Stole Close up of the needle

Shabir Ali Beigh is one of the more talented embroiderers in the little-known Kani Sozni tradition of Kashmir.

Kani is a technique of handloom weaving with bobbins of coloured threads to create floral patterns on shawls. Sozni is the name for embroidery with needle and thread. In recent times, elaborate and rich embroidery covering the entire surface of the shawl has been named 'kani sozni' as an embossed variation of the woven shawl.

Shabir’s skill with the pen did not match up to that of his needle. However, he agreed to learn to write and embroider some of the names of over 100 different motifs on a cream-coloured pashmina shawl. He added the local names by subtly surrounding the motifs with them to look like part of the design. His brother Ghulam Mohammad ably assisted him in his work.

The thick encrusted embroidery of a typical kani sozni decorates two ends of a stole in cream-coloured pashmina wool. Hidden from initial view is a message meandering through the field of flowers. It says 'talim aadmi ko insaan banati hai', meaning “education makes a man human”.