Step 2 - Share Your Design Brief

Named after a fictitious alien character from the Bollywood movie ‘Koi Mil Gayaa’ which Manju and Rajni watched when they were weaving the rug, this manchaha is a visual depiction of how ‘Jaadu’ lands on earth from his UFO, as shown in the movie. However, they saw the movie on a black and white television, so the colours in the UFO, the central design in the rug, is coloured as per their imagination of how a UFO from a different world must look like.

Haathon ki Kala which means ‘creativity of hands’ is how the weavers describe their rug. The reason they named it so is because they both wanted to explore the ways they can bring their observations in their rug designs. They took inspiration from simple things such as comb, butterflies and bedsheet designs. Once the rug was complete, they were really happy to witness their creativity and talent in the form of their Manchaha.

Both the weavers are devotees of Lord Krishna. Every day they pray for the well-being of themselves and their families. As a sign of respect to their faith and work, Manju and Rajni have kept the name of this rug “Kalash”, which is a sacred container mostly kept at the religious spaces in the homes of village people. The rug has a kalash woven at the heart of the carpet which is supported by patterns of leheriya and jhaalars in the background. Elements like flowers, leaves, and boxes are also found in the rug which complements the blue hues in the carpet.