Mushaal Mullick- Marie Claire interview-June 2011

 

The Girl Who Decided to Paint Happiness

 

Married to a Kashmiri leader, Pakistani artist and designer Mushaal
Mullick's take on the Kashmir issue is the toll it has taken on its heritage
and human resource. Marie Claire ties up with her to support Kashmiri craft
and its artisans with a helping hand from Indian fashion and accessory
designers. By Priyamvada Kowshik. Photographs by Shome Basu

"These days I'm listening to J.Loąs song I ąm into you." Not words you expect
to hear from the wife of a Kashmiri leader. But then, not everyone is a
Mushaal Mullick ­ free-spirited, creative, fashionable, a lover of freedom
and all things beautiful. The gorgeous girl with auburn hair, eyes
lined with kohl, is the wife of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front leader Yasin
Malik. Dressed in skinny jeans and a black puff-sleeved blouse, we meet her
in Delhi's Khan Market, a few hours before she takes a flight to her
hometown, Islamabad. (Just to set the record straight, Mushaal is equally
fond of qawwalis, U2, ghazals and Lady Gaga.)
Ever since her marriage to Yasin in February 2009, Mushaal has been courted by the Indian and Pakistani media alike. Everything from the couple's
honeymoon to her oils on canvas has been discussed.
Mushaal's upper-class upbringing, her sense of style, the graduate programme she is pursuing from the London School of Economics, have all become public knowledge. If the attention has the potential to make a celebrity out of a regular 25-year-old, Mushaal does not behave like one. She has child-like energy, the curiosity of a teenager and the suaveness of a well-brought up young lady. She goads her reticent husband to pose for pictures, and talks of her love for sleek long dresses and the indispensible kurta, which is a symbol of "Indian and Pakistani attire". She experiments with clothes, and loves to accessorise with bags, belts and funky jewellery. "I converted a beautiful silk Kashmiri pheran into a sleek top I wear with tights"  she says excitedly, illustrating how fashion has the power to define us.

For Mushaal, fashion and art are ways of exploring the world. "Without fashion and art, life would be completely colourless and grey," she says, her eyes darting dreamily, adding, "I'm very passionate, I don't believe in any sort of cage. If you paralyse thought you paralyse vision." In fact, one of the first things Mushaal noticed about Srinagar, her marital home, is that the city had no art gallery.
You cannot speak to the wife of a prominent Kashmiri leader and skirt the
issue of the political situation in the state. But it is a different aspect
of the conflict that worries Mushaal. She's witnessed first-hand how the
lack of normalcy and persistent bandhs have affected the local crafts and
textiles of Kashmir. "I believe there is always hope when two sides talk.  Unfortunately, the conflict has meant that we've totally stopped talking about the many other basic rights of the citizen. The international value of Kashmir is weighed in terms of how many people have died," she says, while asking, "but is anyone talking of minimum wages and right to livelihood?"
It's a pertinent question, one that is drowned in the noise of the 'larger
issue'. What is happening to Kashmiri heritage, its world-famous
embroideries, weaves and craft? Mushaal sees an urgent need to support
Kashmiri craftsmen before we lose them to greedy middlemen and an
unappreciative market. "Kashmiri craft techniques are traditionally handed
down from one generation to the next, father to son. This transfer of
knowledge has to be preserved, as Kashmiris today face the worse form of
depression and instability due to the conflict," she says.
The morale of Kashmiri artists is very low. "Agreed that the capacity to
produce has shrunk. On the other hand, the conflict has also become an
excuse for middlemen to exploit the artists," remarks Mushaal. These artists are immensely talented but a lot of them have reached the end of the line. Old men with failing eyesight are still doing exquisite embroideries, but their young and able children are reluctant to learn the craft, sceptical whether it will provide sustenance.
Kashmiri craft ­ _ papier mache, sozni needlework, embroidery, carpets ­ are
world-famous for their finesse, attention to detail and aesthetics, and are
one of the first souvenirs a foreign tourist in India would buy. But in the
absence of a framework to monitor the quality and market the goods, the
industry is largely run by corrupt middlemen who pocket the profits. Most
artisans are poor, wage labourers, earning a pittance for all the hard work
and creativity they put in. The industry lacks new ideas and has not seen
lateral growth or innovation. "Very few families in downtown Srinagar now do
tilla work, which is the most exquisite form of Kashmiri embroidery using
copper and silver threads to embroider bridal wear," she explains.
It was a desire to learn papier mache that led Mushaal to venture into the
crafts workshops of Srinagar. She visited looms and saw the morale-crushing
atmosphere and work ethics. "Everybody is depressed, even Yasin is always
depressed," says Mushaal, who alternately visits India and Pakistan for a
few months each. Not one to let things get the better of her, she quickly
adds, "But I want to focus on the positive. I want to work on things we can
change, and not cry over what we cannot." Her paintings helped her come
to this conclusion: "When I realised I was painting pain and melancholy, I
strived to change my attitude. Now I"ve decided to paint happiness."
It is this irrepressible energy and optimism that led to Project Kashmir.
Beginning July, Marie Claire and Mushaal Mallick will begin a joint project
to infuse Kashmiri craft with much-needed ideas and innovation. While Marie
Claire will bring in fashion designers, Mushaal will form the interface in
Srinagar, bringing in traditional artists who can benefit. The result, we're
sure, will bring hope.