The Story of the Fibers of Pashmina

Pashmina is the handwoven luxury that holds its wearer in a heavenly warmth. Raw wool or Cashmere is found in Ladakh. It is grown over the sensitive underbelly of an exotic species of goats called the Changthangi or Cashmere goat. The goat grows the luxury soft fleece in winters to protect itself from severe cold. During spring, a Pashmina goat naturally sheds its undercoat, which regrows in winter. This undercoat is collected by combing the goat over time and not by shearing.  Each step, from combing (removing impurities and guard hair, and aligning fibers), to spinning, to weaving and finishing, are traditionally carried out by hand, by the craftsmen. The major center of pashmina fabric production is in the old city of Srinagar. The approximate time put into producing a single traditional pashmina stole (70x200cm) is...

Continue reading

Diwali Gift Hampers

This Diwali bring home a medley of gift hamper products assorted lovingly in the Himalayan chest by Hands of Gold. In addition to the untouched raw honey, the honey flavoured with Kashmiri saffron, basil and the rich 24K gold will add a subtle sweetness to your celebration. Its golden beverage, Kahwa emancipating the traditional galore can be your best Diwali beverage. The Kashmiri Saffron and Cold-pressed oils leave an everlasting taste on your buds making them quintessential gourmet influencers in traditional Indian cooking. Hands of Gold’s premium stoles in customized designs and colours are handmade with the finest 100% Marino wool, embracing you in a chic envelope of warmth and adding a luxurious quotient to your ensemble. The art of Paper Mache is one unique pursuit that mirrors the meaning of an everlasting regal royalty. It has...

Continue reading

The Secret of Keeping Your Pashmina for Decades

The heavenly opulence and delicate texture of pashmina with rich hand embroideries and complex hand weaves have been an integral part of the lifestyles of the royals. In no time Pashmina became a wearable passion of the empresses and emperors and took over the lucid dreams of the contemporary fashion lovers. Those who acquired it or procure it even today did not know how to manage it to make it an ever last. This missing link caused many to loose this articulate treasure. To have this luxury intact for years and pass it down to the next generation as lovingly, no chapters and verses need to be referred to but a momentary care here and primary there will do the job. A dry cleaner is the best professional to take care of the laundering needs of...

Continue reading

Emotions of a Kashmiri Kaarigar

Kashmir has always been a center piece of charm and appeal. Its exotic exclusivity with mystical undertone has been consistently capturing the eye of the lovers of creativity. The Muslim missionaries from Persia brought men with the skill set of carving onto the wood and metal, intricate mural painting and hand weaving and embroidery, this got imbibed in the local Kashmiri and he added the confluence of the flavour of Kashmir to the craft which emanated into a masterpiece every time it was curated. Couched in a warm room, with a very thin muzak of rabab in the background, donning a woollen pheran, sipping onto the brewing kahwa steeped in the copper samovars, drowned in a piece of artistic mosaic is a kaarigar. This piece blemishes the rest of the details of the room but influences the...

Continue reading

Cold Pressed Kashmiri Apricot Oil

Apricot grown on the contours of Kashmir is one of the best and finest apricots of the World.  Apricot oil, also called the apricot kernel oil or Khubani oil is extracted from the seed of apricot having a high percentage of oil. The oil is extracted by using the method of cold pressing technique, which means no heat is used in the process of the extraction of the oil. It is light, and non-sticky. Due to its medicinal value, there has been an unprecedented demand for the oil in recent years. It plays an important role not only in human nutrition and is also broadly used in the food, and cosmetic industry. Apricot oil acts as a great natural moisturizer, it nourishes the severely harmed, rough, or chapped skin. Apricot kernel oil is a rich source...

Continue reading

Persian Influence On Kashmiri Handicraft

The Kashmiri craft not only absorbed local tradition beautifully but is also an infusion of the Persian culture. The clear visibility of its patterns and motifs of the five-pointed chinar is a tale of essential connect. The Paisley patterns on shawls in addition to the fundamentally hand-woven threads distinguished the Kashmiri shawls and stoles from the rest continent and gave it a noteworthy segment in the industry. The mountain bounded valley of Kashmir did not deter the Muslim scholars, saints and missionaries of Persia and the Central Asia from edging into the “paradise of east” and acquainted the locals of Kashmir with new ideas. Culture is referred as the combination of human developed strategies and the aesthetic sense of surviving - therefore the effective Persian connect.  Kashmir remained rich and important trade route, so it is...

Continue reading

Kashmiri Walnut Oil

Believed to be brain food, Kashmiri walnut oil is a condiment rich in omega-3 fatty acids. When cold pressed, the benefits ordained upon the user are absolute high.  Walnut oil is obtained by pressing whole walnuts. With a light yellow, nutty flavour and scent, Hands of Gold procures it without having it heat touched. The kernels aren’t precooked as no heat is available other than what is generated through friction during the press. It is vouched for adding a nutty flavour to the accompaniment. The flavour, nutrition and the goodness is all intact in this oil and it comes to your house as a gift of Kashmir. No preservatives are administered during the process and therefore the raw pressed produce of the kernel is obtained for. An effort is made to bring the product to you...

Continue reading

Summer Gulkand Recipes

“Gulkand is a traditional sun-cooked rose jam that is known for its cooling and pitta-pacifying properties. A spoon of Gulkand in water or milk after lunch and dinner  keeps the stomach cool and prevent common pitta ailments like acidity, heartburn, and migraine. With the June temperatures reaching its pinnacle, Gulkand can  plummet for your body heat,” In addition to being a natural coolant, Gulkand comes with the rich and  intriguing rosette flavour. It can add stories to a simple nosh and ensemble togetherness. Gulkand in milk is one of the best summer drinks. All you need is chilled milk, and some rose petals preserve. A ready to serve summer drink is ready. Gulkand Milkshake is another enticing combine of flavours of the rose preserve. Take blender jar and add 1 ½ cup chilled milk, ¼ cup gulkand, 1...

Continue reading

Benefits of Gulkand – the summer cooler

Every food has a potency of one or another kind, Gulkand’s clausal property happens to be its propensity for cooling the bodily temperatures and imbalances. The thermal readings of the tropics not only rob you of your hydration but also surrenders your energy to outperform every day. Gulkand has a catalogue of benefits, some of them are: Protection from Sunstroke & Cures Nosebleed: Nose bleeds are a common during high temperatures due to increased body heat, Gulkand reverses this heat and protects from sunstroke as well. Powerful Antioxidant: Gulkand is a powerful antioxidant and a very good rejuvenator. Consuming 1-2 teaspoon of Gulkand helps to reduce acidity and  ulcers. It can be used to treat dysmenorrhoea and is effective in relieving the menstrual cramps in women. Stress-reliever: Being a cooling agent, it can calm the nervous system and thus reduces stress addition caused by...

Continue reading

Introducing Gulkand – the rose preserve of Kashmir

Made with the aromatic, spring rose of Kashmir, Hands of Gold’s Gulkand is a master coolant. Add it to your summer beverage or portion it in your regular diet for a pleasant rejuvenation. Also called the rose petal jam, Gulkand is prepared by a slow simmer of rose petals with sugar, springing into a concocting, fragrant medley of flavours. Gulkand is the nature’s confluence of the finest to give a potion of life to your sensory faculties and gets you performing at the pace, the present-day construct demands from you. Packed in a premium quality food-grade jar, Gulkand is a powerful antioxidant and a cooling rejuvenator. It is of a great harmonizer to people suffering from acidity, stomach disorders, body odour or fatigue as bummers to their customary routine. With a no color and no added flavour promise...

Continue reading