The art of carpet is believed to have its genesis in India way back in 500 BC. However, its Mughal Emperor Akbar who is credited for bringing carpet weavers from Persia to India in the 16th century. Today, India is the world’s largest producer and exporter of hand-made carpets. And the trade is only thriving further
Presently, majority of the carpets produced in India are exported all around the world, thus reflective of their quality, fine workmanship and rich legacy which they are associated with. As per a recent report by the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), 90% of the carpets manufactured in India are exported. In FY2013, exports of handmade carpets stood at $1,080.90 million, with US and European Union (EU) accounting for most of it. In fact, around 60% of India’s total carpet exports in FY2013 were to US and EU. India is a leading carpet exporting nation, with Iran, Nepal and Pakistan being some of its competitors in the trade. USA, Germany, Canada, France, Italy and Japan are known to be some of the major importers of carpets from India.
Essentially, there are seven types of hand-made carpets by way of weaving techniques – hand-knotted, tufted, gabbe, woollen, hand-made woollen dhurries, pure silk, staple and chain stitch rugs. The hand-knotted carpets are designed first by clipping the lengths of the yarn. Weaving a hand knotted carpet entails a lot of skill and time, with its quality often being measured by the number of knots per square inch. Due to the amount of time taken, these also end up being a far more expensive buy. On the other hand, hand-tufted carpets do not require as much time or skill as hand-knotted carpets do. Produced with the help of tufting guns, these are created without tying knots and take far lesser time thereby reducing the costs.
The hand-knotted gabbe woollen carpets, produced mainly in the Bhadohi-Mirzapur region in Uttar Pradesh, show a novel tradition of tribal designs. These are primarily made of 75% wool and 25% cotton. One of the least expensive yet sought after floor coverings are the woollen dhurries, which can be placed anywhere in one’s home to enhance space. Also known as Killims, these are extremely versatile floor coverings. They do not have any knots and can be used both ways which makes them rather unique in their functionality. Then, there are the hand-knotted pure silk carpets which are renowned for their fine workmanship and intricacy of design. Produced in Kashmir, most of the silk carpets are known to display different colours when viewed from various angles. They also tend to give an illusion of two carpets instead of one since the colours show-off a day and night variation in shades. However, this illusion is only natural as the lustre, shine, pile and the weaving technique of the silk fibre sets the silk carpets as being very novel and extraordinary. No wonder then that they are also sometimes informally dubbed as magic carpets!
Staple or synthetic carpets are synthetic hand-knotted carpets with a feel of silk, with Agra, Srinagar and Gwalior being their primary producing centres. Lastly, there are chain stitch carpets which are mainly produced in Kashmir. They are also known as Jalakdozi natively and reflect intricate needlework in their designs. Used as floor coverings and wall hangings, these use the ancient technique of hookwork where the entire cloth is filled with tiny stitches of cashmere or silk thread.
In terms of design, Persian carpets carry a rich tradition and are woven with wool, cotton, silk. Some of the more common motifs highlight medallions, scrolling vine networks and overlapping geometric compartments. The Mughal style, which is considered to be one of the oldest styles, was influenced heavily by Emperor Jahangir’s great interest in botany. The colour combining in these carpets is done without outlines and use two different tones of the same shade side by side. Besides these, there are antique carpets which are quite expensive and can be used as a great decorative art for interior spaces.
UP, Kashmir and Rajasthan are some of the major traditional carpet producing clusters in India. More specifically, these include Bhadohi-Mirzapur, Agra in UP, Jaipur-Bikaner in Rajasthan and Srinagar in Kashmir. However, in recent times, other centres such as Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh and Panipat in Haryana have also emerged as carpet producing regions.
Typically, each region is known for producing a certain type of carpet. For instance, Kashmir is more synonymous with hand-knotted silk and woollen carpets. It is famous for its versatile range of silk carpets with a weaving tradition that spans across centuries. Silk is the most significant raw material which is processed in complex patterns and with a density of up to one million knots per square meter. The rather detailed and complex designs on them makes the production of these carpets a long process, sometimes spread out even over a few years! Needless to say then, these are rated high on prestige and price both.
Agra is renowned for its supreme quality hand-knotted Persian and Turkish carpets. The centre is well known for natural vegetable dyes, with bold floral borders being a distinctive feature. In fact, Bhadohi district in UP is known to be the biggest carpet manufacturing centre in India, famous mostly for its hand-knotted range of carpets. Popularly christened as the ‘Carpet City’, the Mirzapur-Bhadohi region is the largest handmade carper-weaving cluster, engaging around 3.2 million people in the industry.
Another important cluster is Rajasthan, which boasts of exquisite hand-knotted woollen fibres. The designs reflect their influence from the Mughal dynasty showing hunting patterns with trees and floral motifs.
Despite the fact that the industry offers employment to millions of artisans and weavers, the challenges faced by the industry act as a stumbling block to growth. Wool, which is one of the main raw materials used in the making of carpets, is produced in India on a far lower scale as compared to the requirement. However, due to high prices, it is not possible to procure it in bulk quantities. The heavy fluctuation in prices of imported wool makes it necessary that wool production in India should be considered as the most viable route to meet the domestic demand as well as the demand of the carpet industry.
Most of the Indian wool for carpets comes from Rajasthan, which is known to produce different types. In fact, the use of good wool acts as a significant pull and is a determining factor to assess the quality of a carpet. It’s hardly any surprise then that the Iranian industry has been riding a high wave due to the use of quality wool in their carpets.
And then there are other issues. Lack of skilled human resource and innovation, unavailability of easy financing schemes and long-drawn-out processes act as a major deterrent. Bhadohi, which is a major cluster, has dismal infrastructural facilities and a lack of uninterrupted power supply for carpet production. However, little has been done to improve this scenario in a city which is a major export earner.
Another exporter who did not wish to be named, stated that despite the incentives available to them from the government, they at times, do not go to the extent of availing them due to the lengthy processes involved. Besides this, initiating effective steps such as rationalisation of duties and enhancement of rail capacities and infrastructure for smooth transportation movement is something which could help give a much-needed leg up to this export-led industry. But then, Aladdin’s carpet didn’t came easy, did it?