Kashmir's Christmas art wows customers, millions of products sold worldwide

We have all seen Christmas decorations hanging on the Christmas trees, also on walls and ceilings, but do we know where these Christmas balls and bells are made? Kashmir's famed Paper Mache artisans start months before the festival to make these decorative pieces. Millions of paper mache decorative pieces are sold to customers across the world just before Christmas. 

Kashmir's award-winning paper mache artist Maqbool Jan has made thousands of these handmade products, especially for the Christmas festival. His products are sold across the world. He has been continuously supplying these products to western countries for decades. 

"Christmas is a very big festival and we get a lot of work during the period. We make Christmas balls, bells, and other decorative pieces. We wait for this festival for months and start preparing three months from the festival. If someone wants special designs, then we take orders six months before the festival. There are orders in lakhs for these balls and bells," said Maqbool Jan.

The artists in the Kashmir Valley have introduced new designs in these decorative pieces. They are trying hard to grow the customer base across the world. The orders are sent to Europe, US, Dubai and many other countries. The artists say demand for these items has increased much more in the last few years. 

"We keep on adding new designs to these to make customers happy. We make millions of these Christmas items. We are so happy to make these things. We send these items across the world. Not only to the West but to the Middle East too. It's also about people gifting these items to each other. And I think the demand has increased manifolds in the last few years. We also have a local Christian population and they also buy stuff during the festival," said Maqbool Jan

Christmas art from Kashmir is being sold across the world. It is helping the artists take the craft to many countries and also boost their business.