Having recently returned from travelling through the Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan regions of India I was taken aback with the contradictions of life in this country. The wealth portrayed through the magnificent temples, mosques and forts, while at the same time witnessing so much extreme hardship amongst such a large percentage of the population was not always easy to digest. One of the beautiful aspects of India though, is regardless of what your stand is in life, India is rich with vibrant colours that fill you with awe, the people are extremely generous and beautiful and I had a fantastic time.

I didn't have to visit an art gallery to be immersed in art so over the next few weeks I'm going to upload a series of my photos giving you a glimpse of "Art in India" as seen through my eyes....Vibrant colours, intricate carvings, paintings and more.......

Today my blog looks at beautiful hand knotted carpets. (Which were stunning and no I didn't buy one, but I would have loved to!)

It is said there are not many young artisans learning the art of traditional knot weaving as done by their forefathers for many generations , but I came across this young guy who appears very skilled.

Weavers are only allowed to work for 20 minutes at a time before taking a break and over the period of a working day will often only spend three hours maximum at the loom.

Above we see the designer's apprentice painting the design to the designers specifications

This gentlemen draws up the design and then passes it on to his apprentice (most likely his son or nephew) to complete under his guidance. Designs are handed down from generation to generation and the plans are closely guarded by the weavers of the family. They can only be woven by a particular family member or an artisan who has been sworn to keep the design secret.

All rugs go through a process at completion where the separation of every colour is individually teased into place.

If you'd like to know more about hand knotted carpets here's a link to a Delhi carpet manufacturer

http://karpetsbyrks.com/carpet-weaving-techniques/

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