Ranchi, Oct. 25: For the younger generation it may be a dying tradition, but for Kashmiri shawl-sellers who have been coming to the state for years, this is the only way to earn their livelihood.

With winter round the corner, shawl vendors from Kashmir can be seen selling their creations on the streets of the capital. But unlike in the past, the buyers are few.

Akram Khan, a 60-year-old trader from Pahalgam, who has been coming to Ranchi for the past 16 years, lamented the lack of buyers.

“The job of selling shawls by roaming the streets of Bihar and Jharkhand is no longer lucrative. No wonder it has failed to attract the interest of my two graduate sons who are looking for stable and dignified jobs in private and public firms. I am probably the last one in my family to be a part of the business which was started by my grandfather and father,” Khan said.

Kashmiris from Srinagar, Baramulla, Anantnag andPahalgam traditionally come to Ranchi in October and stay on till early March. During their stay in Ranchi, they reside in makeshift camps in areas including Paras Toil, Main Road and Azaad Basti.

Setting off early every morning, they move around the city in rickshaws and call out loudly to advertise their products in residential areas.

Many do it out of compulsion. “It is really tiresome to move around the whole day persuading customers to buy in an era where machine-made shawls are available,” said Ramiz from Poonch.

The vendors mostly sell Pashmina shawls bearing intricate thread work. The shawls are mostly handmade by women all the year round in Kashmir. The price of a pure Pashmina shawl ranges from Rs 8,000 to Rs 4 lakh.

But most sellers say that the business is not brisk as it used to be years ago. Their profits at the end of the season are pretty marginal compared to the effort put in to sell products.

However, Md Nawaz of Gulfham Handicrafts at the Main Road has been lucky.

“I came to Ranchi in the early ’70s as a migrant Kashmiri. At that time, the town was very small and shopping complexes few. People had a craze for ethnic Kashmiri woollens. That is how after working hard for the initial five years, I managed to establish a permanent shop which has today turned into a reputed destination for Kashmiri handicrafts in the city. But things have completely changed today and hence the tradition of Kashmiri shawlwallahs is dying out,” said the septuagenarian.