Nestled in the rocky terrain beyond Alwar, in a remote village, Tej Kaur has seen the world growing with her life. Like numerous refugee families in her village, who had survived the harrowing riots post Indian Independence, she had begun weaving woollen & grass baskets, as a source of livelihood. Once done with the day chores, she would sit with her mother to weave all the colours in her life into beautiful woollen baskets. She has been weaving for Love Knits for a few years now. It is no more about earning a livelihood for herself, but a greater meaning for her skill of weaving colourful yarns into something that people would treasure.
Sandhya, settled in the bustling city of Gurgaon, has always been fascinated with the vibrant handmade arts and crafts.She stumbled upon Loveknits.org and fell in love with the rainbow hued woollen baskets. She made up her mind to carry them as gifts for her friend in Australia who she was soon going to meet. She felt that these handmade pieces would perfectly carry the sentimental and emotional appeal she wanted to share. These handmade beauties would not just be an artistic gift but would carry the love and warmth of her country and a sense of exotic rootedness. They would be a colourful reminder of their beautiful friendship.
She immediately connected with Loveknits and ordered two of those.She was flying to Australia in two weeks, and she wanted these baskets before that.
Loveknits spreads handmade love, and couldn’t wait to spread it further. We got in touch with Tej, who crafted these baskets for Sandhya in less than two weeks. This was fabulously co-ordinated by Sugandha Gupta, who has been facilitating and guiding a number of women in Alwar, for basket work. Her efforts made sure, that the baskets were ready in time.
Sandhya’s friend in Australia was thrilled to receive these baskets, while Tej back home silently smiled and brimmed with pride when she was shown their happy faces.
See their happy smiles below.
Tej Kaur with the woollen basket
