Carpets have been one of the most important parts of home decor since some decades. These carpets date way back to some thousands of the years as they were used in by nomads to protect themselves from cold weather. There are so many stories that revolve around these carpets but the story told by carpet makers themselves is authentic and will take everyone into the real world of these carpets.
These days after the technological developments, people are using the machine made carpets but the look, feel and authenticity of hand-woven carpets is above everything. This interaction with a carpet maker will give us a lot of insights about these carpets.
Pranay Singh is working for one of the renowned handmade carpet manufacturers in India and he took us into the world of carpet making. This is the story of carpets told by Pranay Singh in his own words
Back in olden days, a carpet maker used to craft only one carpet in his lifetime. But the days have changed so is the making of carpet. Right now we are able to finish the carpets within two or three months. If the carpets are more complex than usual it may take more time.
We mostly use cotton, hemp or linen to craft the carpets. Wool and silk are also used but very rarely. Most of the people prefer cotton, hemp and linen carpets because of their affordability. Carpet crafting is an art and we are blessed to have this skill. I learned this skill from my father who took nearly 13 years to weave one of the most beautiful carpets in the world.
The carpets from the Middle East and India were very famous back then and people from across the world used to import these carpets from our ancestors. But with the technology, they are able to make these carpets with the help of machines.
The creation of the carpet is an artistic experience. First, we plan and make a design for the carpet and then we pick the suitable fabric. We start knotting the threads one by one. This is where the skill of an artisan is exhibited. It is a time-consuming process but the output is worth the time and efforts that we put into it. After the process of knotting, we dye them.
For most of the time, we prefer natural dyes because our company believes in delivering products which are original and natural. There are some thousands of artisans like me working on rugs and carpets that match perfectly with the requirement of our customers.
It is true that the carpets have come a long way and machines can craft more carpets in a given stipulated time but the handwoven beautiful carpets are one of a kind. They are unique and every carpet has a different story told by the skilled craftsmen.
These hand-woven carpets in Delhi have acquired a lot of craze from various parts among the world due to their authenticity and uniqueness and the main reason for this is skilled artisans like Pranay Singh.
