In an effort to preserve the treasured art and craft of Kashmiri carpets, Ghulam Hussain Wani, a 50-year-old skilled carpet artisan from Srinagar district has dedicated two decades to preserving the art of carpet repairing in Kashmir valley.
Hailing from Hassanabad Rainawari in the downtown area, Wani has become renowned for his expertise in restoring expensive carpets for the people of Kashmir.
While talking to Rising Kashmir, Ghulam Hussain Wani said that he was only 6 years old when he lost his father. He said, “After the death of my father, there was no one else in my family except my mother to earn a source of income and fulfill all the demands and basic needs of life.”
“Due to my poor financial background, I couldn’t get admission in the school, as all the responsibilities of family fell on my shoulders. When I started weaving Kashmiri carpets in my locality, I was only seven years old, and through this, I was fulfilling the basic needs of our family,” Wani said.
He said that he continued this work for nine years, as he was not earning a good source of income from this art as the carpet artisans during that time were not earning a reasonable money.
“After leaving this carpet weaving , I visited the Narwara area in the old city, where I received training from my teacher, Jaffar Mir, who was well known to Artisan in the carpet repairing work during those times,” Wani said.
He said Jaffer Mir was one of the famous artisans from the Kashmir valley who has worked in other Indian States, where he was repairing the carpets and was also earning a source of income for his family. “Jaffer Mir suggested starting my own carpet repair work in Srinagar, as I was not fully trained at that time. After completing eight months of training, I started carpet repair work at my own level, as I learned a lot of things in the carpet repair work. Due to the low workflow , in 1995, I visited Hyderabad, Delhi, and Mumbai, where I did carpet repairing for some years,” Wani said.
He said after coming back to Kashmir, he continued this art and repaired various carpets in Kashmir valley. “I have repaired two hundred-year-old carpets that were brought from America, Iranian carpets, and Kashmir carpets at the Ghulam Mohidin and Sons shop, which is located near the polo view side in the heart of Srinagar city”, Wani said.
“During this journey I have also repaired very expensive, very old carpets from time to time.
He said that currently, he provides door step services and visits customers to repair the carpets that have been damaged or burned.
“I have seen difficult times, but I have not left this work; I have continued my work. In case any person wants to repair their damaged carpet, I can also provide my service to their doorsteps, through which I can also earn my livelihood from this work.
According to Wani, the people in the Kashmir Valley did not have much knowledge about this art. As there are no perfect figures, how many artisans in the Kashmir valley are still associated with this art. “For the past 15 years, I have been offering my services to the people in different districts of the Kashmir valley. Unfortunately, the practice of this art has been gradually declining in the region”, wani said.
Wani’s life has been full of miseries, but he did not leave his art. Wani has preserved this art as he is still repairing the traditional expensive carpets in the Kashmir valley which fetches him a meager income only.
