Hunarmand

سوزنی · Sozni Embroidery

Bashir Ahmad Dar

4th Generation · Sozni Embroidery · Downtown, Srinagar

1900+ · 4 gens

Has stitched on the same single needle for forty years — sharpened only by use.

BD
Sanad Verified ✓
Pieces signed
76
Disputes
0
Workshop slots
4 open
Lineage est.
1900

The hand still remembers

What Only Bashir Knows

Captured from his Vault — knowledge that exists nowhere else.

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Click a node — 4 techniques captured

Currently viewing · Magnifier-Grade Sozni

His work

Pieces by Bashir

Every piece signed, signed pieces verifiable on the Sanad.

Sit beside him

Book Time With Bashir

4 open slots in the next month.

2–3 hours

Heritage Walk

Rs. 2,500per person

Visit the master's workshop and three nearby craft clusters with a Sanad-verified guide.

Max 8 participants

BaharGrismHarud
Book Now →
4 hours

Half-Day Workshop

Rs. 6,000per person

Learn one foundational technique hands-on. Take home your attempt + a Hunarmand certificate.

Max 6 participants

BaharGrismHarudShishur
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3 days

Multi-Day Masterclass

Rs. 45,000per person

Advanced technique taught directly by the master. Limited to 2 participants.

Max 2 participants

HarudShishur
Book Now →

The preserved knowledge

Preserved in the Vault

This is Bashir's Craft DNA — knowledge captured for researchers, apprentices, and future generations.

Lineage

Family · place · year

  • Father and uncle were sozni masters; the needle was passed in 1985.
  • Workshop sits one floor above the river; the light is the source.

Technique Walkthrough

How the work is made

  • Stitches are checked under a 10x magnifier every evening.
  • The needle is wiped on the tongue between motifs to clean fibre.

Decision Knowledge

When to start, when to stop

  • If the day's light is grey, the stitch density is reduced.
  • A piece is never started in the second half of the day.

Supplier Graph

Where the materials begin

  • Silk thread from a Banaras spool maker.
  • Pashmina ground cloth from his nephew, woven in Kanihama.

The thread, generation by generation

The Dar Lineage

4 generations on the same craft, since 1900.

  1. AD

    Abdul Rahim Dar

    ca. 1900s

    Generation 1

  2. MD

    Mohammad Sultan Dar

    ca. 1930s

    Generation 2

  3. AD

    Abdul Ghaffar Dar

    ca. 1960s

    Generation 3

  4. BD

    Bashir Ahmad Dar

    current — present

    Generation 4