The culture of India is related to its art in one way or the other. At the same time, many artists of our country are making every effort to save their culture and art.
When it comes to the ancient arts of Gujarat, the first thing that comes to mind is the Patola saree from Patan. But do you know that Kutchi carpet, lathe also has its own identity? A family from Kutch has been making efforts for years to keep this weaving art which is about 700 years old.
As such, many handmade things found in Kutch attract tourists visiting here. Be it handmade shawls or bedsheets. But hand-made lathe weaving has its own niche. Only Tejshibhai and his family are saving this vanishing art of weaving Kutch.
Different things made of goat and camel wool, such as carpets, rugs, wall hangings, etc., are called lathes.
Tejashibhai’s son Samatbhai told about this The Better India He told how his father has prepared a new generation to preserve this art.
what is lathe?
Kutchi lathe is a traditional art, which is made by hand weaving. It is called Jiroi in Rajasthan and it is called Rags in English. At the same time, in Sindhi language it is called lathe, which means strong. Like the art of making rugs and rugs in Kutch, there is also a different technique of making it.
At present, Tejshibhai and his two sons, Hira and Samat, are engaged in lathe weaving. Samatbhai said, “Earlier we used to make lathes out of goat and camel wool. But now we are using sheep wool to make the lathe.”
Also, he told that years ago, goat and camel wool was used to make products for the palaces of King Maharaja. Although at that time the wool was given on his behalf. The work of a lathe artist was to make carpets or other decorative items, in return for which they got grains or essential items of the house. That’s how these artists lived. Apart from this, camel herders also used to give wool to these artists. Still fans of genuine lathes demand only carpets made of camel or goat wool.
Family art being handled from generation to generation
Tejshibhai’s family, originally from Marwar, has been associated with this art for more than 700 years. Samatbhai’s grandfather and his father are associated with this art since childhood. While he has been doing this work together with his father for the last 18 years. Thus it is the only family from Kutch, which is carrying forward this art of weaving.
Samatbhai explains, “We used to live in Quran village, 15 km from Khavda. Since our village was the last village near the India-Pakistan border. That’s why many tourists were not allowed to come to our village and people could not buy the products made by us. Disturbed by this, in the year 2001, my father decided to settle in Kukma village near Anjar. So that more and more people can know about this art.
At that time Tejshibhai had two responsibilities, one to preserve the traditional art and the other to take care of the family. For this, Tejshibhai started labor work along with weaving, so that there would be no difficulty in running the family’s livelihood.
years of hard work
Tejshibhai was working without wanting big names and more money. It was then that the director of the Sydney Museum from Australia, Carol Douglas, visited Bhuj after the 2001 earthquake. He asked the artisans of Kutch at that time to show the situation of earthquake in their art. Samatbhai said, “At that time my father had made a 3*6 feet thick carpet. Which was well received and we also got a prize of $ 750 at that time. This carpet is still in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Museum in Maharashtra.
After this, many changes took place in his life, Tejshibhai left the work of labor and started doing only carpet making. He also started getting many orders from home and abroad.
Samathbhai said, “In 2011, Carol Douglas came to Kutch again and this time she asked us to make different wall hangings, depicting different Indian stories. We created seven to eight products that featured stories from weddings, festivals, Indian customs, earthquakes and the environment. Then Carol Douglas also organized an exhibition for us in Australia, at her own expense. Some of which four products were bought by the Sydney Museum and they are still kept in the Sydney Museum.
This exhibition not only gave him a new recognition at the global level, but he also got many orders.
won many awards
He received the award in the year 2011 from the then Chief Minister and current Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Then in the year 2017 International Award and also received Kalamani Award at Surajkund Mela in Delhi. Till now Tejshibhai has received several awards, including the award for Best Artisan of Gujarat State in 2018.
He still uses 700-year-old looms to make lathes. After the lathe is made on the loom, he dyes it. They make designs in it as per the choice of the customer. Some rugs have embroidery on both sides, others on one side. After all this is done, the carpet is finished with scissors.
Samatbhai told that he works for eight to nine hours a day. It takes 10 to 15 days to make a lathe with no design. On the other hand, if you want to make a lathe showing a subject, then it takes at least 2 to 3 months. Talking about its price, it starts from one or two thousand and is sold up to 25 thousand. Its price is determined by the workmanship done on it.
Original article – Vivek
Editing – Archana Dubey
Also read: All their products are made from cow dung, after use it will become compost
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