Dehradun: During the winter season, many people wear shawls along with sweaters, the price of which can range between Rs 500 to Rs 5 thousand, but have you heard about shawls worth lakhs. We are talking about “Pashmina Shawl”. These days, it is being liked by everyone from elders to youth. It is made from Changthangi goat which is found in hilly areas. These shawls are made from the wool prepared from the hair of this goat which is very soft.
What is the specialty of pashmina shawl?
Pashmina shawl has become popular among people of all ages because of its quality. It is said that they are so soft that they slip out of the ring. The world’s softest shawl is extremely light. This shawl is made of expensive wool and handwork. And it takes 8 to 10 months or a year or even more time to make one shawl. Therefore, with a lot of patience, this work is understood and learned in detail.
Pashmina is often called the “diamond of fibres”.
Pashmina is an example of unmatched softness and warmth.
Suresh says that Pashmina wool is extracted from a special breed of goat found in the snowy, inaccessible mountainous regions of the Himalayas, which is called Changthangi goat or Pashmina goat. These goats are found at an altitude of more than 14,000 feet above sea level, in areas like the Changthang Plateau of Ladakh. The special thing is that the temperature in these areas falls to -40°C. To protect themselves from this harsh cold, a special extremely fine and soft inner fur grows on the body of these goats. Pashmina wool is prepared by collecting this fur.
Ring checks whether real or fake
Pashmina wool is combed out by hand only once a year in the spring season when the goat starts shedding hair on its own. Only 150 to 200 grams of this precious fur is obtained from a goat in a year which is used to make wool. Cleaning the wool, spinning, warping and weaving, all these processes are done with care and precision.
Spinning and weaving take so long because the fiber is so fine and fragile that machines can easily break it, so human hands and traditional looms are the only options for processing it. Is it real or fake? To maintain its purity, people take it out through this ring. Yes, you heard it right. It seems difficult to take out any complete cloth from a small ring, this is what makes it different.
