Meeras Mahal Museum of Ethnography
WOOD
COINS
MUSIC
GRASS
JEWELLERY
WICKER
POTTERY
Welcome to Meeras Mahal Museum of Ethnography
your window to Kashmir's vernacular past...
The Meeras Mahal Museum is home to more than 7000 artifacts that provide an ethnographic lens into the rich cultural heritage of the Kashmir valley, especially its hinterland. Most of these artifacts are items of everyday use that were a common sight in Kashmir until the end of the twentieth century. The objects have a huge cultural and heritage value as they depict a lifestyle and living pattern of a bygone era of Kashmir. The museum has been used by the local population to get an understanding of the life and times of their immediate ancestors. The Museum contains relevant artefacts that local communities can connect with as it gives them first-hand information of their vernacular past.
R u r a l K a s h m i r
“Shaded by the unrivalled plane-tree, by walnut, apple and apricot, watered by a clear sparkling stream, the grass banks of which are streaked with the coral red of the willow rootlets, surrounded by the tender green of the young rice, or the dark handsome fields of the Imbrazal (narcissus) and other rices of the black leaf, the Kashmir village is rich in natural beauties,…”
Sir W.R Lawrence, 1895
Kashmir valley is predominantly agriculture-based economy providing sustenance to a large number of people. With the elevation between 5000 to 7000 feet, the main crops are rice, maize and various types of horticulture products. As one descends to lower altitudes, the quality of crop improves and the characteristic of vegetation and landscape changes. The whole valley is interspersed by glacial rivers, springs and mountainous streams that also provide irrigation and agro-climatic support for the crops. The water courses become edged with willows, mulberries and horse-chestnut trees are seen in abundance.
Apart from the four main seasons known to everyone, the Kashmir seasons are traditionally also characterised by sub-seasons:
1. Wandh (winter) - Mid November to Mid January.
2. Sheshur (Severe Cold) - Mid January to Mid-March.
3. Sonth (Spring) - Mid March to Mid May.
4. Grisham (Summer) - Mid May to Mid July.
5. Wahrat (Rainy season) - Mid-July to Mid- September.
6. Harud (Autumn) - Mid September to
Mid November.
Life in rural Kashmir is centred around the four seasons of the year
wandh
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Winter
Wandh is the long winter season between mid November to mid January. No farming activity takes place in the winter season because of frost and snow and villagers make do with sun-dried vegetables called hokh syun almost all of winter, spending time indoors. This time also utilised by villagers for producing minor art and utility products based on locally available raw materials like wood, grass, wool etc.
Spring
SONTH
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Sonth (spring) roughly corresponds to the months of mid March to mid May. Maize and later paddy are sown in this season, and mustard is harvested. This is the time when villagers prepare their land, and life is reborn after the long cold winter months.
Reatkol is also an ideal time for village scenes to come alive with traditional folk theatre (bhand pather), where the plays are usually performed along with musical instruments like the dhol, nagara, surnai and other Kashmiri folk instruments like tumbaknari and saz-e-kashmir.
Grisham
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Summer
Grisham or summer corresponds to mid May and mid July and is the time for growing local vegetables and for collecting and drying dry fruits such as almonds, plums and apricots.
Weddings and sufiyana kalams mehfils (gatherings) are traditional social events that are highly embellished with Kashmiri culture and an essence of many traditional households of both rural and urban setting.
Kashmiri traditional bridal attire where the bride is shown wearing jewellery items such as kan-dour (earrings), deak-e-damin (forehead piece) and haar (necklace).
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Autumn
Harud or autumn, between October and November, maize and subsequently paddy are harvested, and so is walnut and apples. At this time mustard seeds are thrown in the earth, which remain buried during the wandh.
Harud
The Museum Collection
The Meeras Mahal museum collection are classified into terracotta, wood work, wicker and grass-ware, metal (including jewellery), stone, textiles and manuscripts.
