As soon as the winter arrives in Kashmir, tourism news is full of pictures of the snow in the valley. The social aspect of how the local people cope with negative temperatures for a couple of months is even more interesting.
Of all the heating devices available, kangris have a mass appeal. It is portable, less expensive and most importantly it keeps one warm both indoors and outdoors. Kangris are basically clay pots with six inches (half a feet) wide mouth where charcoals are fed and burned. The local artisans have made a pot holder with twigs with handles that can be easily carried around.
While outside the Kashmiris hold it inside their knee long coats (Pheran) which both men and women wear in winter or they hung it on the hook if they are inside the house. The whole fill weighs around quarter of a kilo of charcoal along with the kangris itself is good to go for a 4 to 6 hours.
The cost of the Kangiri can be anywhere between 70 to 1500 depending on the intricacies of artisan decoration of the wicker around the pot.
Towards the end of winter the Pandit Brahmins hold a festival and pooja at the end of which the clay pots are smashed in thanksgiving for a safe winter.
