This winter buy yourself a genuine Jaipuri
Razai (quilt) and know what it is to roll
up in a chunk of cloud. Incredibly soft
and light and warm too; that is Jaipuri
Razai for you. Craftsmen used to boast that
wrapped overnight in several folds of Jaipuri
Razai a raw egg would come close to setting!
Origin
Nobody quite knows when and how this mini
marvel came into being. Why did Rajasthan
alone become the home of this unique form
of winter covering when quilts were common
all over? Certain factors seem to have played
a part, the inhospitable desert terrain,
the bitter winter and the age-old
penchant for being constantly on the move.
Sundown in winter always sent the temperatures
plummeting among the dunes. For those who
stayed home, there was warmth enough but
to many a Rajasthani male, home was none
other than the dunes themselves with only
the sky for cover. Princes and chieftains
on the warpath, soldiers in the saddle,
banjaras (gypsies), bhopas (itinerant bards),
shepherds, traders, camel caravans rolling
along the featureless sands on private business?
all needed something to keep the chill out
without adding significantly to their saddle
bags. And some genius who remains unsung
to this day found the perfect answer in
the Jaipuri razai.
The Real Experience
Moving along the Jaipur's Hawa Mahal bazaar,
you can come upon some of the oldest establishments
turning out Jaipuri razais. There are shops
being run by three generations of men in
the trade.
Just what goes into making a Jaipuri razai
superior to others? Do they put in a special
variety of cotton? You can ask them any
question. According to the shop owners,
they have the same quality of all
over. Good desi stuff but nothing exceptional.
In their case they get it from Sri Ganganagar
just when the fresh crop comes in. The trick
lies in the carding. They card away all
the dross to get the finest fibers.
According to some of the master craftsmen
of this bazaar, their families have been
carders for generations. They excel at the
job as they say and there is no reason to
disbelieve them. According to these craftsmen,
one kilo of cotton weighs not more than
100 grams after a whole week of carding
and fetches approximately Rs. 250. But,
they create even lighter quilts weighing
not more than 50 grams by carding the cotton
over and over again. These quilts are done
according to the order and take almost three
months to complete costing not less than
a thousand rupees. Lighter the quilt, the
more evenly it is filled and you will find
it warmer and comfortable.
Time was when these quilts were made only
from the gossamer light, world famous 'Dhake
ki malmal'. To this day, old, fine textured
cotton and georgette saris are used. But
the cloth for the Jaipuri razais, a soft
quality voile, mainly comes from Bombay.
A single quilt takes six meter and a double
quilt eleven meters of cloth. A lot of hard
work goes in creating these amazing pieces
of craftsmanship.
Quilting is the sole purview of women and
three or four standard patterns have been
in vogue for as long as anyone can remember.
Gol (concentric circles), phool (flowers),
paan (the betel leaf) and lahariya (vertical
stripes zigzagging down the face of the
quilt) are the most common patterns in use.
Two women work together on one quilt and
between them they manage roughly two quilts
a day, depending on the complexity of the
design.
|