THE PAETGO'R SHOP IN KASHMIR

                                    

                 THE PAETGO'R SHOP  

Paetgo’r shop was a part of the social life of Kashmiri Pandits . I remember the Paetgo’r selling simple and expensive Attahuru , Teki -taal ,Taranga , Kalpush, Zooji , Pins, buttons , threads , kohl ( Surma ) , ribbons ,Bindis , Sheesh-laath and everything that the Kashmiri Pandit ladies needed for marriage , sacred thread ceremony and other rituals . I would always see the Paetgo’r busy making Attahurus for the ladies . To supplement income , many Paetgo’r shops also started selling cosmetics . I remember the father-son Paetgo’r shop near Vishwa-Bharti College, Rainawari . Another busy shop run by a gentleman used to be at Badiyar Bala ( nickname Ramzaan Bakheel ) . Another shop used to be at Fateh Kadal in downtown. There used to one more busy shop at Habba Kadal Chowk . When Kashyap Bandhu started the movement for Sari , the business of the Paetgo'r received a major setback . As Kashmiri Pandit women started abandoning Pheran and wearing Saris, the Paetgo'r replaced the Pheran and Taranga accessories with cosmetics to survive in the trade .    

After the 1990s, the Paetgo’r shop has vanished from the landscape of Kashmir . I am sure our younger generation may not be knowing about the existence of the Paetgo’r in Kashmiri society. 

While the goldsmith made Dejhur,  the Paetgo'r crafted Attahuru for it. 

( Avtar Mota )

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