Hyde
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Varanasi’s Zardozi industry loses out to their Pakistani rivals
VARANASI: Sagir Ahmad Ansari's despondency about the state of Varanasi's zardozi industry has something to do with Prince William's wedding.
The exporter lost a contract to contribute to the trousseau in 2010, having quoted a price of 1,200 pounds. A Pakistani company offered to do it for 800 pounds and won the contract.
Zardosi is embroidery that originated in Persia using metal strings, preferably gold and silver, and is highly prized with the artisans of Varanasi having earned a reputation for the excellence of their work.
Ansari says rivals across the border can't attain the quality and authenticity of Varanasi's artisans. But they are suffering due to competition from Pakistani craftsmen. "We got a lot of work from the UK and European army. We made monograms and badges for their army. That work has stopped since five years and we are losing it all to Pakistan."
London-based Toye & Co is one of the companies that farms out orders to India. A spokesperson said it also sources work from Pakistani companies but didn't elaborate on the amounts.
Wages are an area of conflict between artisans and exporters. "The negotiation is too hard, sometimes heavily in favour of artisans," Ansari said, "The prerequisite to great work is not only great skill but the material we use. We have to use at least 2 per cent gold in the total work. Our margins depend on
wages."
He said weavers bargain hard and if they don't get what they ask for, work gets delayed, hurting the vendor's reputation. "We have lost three customers recently," Ansari said. "They were our clients for 20 years."
Latin America and Nigeria and Zimbabwe in Africa are among key export markets for Varanasi zardozi. Mohammad Nasir, a zardozi weaver for more than 40 years, said the wage varies from Rs 9.50 to Rs 30 per
hour.
Another artisan, Ashfaq Ahmad, working on a tablecloth for the Vatican, has a daily wage ofRs 200. "The work would take us three months if we work 12 hours a day," which means he gets aboutRs 17 per hour.
The workers complain that the items are highly valuable and exporters are paid in dollars but they don't get much of a share in this. "You know now how (little) we are paid," said Ashfaq.
Raj Aggarwal, another exporter, refuted his argument. "Even a labourer is not ready to work for the entire day for less than Rs 270. You think they (zardozi artisans) will work?" This clash could lead to the industry's eventual demise. "Ten years down the line you might not find the art practiced any more in Varanasi," he said.
Shahid Qamar Ansari, proprietor of Badge of Honour, an exporter, said, "Pakistan is also benefitting from the exchange rate as one dollar is equivalent to 100 Pakistani rupees but in India it is around Rs 60, so they are getting 40 per cent more money per dollar for the same work. They are in a position to pay more to their workers."
Aggarwal added, "Pakistan has been the biggest beneficiary of our loss. They are making some world-class stuff now. Forty years back, they were incompetent and made poor quality material. Artisans there are peasants who have gradually picked up the art. They are not working in workshops, unlike here in Varanasi. My father bought zardozi to Varanasi in 1948. It started with three people."
Exporters don't take bulk orders for fear of missing deadlines. And when they do get such orders, it's more pragmatic to get them fulfilled in Delhi, Punjab or Agra. It's clear that the tradition is in steady decline, unless something is done, perhaps by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is an MP from Varanasi.
"There are not even 100 people doing these specialised jobs of making monograms and badges. It was over 500 men a decade back," Ansari said.
Mohammad Islam abandoned zardozi four years ago and now sells poori-sabzi. A craftsman can only do zardozi work for 15 years on average because it is so minute that weakening eyesight restricts the productive years. Islam is quite clear that he's not passing on the craft: "My children will not take this work.
This is the last generation."
Source: Varanasi’s Zardozi industry loses out to their Pakistani rivals - The Economic Times
VARANASI: Sagir Ahmad Ansari's despondency about the state of Varanasi's zardozi industry has something to do with Prince William's wedding.
The exporter lost a contract to contribute to the trousseau in 2010, having quoted a price of 1,200 pounds. A Pakistani company offered to do it for 800 pounds and won the contract.
Zardosi is embroidery that originated in Persia using metal strings, preferably gold and silver, and is highly prized with the artisans of Varanasi having earned a reputation for the excellence of their work.
Ansari says rivals across the border can't attain the quality and authenticity of Varanasi's artisans. But they are suffering due to competition from Pakistani craftsmen. "We got a lot of work from the UK and European army. We made monograms and badges for their army. That work has stopped since five years and we are losing it all to Pakistan."
London-based Toye & Co is one of the companies that farms out orders to India. A spokesperson said it also sources work from Pakistani companies but didn't elaborate on the amounts.
Wages are an area of conflict between artisans and exporters. "The negotiation is too hard, sometimes heavily in favour of artisans," Ansari said, "The prerequisite to great work is not only great skill but the material we use. We have to use at least 2 per cent gold in the total work. Our margins depend on
wages."
He said weavers bargain hard and if they don't get what they ask for, work gets delayed, hurting the vendor's reputation. "We have lost three customers recently," Ansari said. "They were our clients for 20 years."
Latin America and Nigeria and Zimbabwe in Africa are among key export markets for Varanasi zardozi. Mohammad Nasir, a zardozi weaver for more than 40 years, said the wage varies from Rs 9.50 to Rs 30 per
hour.
Another artisan, Ashfaq Ahmad, working on a tablecloth for the Vatican, has a daily wage ofRs 200. "The work would take us three months if we work 12 hours a day," which means he gets aboutRs 17 per hour.
The workers complain that the items are highly valuable and exporters are paid in dollars but they don't get much of a share in this. "You know now how (little) we are paid," said Ashfaq.
Raj Aggarwal, another exporter, refuted his argument. "Even a labourer is not ready to work for the entire day for less than Rs 270. You think they (zardozi artisans) will work?" This clash could lead to the industry's eventual demise. "Ten years down the line you might not find the art practiced any more in Varanasi," he said.
Shahid Qamar Ansari, proprietor of Badge of Honour, an exporter, said, "Pakistan is also benefitting from the exchange rate as one dollar is equivalent to 100 Pakistani rupees but in India it is around Rs 60, so they are getting 40 per cent more money per dollar for the same work. They are in a position to pay more to their workers."
Aggarwal added, "Pakistan has been the biggest beneficiary of our loss. They are making some world-class stuff now. Forty years back, they were incompetent and made poor quality material. Artisans there are peasants who have gradually picked up the art. They are not working in workshops, unlike here in Varanasi. My father bought zardozi to Varanasi in 1948. It started with three people."
Exporters don't take bulk orders for fear of missing deadlines. And when they do get such orders, it's more pragmatic to get them fulfilled in Delhi, Punjab or Agra. It's clear that the tradition is in steady decline, unless something is done, perhaps by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is an MP from Varanasi.
"There are not even 100 people doing these specialised jobs of making monograms and badges. It was over 500 men a decade back," Ansari said.
Mohammad Islam abandoned zardozi four years ago and now sells poori-sabzi. A craftsman can only do zardozi work for 15 years on average because it is so minute that weakening eyesight restricts the productive years. Islam is quite clear that he's not passing on the craft: "My children will not take this work.
This is the last generation."
Source: Varanasi’s Zardozi industry loses out to their Pakistani rivals - The Economic Times
I would love to see our textiles bounce back 
