WHY WAS THE PHERAN CLOTH NAMED " SHAITAANTER " IN KASHMIR ?

                                                                                           

                                 ( AN OLD PHOTOGRAPH OF KASHMIRI PANDITS IN THEIR PHERANS )

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SHAITAANTER CLOTH IN KASHMIR

SHAITAANTER WAS THE NAME OF A ROUGH , COARSE AND DURABLE VARIETY OF COTTON CLOTH USED BY KASHMIRIS FOR MAKING THEIR PHERANS . shaitaanter was a name devised by kashmiris  (  Pandis and Muslims ) for this cloth as it was manufactured at SWATANTRA BHARAT MILLS , NAJAFGARH ,DELHI . So SWATANTRA became SHAITAANTER  in Kashmir.  This cotton mill was a sister concern of DCM. Both the mills were owned by Lala shri Ram ( 1884 -1965 ) Another well known pre partition mill of Lala Shri Ram was LYALLPUR COTTON MILLS ( Faisalabad now in Pakistan ) . lala ji had opened SWATNTRA BHARAT MILLS immediately after the partition of the country .This company also made Dusooti that was frequently used for crewel embroidery work in Kashmir

PHALALAEN ( a cheap variety of FLANNEL cloth ) was also used as PHERAN cloth. Some people made Pheran from old blankets after washing them and routing them through a process known as Tchaader Maandien . This process made the initial weaving compact and tight . Woolen cloth made from sheep wool was also used for making pheran . This was known as Pattu.  Those who  could afford,  used  fine Raffal (  soft handloom woven woolen  cloth used for shawls )  as PHERAN cloth .Tweed and Woolen cloth used for Pherans and made in Mills, arrived later in kashmir. It was generally made in and brought from Amritsar by traders .

( AUTAR MOTA 09.06.2014 )

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