and caring only about themselves. That is why the blessings from our lives have faded away. When people abandon their own land, their culture to adopt a modern western life, what else can you expect? I have art admirers from the west coming here, all the way from America, Europe and Middle East. They are turning to us and we are running after them. It is a strange world we live in.”
Source : https://www.kashmirbox.com/blog/artisans-of-kashmir-the-blog/ali-muhammad-beigh
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