IRAS: Promoting Pashmina

Pashmina, the golden wool, is the most sought after fiber of the world. It is softer and lighter, robust as well as subtle and also three times more insulating than the normal sheep wool and six times finer than the human hair. However its quality comes with a price (Thomas, 2020).

The Company

Wondering what IRAS is all about. Well, you should! IRAS, the brand signifies the initials of the names of four musketeer brothers; Imitiaz, Riaz, Arshad and Shahnaz. Hence, the name! Originating way back in the early 1990s, IRAS was a brainchild which had been initially started by our Founder, Late Syed Hussain Rizvi (1944-2013), who grew up in a family of modest means. His father, Syed Hyder Rizvi did Accounting in Kashmiri script for a living to the then leading Exporters and Businessmen of the region.

So, Hussain Sahab after completing his formal education from a nearby local school in Srinagar, also worked as an Accountant for some notable businessmen of his era for many years. He also happened to be working in shifts for the then Jammu Kashmir Industries as a Marketing Incharge supervising Baghi Ali Mardan Khan and Bemina Woolen Mill both based in Srinagar, Kashmir (India).

Let’s not forget, it was a struggling period when the turmoil had been at its peak in Kashmir. Even when the day to day chores of life were getting difficult, therefore starting a business in those times was quiet challenging and a bold task followed by numerous unsaid struggles to sustain throughout. However, Hussain sahab had a vision for his family and had soon realised the opportunity and scope the handicraft industry could have by anticipating his faith in the better times to come. The family business of Shawl making and Paper-mache was carried forward by Hussain sahab’s eldest son, Syed Riaz from a very young age although his father’s wish was to see him as a doctor but who knew destiny had different and better plans.

Syed Riaz along with his brothers would learn the artistic skill of paper-mache in their free time while pursuing their studies as well during the times of turmoil in Kashmir. And having a tremendous and resilient zeal for scaling up the business, Riaz Sahab made a choice to leave home and expand the business at the national and gradually to the international level. This could have not been possible without the support of his elder Uncle, Syed Muhammad Rizvi, who also happens to be a real gold paper-mache artisan. Moreover, Riaz Sahab’s younger Uncle, Syed Showket Rizvi, who also had been a Shawl and Saree embroidery expert, has had a tremendous contribution during the initial struggling years of the family business and under whose apprenticeship, Riaz Sahab learned a lot. Besides this, we at IRAS would also like to extend our sincere gratitude to our family friends from Kashmiri Pandit Community, who have time and again, from generation to generation, unconditionally supported and guided even from the time when IRAS had just been a brain child.

So far, IRAS has well served diverse personalities across the globe, be it in the Bollywood industry, cricket fraternity, business tycoons, corporates, Ambassadors of various countries and the people of taste! Therefore, with its relentless commitment to excellence, sustainability, and dedication, IRAS has been able to earn its trust among its customers as well as its suppliers. Moreover, working side by side, like a shadow, our existing owner Riaz Sahab, is forever grateful to his brother, Syed Arshad for his unwavering support by taking up the responsibility of managing the finance related work for smooth functioning of the business. It is with this interdependency that the products of IRAS have reached across Asia Pacific and Europe in the countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Finland and UAE etc with an intention to expand to the United States now in the times to come.

Nevertheless, today we are a team of 40-45 artisans along with the master craftsmen who work tirelessly like a family in order to promote and preserve the dying but skill intensive art of Shawl weaving. IRAS is in its third generation stage now and since whole world has turned digital especially after the Covid19 Pandemic, young successors of IRAS are trying to digitize and level up the traditional business, working from its base outlet in Srinagar, Kashmir (India), and also currently operating from Delhi NCR (India); IRAS is hoping to further expand across the country and globally as well. Wish us luck! 

By Syed Wamick

Syed Wamick, currently studying Digital Marketing & Strategy in IIM Indore (India) is in pursuit of digitising the family business.