KASHMIR’S LONG CHILL STRETCHES SEPTEMBER TO APRIL, AND TEMPERATURES CAN DIP TO MINUS 4 DEGREES CELSIUS
though you can get a decent ready-made one for as little as Rs 1,500 in the shops at Lal Chowk.
Kashmiri politicians – including chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah – often wear pherans at public rallies. As do separatist leaders like Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Though jackets and blazers are preferred for formal occasions, the pheran is also increasingly making it into the workplace.
“A pheran gives me complete protection from the cold. It’s the most comfortable winter dress for me,” says Andleeb Saqi, a humanitarian aid worker. “A nicely made fitted one can be worn for all professional purposes in winter.”
So integral is the pheran to Kashmiri identity that, in 2014, an army invitation asking Kashmiri journalists to refrain from wearing the garment to a press briefing triggered outrage and had to be revoked.
Even then chief minister Abdullah had tweeted, “If the army has in fact told journalists not to wear a pheran to Corps HQ events that is unacceptable & the order should be withdrawn. People wear their pheran with pride. It’s part of our identity aside from the best way to stay warm in the cold. Can’t ban pherans.”
The kangri – the age-old earthen pot carrying embers, held in a beautiful wicker case – has also survived the test of time in Kashmir, mainly because of the many, acute power cuts. A mixture of embers and sawdust produces the heat in a kangri, making it a most economical source of heat. You can buy one for just Rs 200. “I sell about 15 to 20 pieces a day in the early days of winter,” says Sajad Dar, 18, who sells kangris on the streets of Srinagar.
Syed Shuja, 35, a government employee, says by the time he returns home from work every day, his mother has prepared a kangri for each member of the family. “I freshen up and change into a pheran and keep the kangri inside it until bedtime. After that, it’s blankets, blankets, warmth and sleep.”