Head for the sun-drenched beaches of Goa and in no time you will meet a Kashmiri.  He will entice you into his shop to show you his silk carpets, jewellery, pashminas, papier mâché work – a veritable Aladdin’s cave of beautiful things.  You will be offered kawa (traditional Kashmiri tea) and then the photo albums of the Vale of Kashmir – Dal and Nagin Lakes with the houseboats from the days of the Raj, shikaras floating by and the snow covered mountains - will appear, and the invitation to visit his family will be issued.

This is how the Kashmir Connection was conceived.  Friends asked me to bring back shawls from Goa and then, when I bought things for myself in Kashmir, they asked for those too. 

Since independence there had been a series of crises in Indian Administered Kashmir which has made life very difficult for everyone living there.  Tourism was badly affected but I still decided to go and look for myself.  I didn’t realise just how many wonderful things are still being made by artisans in and around the Vale of Kashmir.  Life is hard, but the artisans work even harder to support their families.  They are proud people who don’t want charity, so I meet them, bargain hard over kawa and cake and we come to a happy compromise.  I have beautiful things to sell at reasonable prices and they can feed their families.  Have a look at the catalogue section to see for yourself!

Every time I visit Dal Lake I notice the number of tourists increasing. Now travel companies are once again including the Vale of Kashmir’s spectacular scenery in their itineraries; life is coming back to the Valley.