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A
small terracotta
bowl set in a wicker basket and filled with charcoal and live embers,
kangri is the most innovative and unique shield of Kashmiris against
biting cold. It has become a part of day-to-day Kashmiri life. So much
so that Kashmiri Brahmins have the custom of giving Kangris with live
charcoal to the priest on the first day of Magh (Jan-Feb) in the name
of their dead. No amount of gifts given to a married daughter on
Shivratri or in her trousseau is complete unless the versatile Kangri
is included. As winter approaches, it is customary for the parents to
send their daughters a Kangri full of gifts. Crouching over a kangri
under the "pheran" (the long loose gown worn by Kashmiri men and women), the expert craftsmen work, unmindful of the
cold, pausing, off and on to stir the embers with a wooden or iron
"tsalan" (poker) or to light the "chillum" of the hookah
with it. On auspicious occasions like births and marriages "isband"
(a kind of aromatic seed) is sprinkled over a kangri full of ambers to
ward off the evil eye. Many a time, in one’s childhood, one roasted
chestnuts and waternuts (singhara) in its even heat. The use of
kangri is not confined indoors. This inexpensive and effective brazier
is carried along by Kashmiris, hugged underneath the pheran or "lohi"
(a hand-woven blanket), to work, friends, markets, buses, schools or
even the cinema-halls. The first and most welcomed gesture of
hospitality in winters is to offer a kangri to the incoming guest. Some have the
knack to sleep with it also. Most of the Kashmiri houses have no
inbuilt fireplaces to heat the rooms and are happy with this portable
device, to ward off the cold. On a winter morning, the households have a line of
kangris for the day for each member. Kangri charcoal is prepared from
chinar and other leaves that fall in autumn and also from wood and
shrubs. At times cow dung is also used. Several lakh tones of
charcoal is manufactured by the Forest Corporation every year by
burning faggots, wood and dry leaves and several more in private sectors mainly in Jammu to meet the ever increasing demand.
Moreover, throughout autumn people are seen sweeping the dry leaves
into heaps and making charcoal for kangris out of them. As autumn
approaches, truckloads of kangris of all qualities and hues come to
the market. They are, though, sold throughout the season in
souvenir-laden shops. Artisans specialise in the art of weaving
wicker-baskets, from cane called "loir" or "poh",
to hold the terracotta bowl lest it gets exceedingly hot. The
cone-shaped wicker frame has a steady base and handles, which make it
conveniently portable. Some of the kangris are decorated with
hanging chains and rings of cane or colourful paper or multicolour
cane to make them beautiful in addition to being useful. At the back of the kangris a poker hangs by a string. It
is called "tsalan" and is used to stir the fire inside the
kangri. A well-packed kangri normally lasts for 10 to 12 hours. The
red-hot embers are put into the kangri to start the fire. The charcoal
smolders gradually with a top layer of ash which acts as insulation
and does not allow the heat to get unbearable. The best quality
kangris are produced in Charar-i-Sharif, a village known for the ziarat
of the great Sufi Saint Sheikh-Noor-u-din. Anantnang, Sopore and
Shahabad are also known for good durable kangris. The end of winter
in Kashmir is symbolised by bonfires of kangris in spring but no
household is without a kangri even in summers when a few cool showers
may call for the use of the good old friend kangri.
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