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Textile craft of
Meghwal Women Artisans of Thar Desert, World's 7th Largest |
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A normal Ralli Quilt is a textile jewel finished with physical and spiritual labour or done with hand and mind putting in almost 180 hours, 10800 minutes or 648,000 seconds of labour by a woman artisan. In ancient Indus civilization, a Ralli Quilt was also a textile currency like other valuables. Woman start making Ralli Quilts in early age as part of their dowry. The poor artisans used to make Ralli Quilt as gifts for the occasion of marriages and births of the elite families. In return, they were given a buffalow, a cow or a goat as “Kheer Piyarini†or to provide a permanent milk source for the artisan’s family. This tradition continues in Sindh, especially in Thar desert too. Lila Ralli Quilts is an initiative launched in cooperation with some Fair Trade Shops in the world to give an international exposure to the illiterate artisans living in stark poverty conditions in villages dotting the desert. The textile craft lovers can now order the Ralli Quilt artisans living thousands of miles away to make a dream piece for them while sitting in their offices or homes. It is just a rebirth of “Kheer Piyarini†tradition. You can order now Ralli Quilt Gift Sets for a baby before his birth or for the wedding of your loved ones. Let the Thar desert artisans also share this beautiful world.
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New
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The
Ralli Quilts made by women artisans of Lila Handicrafts were displayed
at Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, New Mexico on July 8-9,
2006. Sincere thanks to all those folk art lovers who bought,
appreciated and loved our work. Our Special Thanks to Patricia
Stoddard, author of (Ralli Quilts--Traditional Textile from Pakistan and
India)
and
Treasures of Asia for sponsoring the display of our Ralli Quilts there. |
