NOTES

• The ramza:n is the Muslim festival Ramdan.
• The he:rath (shivra:tri:) is the  main religious festival of the Kashmiri Pandits. It is celebrated in the month of pha:gun (February-March). It falls on the thirteenth day of the dark fortnight. In the rest of India, it is celebrated as shivra:tri: (the night of Shiva).
• The  , the Hindu festival of Lights, is celebrated all over India. It usually comes during the month of November, and is celebrated with great enthusiasm in the Jammu province.
• A  is the traditional Kashmiri cloak-like g.mp3ent. The s worn by Kashmiri Panditanis and Muslim women are different in shape. Sometimes it has an inner g.mp3ent, much like a lining, which is called a po:tsh. The for winter, especially for men, is called a  . A  of a Kashmiri woman is an extremely decorated g.mp3ent, and is usually in bright colors.

The origin of the t.mp3 is uncertain. It is claimed by some that the word came from the Persian pi:ra:han 'a long shirt'. It is also said that it was introduced in Kashmir after the Muslim conquest in order to veil the ch.mp3 and beauty of Kashmiri women.
The  and   f.mp3 an ideal combination for withstanding the severe Kashmiri winters, and mark a Kashmiri distinct on the Indian sub-continent.