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The kangree is no longer a hot thing here

By Shujaat Bukhari

SRINAGAR DEC. 28. Imported heating gadgets have pushed the centuries-old Kangree in Kashmir to the background.

Though it is fast getting confined to the rural segments, people are not ready to abandon the small earthenware bowl filled with with burning charcoal and held in a wickerwork frame, and often carried under the long traditional Kashmiri gown called the pheran. For long, it was the most popular device to fight the harsh winters, which at times take a heavy toll in the absence of a central heating system. Kangrees made in Bandipore and Charar-e-Sharief are famous for their design and are priced on the higher side too. The kangrees are also gifted to the bride as a token of affection.

Those who deal with the kangrees admit that it is fast losing out to modern gadgets, which have flooded the Kashmir market of late. Though electric heaters or convectors too were used side-by-side, recent years have seen gas/kerosene-operated heaters, particularly in Srinagar.

"We sell the heaters by the hundred a day and these are fast becoming popular," said Nazir Ahmed, who has stopped selling readymade garments to make a fast buck. The heaters, the users say, are convenient to use, though sometimes the gas-heaters prove fatal in the event of a leakage."Our business is fast losing out to the latest gadgets in heating," Bashir Ahmed Sheikh, who has been selling the Kangrees for the last three decades, says adding that he had sold just 60 pieces this month. Earlier he used to sell around 1000 this time in winter.

Though the Kangrees cost far less — between Rs. 40 to Rs. 150 — people prefer the kerosene/ gas heater, which starts from Rs. 8000.

As an industry, the switch to the modern heating gadgets came when an entrepreneur started making kerosene heaters called "Heatking." The technology was reportedly from Central Asia.

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