Kashmiris & Kangri are Inseparable

With a considerable drop in the temperature in every winter season the people of Kashmir fall back on kangars, (kangaris pronounced by non- Kashmiris), their age-old companion. Even modern heating gadgets have not been able to replace the indigenous product due to its being portable and certain other factors. The fuel used in kangaris charcoal.

          A kangar is an earthenware- a bowl- fixed in a decoratively woven willow basket. In the beginning the kangar was extensively an earthen pot called ‘Mannan’. Later the ‘Mannnan’ got encased in a wicker–work followed by further innovation but without changing the basic pattern. It is today’s kangar.

          Walter R Lawrence, the then Settlement Commissioner, Jammu and Kashmir, quotes in his book, “The valley of Kashmir”, A beautiful proverb: “What Laila was on Majnu’s bossom so is the kangar to a kashmiri”. Many a poet has sung about the virtues of the kangar. A renowned Urdu poet, Chowdhury Khushi Mohammad, praising the qualities of the kangar, says:

         

Aat ish – e – rukh se woh garmaati hai ahl– e – bazm ko,

          Gaah saqi kangari hai, gaah saghar kangar.

          Arsh- se us par tairtey hain mazamin – e – buland,

          Raat ko rakkhey baghal mein gar sukhanwar kangari.

          Some have compared the kangar with houris and  faires who, when taken into the arms, take away the pain from the heart. Though, the kangar is made at various places in the Kashmir valley, except for minor structural differences all are similar. A kangar made at Anantnag has a wide, earthen bowl while the one from Bandipur is concealed and elongated.

A kanger from Tschr-i-sharif combines elegance with utility. It is better designed and more delicate with thinnest and finest willow strips collected from Pakherpora besides other villages and forests surrounding Tscher-i-sharif. This kanger has smaller earthen pot and the willow weaving is more intricate. It is known as the Tsar kanger.

          This special category of kanger is made of superior wicker and dyed in different colours to create an ornamental effect. The wicker work has a number of rounds ranging from two sets (ze zal) to seven (sat zal). Such kangeris, in particular, have an elongate prodder (tchlan) hanging to the “koph”, the wicker handle with a silver or willow chain or thick thread. Sometimes such a kanger has an engraved silver prodder (tchlan) whereas an ordinary kangri has wooden, iron or aluminum prodder to rekindle the smouldering embers in the pot.

 History & Importance   

     The origin of the kanger is lost in antiquity. There are scholars who believe that the first kanger was the handiwork of the “Hanjis” (boatmen). They are of the opinion that having been living on water exposed to the elements and enabled to warm themselves by a fire because of there boats be in wooden, the “Hnajis” had to make an arrangement which could keep them warm without damaging there boats.

          Some people believe that the first kanger was brought from Italy. But the famous book, “Rajtarangini”, says that it is an indigenous gift. The book forces us to believe that the real story is something different. During the rule of king Avantivaraman between 855 and 883 there lived a great engineer, Suyya, who succeeded in regulating the course of the Jehlum skillfully. Suyya saved Kashmir from devastating floods a number of times. He did this by digging dykes, which had the appearances of round bowls (Kundas).

          There were certain villages which had these dykes around them. They were known as “Kundala”. Explaining the word in the footnote to the text of the book, the author says, “the word kundal from Sha Kundal, or the ring, is still used in Kashmir as the designation of the earthen bowl placed in a kanger (Kasthangarika)”.

          In local parlance, kang means a large enclosure containing a smouldering fire, and kangri is a distorted form of the word. Some argue that the introduction of the kanger and certain other things associated with it was an act of state craft on the part of Mughal emperor Akbar, who wished to tame the brave Kashmiris of the period. Knig Zain–ul-Abedin (from 1420 to 1470) instead on the use of three basic things – the kanger, the gown (phiran) and the food prepared one day earlier (bassi rotti) – by Kashmiris. This helped him in his attempt aimed at the physical and psychological subjugation of the people.

          Today, the kanger has become part and parcel of the Kashmiri life. It has assumed social as well as religious significance. On the occasion of Shivratri a Kashmiri Hindu bride has to carry an elegantly designed kanger to her bridegroom’s home. Also, a special type of kanger is gifted to a Hindu bride by her in-laws on “shooshur”, the first day of her winter with them. Some amount of money is also placed in its earthen bowl. On auspicious days like marriages etc. both the communities, the Hindus and Muslims, the elderly ladies with kangri, fire pot filled with live charcoal starts burning “Niger’, locally (kashmiri language) called as ‘Isband’ after touching the forehead of the concerned person having marriage or any other success story.

          On ‘Maker Sankrati’ which heralds the beginning of the coldest period of the winter, Kashmiri Pandits give Kangeri with embers as alms with the belief that their dead kith and kins might get the warmth wherever they might be.

Too costly 

        The Kangri has, however, gone out of the poor man’s reach. Its prices are sky touching high. An ordinary kanger, which would cost less than a rupee in the fifties, was available for between Rs. 3.50 to 7.50 in seventies. Today, its prices range between Rs. 100 to 350. depending upon the quality. The average ‘Tser kanger’ costs from Rs. 600 to 900/- whereas the special one with various decoratives especially meant for newly brides costs around Rs. 1600/-.

          Charcoal, too, has become dearer and on an average is sold for roughly Rs. 50/- to 80 a kg depending upon the quality. The wood, in the past was found in abundance, but the position has changed now. The forests are disappearing gradually. The state used to burn around 60 lakh quintals of ‘green gold’ in early nineties every year as against around thirty lakh quintals in 1974 and on an average around 1,50,000 quintals of ‘green gold’ are burnt annually at present. This is in addition to the supply of charcoal from other parts of the country. The ‘green gold’ comprising of tree wood branches and leaves which could be put to some better use if there is an alternative fuel for the kanger.

          The kanger is always filled with smouldering coal covered with a semi-burnt layer of Chinar leaves. However, the best fuel for the kanger is ‘hak’ small drift-wood. As the kanger warms the body in winter, people consider it as their best companion and walk miles carrying it with them. At times, those carrying kangeris are involved in any pity quarrels, they use it as a weapon. Burning charcoal acts like an explosive.

          On the other hand, the kanger helps in improving the digestion and combating common cold and cough. Most people remove it from their beds before falling asleep but there are some who sleep with it, keeping their kanger under their quilt. And often carelessness or over confidence results in a big loss of lives and property when a kanger causes a fire.

Unfortunately, away from Kangri’s aforesaid advantages its related ailments has directly associated its name with Cancer commonly identified here as the ‘Kangri Cancer’. The researchers have established that many kangri users end up as Cancers to the patients.  A cancerous growth begins at that part of the body which is most exposed to the blistering heat of the

kangri. Dr. H K Koul earlier argued that at times the temperature at the bottom of the kangri is as high as 138C. With the growing usage of Kangri remains unabated in Kashmir, the Cancer named after it, ‘Kangri cancer’ continues to be persistently affecting the people here. ‘Kangri cancer’ is prevalent in both, rural and urban population of Kashmir without any traces elsewhere in the world. Also, there have been no significant  signs of any increase or decrease in its prevalence.

Kangri Cancer

         Normally, the excessive use and prolong heating of any specific area, particularly thighs and abdomen with the fire pot results reddish burns followed by blister injuries or ulcers and sometimes it also affects the lungs, due to continuous exposure to heating leads to Kangri Cancer of lungs. 

          However, the disease has shown a remarkable decline due to changing lifestyles especially in urban population as compared to rural due to shifting to modern heating appliances. Further, the sufficient awareness among the people has largely resulted in a decline in numbers as claimed by Dr Gul Muhmmad Bhat, Oncologist at Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura, Srinagar.

        In pursuant to it, the economic usage has realistically reflected heavily upon the livelihood of large number of artisans but equally given place to introduction of the electricity, LPG and Kerosene heaters etc. with better safeguard against the risks of Kangri. This has been possible with the help of social workers and NGO’s who need to break the urban barriers and proceed to rural areas and educate people about the age old Kangri, and its adverse effects which possibly one day will confine it to the Living or Drawing rooms, as a decorative now.