Page:Gazetteer of the province of Oudh ... (IA cu31924073057345).pdf/396

 388 LUC river near Lucknow is famous for the purity of tiut which its waters convcy. Shawl weaving.—The shawl weaving of Lucknow is an entirely new trade. It is conducted almost entirely by Kashmir weavers who have emigrated froin thence during the periods of famine or misrule which have been its frequent portion. There are, it is believed, some 40 small establishments having from two to five looms each ; each loom will turn out a shawl which will be sold at from Rs. 200 to Rs. 300 in nine months. The wool is brought from the Spiti valley and from Kashmír; it is a coarse quality of the noted pashmina which the looms of Srinagar have made so famous. There was no manufacture of the kind till annexation. Local economists account for this by stating that there is no capital now in Lucknow, and no money to purchase Kashmir shawls, the import of which has declined. This latter fact is true, but the reason is to be sought in the inferior quality of the article now made in Kashmir, as well as in the departure of the Oudh king and court. In point of fact, the Lucknow capitalists have sought a vent in a new trade for their spare funds ; 20 tax is imposed by the State upon the manufacture ; labour is cheap; for fifty years Luck- now has been noted for the attraction it possesses for Kashmiri residents; one muhalla is called after and largely inhabited by them. Further the waters of some streams near Lucknow, the Baita and the Kukráel, are noted for their value in bleaching and dyeing. All these advantages are sufficient to localize the new trade in Lucknow. The sale of the shawls is principally confined to Calcutta, buť mapy men are employed in darning ancient and decayed shawls. It is not unusual for a Kashsmíri fabric to be constantly used with little injury for three generations. The entire annual sale does not exceed Rs. 12,000. Shoe manufacture.—The shoe manufacture in Lucknow was formerly a very flourishing trade, but Delhi has now supplanted the Oudh capital. The shoe trade depends, not on the leather, but on the brocade which is used to cover the uppers. This is made from copper wire silvered or gilt in Delhi, and a handsome pair of shoes so brocaded can be purchased for two rupees. But work of this kind was not practised in Lucknow for- merly, the goldsmiths and brocade workers were compelled, it is said, to enter into bonds for Rs. 2,000 not to sell or manufacture such things; it was the desire of the Native Government to create a reputation for Luck- now work as being, what is professed, of pure silver or gold. The artisans were not accustomed to work in the cheaper and coarser filigree, but after annexation all restrictions were removed, and the market flooded with Delhi brocades. The Lucknow manufacture has been almost driven out of the market, and the sale of Delhi shoes as compared with the Lucknow article is as four to one. Gold and silver brocade. The most important Lucknow manufacture is that of silver brocade and laces, used, as these articles are, for caps, shoes, belts, shawls, and the innumerable other requirements of Indian pomp. The basis of all these is wire drawn to an extreme tėnuity, plain or gilt, and either worked up as wire, or flattened out into minute bands or into small round spangles. All three forms are employed in the embroi- dery for which Lucknow is so justly famous even among Indian cities.