By: Dr Sanjay Parva ([email protected])
Kashmir’s agrarian rhythm was defined by a narrow window of harvest and a long stretch of inaccessibility. The region’s harsh winter, Chillai Kalan, lasted for over 40 days, with villages cut off by snow and mobility reduced to a crawl. Moreover, the Valley’s history is replete with political instability, foreign invasions, and famines – making food storage not just practical, but existential.
Granaries were more than storage spaces; they were symbols of foresight and prosperity, often mentioned in folk songs, proverbs, and rituals. A well-stocked granary was the pride of the housewife, a marker of self-reliance, and sometimes even a girl’s dowry indicator. Many types of traditional granaries in Kashmir were these:
Kuth – The Village Grain Bin
The most common storage structure across rural Kashmir, the kuth was a bamboo-reinforced mud bin, usually cylindrical or rectangular in shape, about 6–8 feet high. These were typically plastered with a mixture of mud, husk, and cow dung, giving them insulation against moisture and pests.
The kuth was kept in the corner of the kitchen or storehouse, often raised on wooden planks or stones to prevent rat infestation. Some kuths were also made entirely of deodar wood, especially in wealthier homes, due to its insect-repelling quality.
Grains stored: Primarily rice (shali), wheat, maize, and barley.
Zain Khanuth – The Attic Silo
In larger homes, particularly among the Pandits and upper-class Muslim families, a specialized attic chamber called Zain Khanuth (grain attic) was dedicated to storage. The name derives from the Zain-ul-Abidin era, the 15th-century Sultan known for agrarian reforms and food security systems.
These attics were ventilated with stone-mesh windows and had thick wooden flooring to keep the stored items cool and moisture-free. Floor bins were built using interlocked logs, and sometimes rice would be stored loose directly on the attic floor, covered with straw and thick quilted cloth.
Kanul – The Sunken Store
In regions prone to looting or unstable weather, families built kanuls, underground or semi-underground storerooms. Dug in the corner of the courtyard or beneath the kitchen, these granaries were lined with stone slabs and roofed with willow twigs and earth layers. A trapdoor would open to reveal a dark, cool chamber, ideal for long-term grain preservation.
Kanuls also doubled as cold storage areas for root vegetables, dried fish, and pickled items, particularly in frontier areas like Karnah, Kupwara, and Uri, close to the Line of Control.
Baand Kuth – Communal Storage Granary
In hamlets where community sharing was strong, a baand kuth or community granary existed – usually overseen by the Numberdar or Lambardar. These granaries stored grains for village-wide emergencies and were part of customary law-based food insurance systems. Constructed from stone and wood, often with sloped roofs and raised platforms, these structures were centrally located and were seen as places of both civic duty and spiritual merit.
Architectural Features and Techniques
The architectural wisdom of Kashmir’s granaries reflected an intimate understanding of the environment:
• Rat-proofing: Use of ash beds, crushed walnut leaves, or plant resin lining to repel rodents.
• Moisture control: Ventilation channels, stone bases, and multi-layered cow-dung plaster kept humidity at bay.
• Temperature regulation: Underground storage and attic bins offered thermal gradients – cool in summer, warm in winter.
• Earthquake-resilience: The use of interlocking deodar beams, seen even in granary rooms, reflects the broader Dajji Dewari earthquake-resistant technique of Kashmir.
Historical Mentions and Evolving Use
The Rajatarangini (12th-century chronicle by Kalhana) mentions that kings during droughts or wars opened up royal storehouses to distribute rice and wheat. Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin, revered for his benevolence, ordered granaries in every wazarat (province), particularly after the devastating famine of the 1420s. His biographer, Jonaraja, wrote of grain relief sent from Pampore to Anantnag via riverboats – indicative of strategic granary placement near rivers and trade routes.
During the Dogra rule (19th century), state-operated granaries were built in grain mandis, especially in Sopore, Baramulla, and Pulwama. The Wazir-e-Azam (Prime Minister) maintained grain reserves in storehouses built with thick walls, wooden rafters, and overhanging eaves.
By the 20th century, with the introduction of British milling technologies and PDS systems, these granaries began fading from mainstream use, yet many villages still preserve them as symbols of a self-sufficient past.
Echoes in Time: The Granary as Metaphor
Granaries in Kashmir were not merely food storage units – they were temples of security, repositories of wisdom, and instruments of resistance. They absorbed the blows of famine, siege, and weather. They fed revolutionaries, monks, and poets. They allowed the Kashmiri people to dream even during disruption, to host guests during wars, to marry daughters without debt, and to survive many a winter not just with food, but with dignity.
Today, as concrete godowns and cold chains take over, the old kuths gather dust – yet in the stories of grandmothers, in the hushed chambers of mud homes in Bandipora or Shopian, they still stand… as sentinels of a time when grain was not just food, but fate.
Let us not forget: a civilization that forgets its granaries soon forgets to grow.
An author, a communications strategist, Dr Sanjay Parva was a debut contestant in 2024 Assembly elections
