BUDGAM: The twelve Silk Kashmiri handmade carpets prepared by the 48 Artisans of Khag tehsil in central Kashmir Budgam district last year were rolled out at the new parliament building on Rajpath after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the building on Sunday.
Mushtaq Ahmad Malik, one of the artisans from the Shunglipora told Rising Kashmir that twelve Kashmiri Silk hand-made carpets have been prepared by the artisans from three villages of the Khag tehsil.
“In our Shunglipora village, there were nine Kashmiri carpets prepared by our village artisans in the last year of 2022.” “After our local dealer in our area gave us this work order.”
“The remaining three carpets were made by artisans from the nearby villages of Lachmanpora and Lassipora.” “This is the first time in Jammu and Kashmir’s history that artisans from the Khag tehsil have prepared carpets for the Indian Parliament,” added Malik.
He said that it is a privilege for all the artisans who weaved these carpets for the Parliament of India.
“There are still a few villages in the Khag tehsil where most people are still earning their livelihood from this work. In our Shunglipora village, more than 60 percent of the population is still associated with handicrafts, which are still earning their livelihood from this art from the last three decades ” Malik added.
Abdul Rahim Khan, another artisan, said that it took more than one year to weave these 12 carpets for the Parliament of India. Being a special order for us, we were working day and night to complete this order within a given time.
“The carpets that we have prepared for the new parliament building are rectangular and embedded with 12 different colours.” The size of these 12 carpets would be 8 feet and 10 inches. A total of 12 families, including 48 artisans, have made these carpets,” Khan said.
“After we prepared the 12 carpets for the new Parliament Building, it has also brought new hope for the artisans who are doing this work in various villages of the Khag Tehsil,” Khan said.
He said that the people are now hopeful that they will receive more orders, which will eventually give a boost to this traditional art.
“If the government will also provide more such orders, we can receive good rates and this art will remain preserved for the upcoming generation,” Abdul Rahim Khan said.
In the year 2022, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also appreciated all the artisans who have prepared these carpets for the New Parliament Building in the ‘Aawam ki Aawaz’ programme.
The Rising Kashmir first reported on August 13, 2022, that a total of 12 families, including 48 artisans, are preparing handmade carpets for the new parliament building.
