BHADOHI: Their nimble fingers weave magic that fetches India an estimated Rs 2,500 crore in annual exports. Their heart sinks whenever their own income doesn't reach Rs 2,500 a month, which is quite often. Caught in a quagmire of hollow promises made by leaders before every election, will the kaleen (carpet) craftsmen of
Bhadohi
still vote this Sunday? Yes, they chorus, because hope is the thing that keeps them going.
Not so long ago, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi - campaigning for BJP candidate from Bhadohi Ramesh Bind - said in Almau village that his " vikas panthi" government would set up "facilitation centres" for weavers.
Not far from Almau, in Kurauna under Aurai tehsil of Bhadohi, 65-year-old kaleen master
Lakshmi Shankar
Singh stares at his crumbling workshop-cum-home and says, "
Kahan hua vikas (Where's development)?"
Having been deprived of too much for too long, the veteran craftsman took a moment to answer what village weavers needed from the authorities to keep Bhadohi's hand-knotted carpets alive in a cut-throat competition against cheaper, machine-made and plagiarised versions. "
Mahina bhar kaam chahiye... milta nahin (We need orders throughout the month, which we don't get)," said Lakshmi Shankar, the head of a family of 25 that lives in a two-room structure.
Currently, most weavers in Kurauna get a single order every month. They are paid a paltry Rs 200 a day even though the rate fixed by the Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC) is Rs 300 per 6,000 knots. If one finishes an order in the standard eight to 10 days, the monthly income is Rs 1,600-2,000 instead of at least three times more.
The situation is equally pathetic in Ugapur, also in Aurai tehsil. Mukesh (22), the GenNext of Bhadohi weavers, has given up making carpets. "
Paisa kam milta hai (There's no money in it)," he said, adding that he sold golgappas now. Ram Sanjivan (45), who too has quit his ancestral profession to run a
paan
shop, couldn't agree more. "
Neta log bolte bahut kuchh hai; hota kuchh nahin. Hamari sunte kahan (Politicians make a lot of promises, nothing happens on the ground. They don't ever listen to us)," Ram said.
There was palpable excitement about Bhadohi's "changing fortunes" when its carpets earned the
geographical indication
or GI tag in 2013. The buzz was revived in November 2018 when the government honoured Bhadohi with the 'Town of Excellence' tag. Ground realities are stark. Exporters and contractors (who link weavers to big factories) are still making hay while the craftsmen are living in abject poverty. Most villages have one or two palatial houses. It goes without saying who they belong to. The terrace of weaver Lakshmi Shankar's house came crashing a few days ago, almost killing a few of his family members.
A senior professor at the Indian Institute of Carpet Technology (IICT), Bhadohi, the only such cradle in South Asia, said many exporters were fleecing weavers, and that there was no dearth of orders from abroad. "The daily wage of weavers should be hiked for starters," the professor said.
The weavers will nonetheless make a beeline for poll booths on Sunday. "
Asha kaise chhor de... Naya neta ho sakta hai sunle," Lakshmi Shankar voiced their collective sentiment.