No wonder they call him Ustaad !!

Advocacy, Crafts, Handlooms, Art, Craftspersons/ Artisanal, Education/Learning

No wonder they call him Ustaad !!

Krishna, Geetanjali

Issue #008, 2021                                                                                        ISSN: 2581- 9410 It is said that the mystic poet and weaver, Kabir Das, meditated on his loom, his mind fixed on alternating warps and wefts as he composed his immortal couplets on the banks of the Ganges in Benares.

Kabir Das – source- https://thevidetimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/kabir-painting-1.jpg

He and his family earned their livelihood by weaving cloth. Weaving -- both of textile and carpets -- has been the economic mainstay of communities in Varanasi and neighbouring districts Mirzapur and Bhadohi since then. This cottage industry has provided a livelihood not only to thousands of weavers, but also to people with ancillary skills -- dyers, spinners, carpet washers and perhaps the least acknowledged but amongst the most talented of them all -- the Naqsha painters.

A naqsha being painted. Pic Credit : Obeetee pvt ltd

Naqshas are an essential aspect of the carpet making process. They are maps, drawn to scale on graph paper and hung behind the loom and . Every square on the graph paper represents one knot and weavers follow the...
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