Shahdad family has been associated with the business of Pashmina Shawls for centuries. Our recent family memories narrate  to us our heritage in the Pashmina Business. In the article on the right side that was produced after a study done by the Wildlife Trust of India after the ban of Shahtoosh in Kashmir, a local weaver of Kashmir mentions "Amel Shahdad" as one of the only two leading dealers in Pashmina in Kashmir in the early 1940's. By "Amel Shahdad", the local is referring to Mir Ahmedullah Shahdad also known to the locals in Kashmir by "Ahmed Joo Shahdad" or to his family members as "Taeth Saeb".

 

The article on the left is taken from the website for the wildlife trust of india. The entire article can be accessed by clicking here.

 

Some other mentions of our family history with Pashmina Business go back to the narrations that Mir Mohammad Shahdad used to travel with his sons, Mir Ahmedullah Shahdad, Mir Ghulam Rasool Shahdad and Mir Abdul Ali Shahdad on horse back from Srinagar to Ladakh and all the way to Tibet. These journeys would last about 6 months. They would buy the Pashmina from ladakh and would bring back horse back full of pashmina, appricots and small quantities of Shahtoosh. According to some narrations within our family, when their caravan's used to reach the city of Srinagar, their would still be a line of horses laden with the Pashmina upto Soura.

 

A number of other narrations relating to our family business with the people of Ladakh are mentioned. Among one of them was that when Mir Abdul Ali Shahdad would have to buy something in Ladakh, and the local ladakhi seller would be travelling to Srinagar, he would give the local seller a piece of paper addressed to his elder brother Mir Ahmedullah Shahdad in Srinagar, which this local ladakhi would then take to his elder brother in Srinagar and get his money. Such was the trust that the Shahdad family demonstrated in the business.