Hashmat Ullah Khan

Who is Hashmat Ullah Khan?

Hashmat Ullah Khan was born in 1954 in Nawab Bazaar, the Heart of Srinagar City. He started his early education in Islamia School Nawab Bazaar. He did his BSC from Islamia College of Science and Commerce. He had a passion of Learning right from his childhood. He joined his father's Business in 1972 when he was a mere 18 year old lad. His father was into Kashmir arts.

Hashmat Ullah Khan has been a pioneer in working to revive the world's most exquisite and famous Kani shawls of Kashmir. Hashmat has been in the shawl making industry since his teens. The Kani shawls are woven with special woolen needles called Kanis in Kashmiri, hence the name Kani shawls. Made by special weaving techniques one Kani shawl takes at least a year or two to make depending on the design. It is virtually a piece of art woven into a shawl. These exquisite Kani shawls have been a favourite of Mughal emperors. These shawls owing to heir extraordinary beauty and time consuming making the process very exclusive as well as quite expensive, purchased mostly by the very affluent. Over the years by the early 20th century the production of these shawls became a thing of the past. Attempts were made to revive the Kani shawls making but did not yield desired results. It was Hashmat whose persistence and enterprise finally revived this long lost fabulous shawl making art and by the mid-1990s the Kani shawls started reappearing in the market. Had it not been for Hashmat's efforts the resplendent Kani shawls would have remained a part of history and confined to the few pieces in museums or owned by affluent private collectors. Hashmat belongs to the illustrious and well known shawl making family of Ahmed Ullah Khan of Srinagar, Kashmir. He and his family own the only heritage Kashmir shawl shop in Delhi - the Kashmir Shawl Store situated in the historic Moti Bazar, Chandni Chowk, with its business headquarters in Srinagar, Kashmir. Hashmat makes a fabulous range of Kashmiri shawls from the matchless Kanis to the ornate embroidered pashminas and jamawars. His clients include heads of state, government officials, and movie stars in both India and abroad, affluent business families and the fashion world glitterate among others. Hashmat spends most of his time in New Delhi and Srinagar. Widely internationally traveled, his interests include social work, reading, writing and traveling. His priorities are revival of heritage design and trends in shawl making. Through systematic checks Hashmat ensures the welfare of his near 2000 odd workforce. Hashmat is an authority on pashmina shawls and has lectured on Kashmir shawls and culture in various gatherings in India and abroad.