Drowned in My Ego

“Na thaa kuchh to Khudaa thaa, kuchh na hotaa to Khudaa hotaa
Duboyaa mujh ko hone ne, na hotaa mai.n to kyaa hotaa
huaa jab Gam se yuu.N behis to Gam kyaa sar ke kaTane kaa
na hotaa gar judaa tan se to zaa.Nno.n par dharaa hotaa
huii muddat ke ‘Ghalib’ mar gayaa par yaad aataa hai
wo har ek baat pe kahanaa ke yuu.N hotaa to kyaa hotaa”

“He was, when it was aught
He would still be, even if it might have been naught
Drowned I am in my ego
What would have happened if “I” was not
Laden with distraught and feeling apathetic
do I have to worry about the head being severed
If it did not severe from the body
The head would have simply reposed on the lap
It has been ages that “Ghalib” died
Yet the memories linger on
His saying this on every occasion
If it was “like this” then what it would be!”

(“He was, when it was aught” by Mirza Ghalib, 1597-1869)

Mirza Ghalib is considered to be the one of the most popular and influential poet of the Urdu language.
Ghazals using his words often remind me the music made by the many handloom machines in some Muslim areas of Varanasi (Benaras) where I always enjoy to come and work.
This picture was shot in one of our workshops there.

One thread winding them all

 

“When you examine the lives of the most influential people who have ever walked among us, you discover one thread that winds through them all. 
They have been aligned first with their spiritual nature and only then with their physical selves.”
Albert Einstein (German born, American Physicist – Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921, 1879-1955)

Those red threads are used in order to weave a traditional silk brocade on a handloom machine which is in a little workshop in Varanasi (Benaras) held by a Muslim family who manufactures several of our fabrics since a few seasons.
This traditional artcraft transmitted from generation to generation contributed to the fame of the oldest living city in the world.
This picture is an opportunity to whish a happy Ramazaan (Ramadan) to my Muslim friends.

“As long as we keep believing”

 

“We all have our own life to pursue, Our own kind of dream to be weaving… 
And we all have the power To make wishes come true, As long as we keep believing.”
( Louisa May Alcott – American author known for her children’s books, especially the classic Little Women, 1832-1888)

This young Banarsi weaver is checking a string from his hand loom machine.
I took this picture as I was visiting this worshop which is manufacturing silk fabrics that we use in our collections.
This traditional artcraft herited from the Mughal era is transmitted from generation to generation by a Muslim guild in Varanasi (Benaras), the oldest living city in the world.
The weaving process is quite sophisticated, it requires a long training, an amazing ability to remember all this knowledge and discipline.
Those weavers are genuine artists however because of economical problems within a few years half the workshops of the city had to close.
In our humble and limited way we are trying to maintain a few people to carry on this heritage. 

Encoded Designs

 

This looks a barrel organ but it is a handloom machine for weaving silk threads into fabrics.
The basic purpose of a loom is to hold the warp threads under tension to facilitate the interweaving of the weft threads.
Weaving is done by intersecting the longitudinal threads, the warp, with the transverse threads, the weft.
Varanasi (Benaras) is well-known for its tradition of making silk brocades.
This industry is mostly held by Muslim families whom passed this amazing knowledge to their descendants.
In several areas of the city anyone can listen to the strange noise of those handlooms machine whenever the weavers are working.
After a while this powerful beat sounds like music.
The designs of the fabrics are encoded onto barrels like the one on the picture.

Woolen Threads under the Sun

 

“And Allah has given you a place to abide in your houses, and He has given you tents of the skins of cattle which you find light to carry on the day of your march and on the day of your halting, and of their wool and their fur and their hair (He has given you) household stuff and a provision for a time.”
(Quran – c. 651 AD)

Those woolen threads were drying under the summer sun after the dyeing process in a little field which is in the courtyard of our factory.
Threads are the begining of all, they will make a fabric, a tassel or even a carpet.
I like threads, they open my creativity, my appetite for making new things…