Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai
I am grateful to Taj Mahal Palace Mumbai team for inviting me to their all India conference of house keepers, as a guest speaker, for giving a talk about Rug manufacturing & maintance. I never knew that something that was a child’s play, once for me, would one day become a driving passion and bring me to this day and place.
They say that our childhood years are also the most impressionable years of life, don’t they! That’s definitely true atleast for me.. A huge family house literally located in the middle of a rug Factory, that’s where we grew up. Every evening this factory in our backyard would turn into a huge playground for all of us, i mean for all the thirteen-fourteen children living in our huge joint family. And our unique toys were all the things stacked around in this factory godown. I remember clearly, we jumped over rugs, tripped over things, played hide and seek, dark room, threw wool pom-Pom’s at each other…. and during all of this divine chaos also made friends with weavers & workers … we enjoyed every bit of our unique play in the company of our weaver friends, who would be amused and sometimes even annoyed with our naughtiness …
In the midst of this childhood play I developed a passion, a passion just by chance…and the rug manufacturing industry has become one of the driving forces in my life. This industry is very very old. Generation after generation these humble artisans have carried the art of rug weaving to this day. Toiling day and night to weave happiness for us with their hard work. Being part of their journey and showcasing value of their hard work is a fulfilling experience. Having done my education In fine Arts I do appreciate the Art and skill involved in making every piece. There are many delicate processes involved at every stage. And so for me talking about rugs and rug making with anyone is delightful. Every project that we do brings new learning and brings new experiences and that’s surely an enriching experience too. Thanks to our parents who gifted us our unique playground and our skilled friends in childhood where learning happened effortlessly.
I look forward to being part of many such engaging conversations in future also. And contribute my little bit towards the growth of this amazing industry.
In-service