Nupur AgrawalOn a blazing Sunday afternoon, exactly one week before Diwali (ironic as October generally gets cool in India), one would generally choose to sleep, eat or watch cricket at home. Midst these comforting and pretty thoughts, there is a tiny voice inside which asks ‘Are you going to waste the only Sunday you get, sitting around doing nothing?’, now rather than shutting the voice, one decides to step out and visit one of the most popular crafts fairs in the city at Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur.
While walking inside the shaded paths of the fair, one stumbles upon a lady with big hazel eyes, clad in huge tribal bangles (kade), surprisingly happier than others who are barely trying to bear the heat, and sitting in the middle of her stall surrounded by so many colours that one needs to sit beside her and have a look.
“Hello ! Kya aap mujhe bataayengi aap kaha se hai aur yeh kaunsa work hai?’ (Will you tell me where do you belong to and which work is this?
She excitedly shows all her handcrafted products – bandarwal, table mats, cushion covers, bed runners, bedsheets, table runners, all in multihued designs, fearless embroidery and prodigious mirror work.
‘Hum Barmer se hai aur yeh Khambadiya kaam hai humaara special’ (We are from Barmer and this is Khambadia work which is specially done there.
One asks her to show her bed runners and there they were. Divided in little parts like a child would draw imperfect lines to divide a rectangle into numerous sections, each section was designed intricately with a different pattern narrating a separate story from the rest.
One bought one for her room and asked this beautiful & intriguing lady her name –
Lady : ‘Hum Indira Devi hai’
One : ‘Mere saath photo loge’
Lady : Han Han.
Looking at herself in the front camera of a smartphone made her laugh aloud and well, the phone was smart enough to capture the moment 🙂
