Following my recent discovery that paisley print pattern originates in Kashmir, I hunted out purchases I made while visiting the area in 1981. I was a passenger on a Top Deck overland trip from London to Kathmandu. We travelled on a converted Lodekka bus which had a kitchen area downstairs and sleeping accommodation up.
For the journey to Kashmir we took local transport and stayed in luxurious houseboats on Dal Lake in Srinagar.
My purchases from Kashmir include a carpet which sits in front of the hearth in our Dorset home. I paid a deposit and it was dispatched to my parents when they settled the balance and collected it after a wrangle with customs. (I was delightfully unaware of all this – having a fun time in Australia.)
A jacket, which I’m self-conscious of wearing due to the real fur trimming.
And a set of tables which travelled from Kashmir to Australia and then onto Papua New Guinea before furnishing various homes in the UK.
The carved finish of leaf patterns on these tables is close to being a paisley style pattern. Unlike Paisley Shirt my collection of short fiction, these are not available to purchase on Amazon! (If wishing to obtain my collection, please ignore the warning that the book is out of stock and place an order anyway – it will be sent to you given time.)
I never quite understood why I went on such a spending spree in Kashmir. I blame the tea which I now realise must have been laced with hash. You can find the low-down on the overland experience from Trevor Carroll in his book Crossing Continents with Top Deck.
Enjoy!
the writer is a lonely hunter 
I hope you had an amazing time! Unfortunately, due to an extremist country, the whole Kashmir area terrorised.
Kashmir was regarded as heaven on earth by travellers during the medieval era. I hope that soon militancy will end and we would be able to explore its true beauty.
& the carpet is beautiful! I hope that you will visit India soon again 🙂
Thank you for commenting. Everything in Kashmir will be well in time.
These are evocative pictures Gail. This post has inspired me to re-read Four Buses.