Waguv, a reed mat is an ancient Kashmiri craft of mat making, which dates back to the 18th century. It is a 300-year-old craft that involves interweaving reed and rice straws together in the seamless accord to create a piece of flooring which provides warmth in winters and cooling effect in summers.
For making Waguv┬á people collect the special type of grass from Dal Lake which is locally known as ÔÇ£PeichÔÇØ.
These grasses are dried in the spring and reed is perfectly tied with a small wooden pole in parallel format. This step is followed by entwined of dried rice straws into reed verticals. After a thorough process of this plaiding, tightening and cutting into desired shapes, the Kashmiri grass mat is finally ready to be sent and sold in the market.
Now we have a question for you, do you have waguv at home? Have you ever slept on it?
We are sure most of the answers will be NO, as nowadays having this traditional carpet in a home is a pipe dream.
The introduction of modern d├®cors like wooden flooring’s, wall-to-wall, imported carpets and rugs has made waguv completely out of fashion. Its extinction has not only impacted our traditional way of d├®cor but has impacted our health as well. This brown coloured dry grass is full of health benefits, some of them are below:
- Sleeping on it can help in curing your backache, as it provides natural pain relief.
- Waguv is said to increase blood flow, release muscle tension, clear away toxins, and promote relaxation and healing.
- Using it can help you in curing Disc problem.
- These grass rugs are least durable. They have a rich texture and a natural tonal variation that is durable yet soft underfoot, which indirectly helps in blood circulation.
- If you are insomnia than waguv is the answer for you. Most historians claim that it can help in coming up with Insomnia.
So, forget soothing soaks and massages, eating a high dose of painkillers as the best way to cure back pain is lying down on your kosher waguv.