shahtoosh...
...is the under fleece of the endangered Tibetan antelope chiru. Shahtoosh cannot be sheared like sheep wool because the length of the sheared fiber is not enough to spin it into a yarn. It can only be plucked out of the pelt of a dead animal. So large herds of chiru are machine gunned in Tibet, and then skinned to get about 150 gms of shahtoosh each. It takes about 3 dead chirus to make a ladies shawl, for a men's shawl it takes about 5-6 dead chirus. The shahtoosh is smuggled across the border into J&K where skilled shahtoosh weavers knit the yarn and finished shawls reach the cities of India where the khandaani rich pay ridiculous price to own them. A shahtoosh shawl is like a symbol of wealth and royalty. And there are many a wealthy royals in India.
Question is, do I want to own a shawl that is drenched in blood?
Question is, do I want to own a shawl that is drenched in blood?
posted by Pallavi at 11:43 PM
2 Comments:
first off ... welcome back da ... batter late than naver ;)
shawls/jackets drenched in blood, diamonds soaked in guts, firecrackers/shoes/bags/jeans made by sweat of young children ... where do we draw the line ... and then again who's drawing the lines ...
bahut gussa aata hai yeh sab padke ... especially on the wastes of the affluent ... then again who's to say what is a waste and what is justified under "to make a living" ...
heyy venky...
hmmm...sad to hai, aur haan, gussa bhi aata hai, but i think if people like you and me make informed choices as much as possible, i think it would make a difference. as for the affluent, how can they escape the revenge of the gaia?
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