Where Have All the Kathmandu Quiltmakers Gone?

Where have all the quilt-makers gone?

By MANISHA NEUPANE & RAJITA DHUNGANA
Kathmandu Post


Nathan Yadav, 35, stands in the gallis of Bhedasingh, Ason everyday, armed with his wooden Dhanus. (Similar to a bow for a bow and arrows) He calls out to the people passing by with a sharp “Sirak dasana banaune ho?” accompanied by an occasional twang of his medieval-looking apparatus, advertising his quilt-making services the way he's been doing for years. Bhedasingh has long been popular for cotton blankets; it is where people from all over the Valley used come to at one time—and there are a fair number who still do—for a range of cotton products, including mattresses, bedding and even clothes. And it is here that many men like Yadav are found earning a living.

Yadav, originally from Raxaul, India, has been in Kathmandu for almost a decade now. He came here hoping to use his skills in a trade that he had learnt as a young man and make some decent money. “Quilt-makers are not in that great demand in India because of the hot weather there. This is why many of us who make cotton blankets come here, to Nepal, where more work is available,” says Yadav. Most quilt-makers, in fact, hail from the border regions, including Bihar, Sisauni, and Raxaul. Some of them have families that have been living in Nepal for three generations.

The quilt-makers either wait in the gallis of major transactional places like Ason and Lagankhel, or roam the suburbs carrying the Dhanus. Although already diminishing, their numbers receive a distinctive boost with the arrival of winter, as demand for warm bedding starts rising—particularly between August and February. “They make solid profits during the winter, and they work very fast. One worker can make at least three blankets per day, charging Rs. 350-400 per piece ((around $4.50 to $5.50),” says Pradeep Shrestha, who owns Machhindra Clothing, a small enterprise that often hires the workers.

Most long-time residents of Kathmandu are familiar with the peculiar drone of the Dhanus, played like a string instrument to announce the presence of a quilt-maker in the vicinity. In a city where a variety of street hawkers abound, the Dhanus' twang is a distinctive—or at least used to be—part of the soundscape. It also makes for a unique sight, with its oddly-shaped wooden body fitted with a string, used to chop up cotton and make it softer and fluffier.

Abdul Hamid, a quilt-maker who has been in this line of work for more than 40 years, says that he enjoys what he does, despite being far from his family and home in Rautahat. However, Abdul doesn't believe this will remain a sustainable source of income, not for long anyway. “The cotton blankets that we make are now being replaced in large amounts by readymade Chinese blankets. It has hampered our work a lot and business is no more like it used to be before,” he says.

It is precisely this sense of uncertainty regarding the future of a profession already at risk of becoming obsolete—in the face of a barrage of mass-produced replacements flooding the market in the last decade—that has compelled many quilt-makers to find part-time work elsewhere to support their families, especially during the off seasons.

“It wasn't always like this; this used to be a profitable trade. Not only was I able to built a house of my own in Rautahat but also got my sons and daughters married,” says Abdul.

This downward trend is reiterated by Pradeep, but he says there are still occasions on which these traditional-made products are sought after specifically. “This time of year, it's the wedding season, and people prefer traditional blankets to the readymade ones. We usually get a considerable number of orders,” he says. He adds that although sales of these old-school blankets might suffer, they probably won't ever be replaced totally. “People have a certain attachment to things they've seen being used in their families and cotton blankets are one of them,” he says.

Maya Kumari Shrestha, for instance, says that she wouldn't settle for anything else, a big reason for which is the price. These traditional siraks cost Rs. 700 to 800 (around $10)whereas the Chinese blankets are much more expensive, starting from Rs. 1,200 (around $16). “Its hard to think of replacing them. We have already gotten used to the siraks and dasnas,” she says. Sita Ghimire demonstrates a similar view while shopping for blankets for her daughter's wedding. “The Chinese blankets might look attractive but they are incomparable to our traditional oodnis,” she says. “Moreover these oodnis can be remade and reused, and have great utility value.” Sita laments the fact that there are fewer quilt-makers on the streets today, forcing her to come all the way to Bhedasingh. “When my elder daughter was getting married five years back, I didn't have to come here. Nowadays, there are hardly any quilt-makers that visit my area.”

With dwindling numbers and a dwindling source of income, these quilt-makers are facing what many traditional professions and crafts have suffered under the inescapable clutch of globalisation—a gradual phase-out. For now at least, they appear to have a loyal customer base in Kathmandu, but who is to say what will happen tomorrow? With more and more machine-made products hitting the store-shelves at increasingly competitive prices, these traditional siraks—and their makers—are having a hard time holding their ground. The sound of the Dhanus, once a friendly reminder of cold weather and warm beds, looks set to fade out slowly.

Yet Another Sewing Day at Marcia's Studio

I brought two of my quilts to take photos since I found that I didn't have any decent ones and need to put them on my web page. I am taking this quilt for the show at QBL.

Marcia is composing the quilt on the right for a magazine article.

My second quilt for the QBL Show made from Nepalese Batiks.

And Beth worked on her new scrap quilt and pieces made from a class.

Swayanbhunath or the Monkey Temple

A small Stupa on the way to the summit. The monkey temple (Swayambhunath) is built on one of the hills, west of Kathmandu city. The temple is a Buddhist temple that is estimated as over 2500 years old and it is the most ancient and mysterious temple of all the temples in Kathmandu valley. An inscription that was found in the place indicates that the temple was an important Buddhist pilgrimage destination already in the 5th century AD, but the temple’s history starts even earlier, before the Buddhism’s arrival to the valley.

On a clear day (perhaps in the rainy season) you can get wonderful views of Kathmandu from here.

Swayambhunath stupa is also called the `Monkey Temple' because of the many hundreds of monkeys who scamper about the temple at night after the pilgrims and priests have departed

They are everywhere in the daytime as well. It is not safe to carry food up here as they will "attack" your bag.

Hmmmmmmm..........

The name of the temple comes from the many monkeys living in it. Those monkeys are considered as saints in the eyes of the believers. Since it is forbidden to harm those monkeys they became more and more fearless over the years and when they want to take something form the visitors in the temple they do it with no fear.

"It will just be a little longer"

The main Stupa.

Kathmandu has sprawled to the far reaches of the valley.

"Look deep into my eyes."

The six foot traditional Buddha inside the Temple on the corner of the site. There is a ceremony here each afternoon at 4:00 pm with clashing of cymbals, honking horns and chanting.

There are vendors everywhere up here...with very inflated prices of course.

Trip to India & Nepal- Boudha- Bodhanath

There is no place quite like Boudha. I was priviledged to live here for weeks at a time over the course of several years, volunteering as a teacher in the local schools. They were unforgettable experiences. This is one of the few places in the world where Buddhist culture is accessible and unfetered, and the lanes around the stupa are crammed with monastaries (over 40 at the moment) and workshops turning out butter lamps, ceremonial horns, plumed hats for Lamas, and other paraphernalia for Buddhist life. You enter through a gate off the main road.

The yellow on the stupa is marigold paint. Thousands of Buddhists gather daily to make the circumnavigation of the stupa. We used to love to sit at an upstairs window table at one of the local restaurants and watch.

With so many monastaries where are usually groups of monks on the street. The stupa is ringed by what originally was local homes. Most have shops at the street level.

Of course, lots of prayer flags are flying from the stupa.

One of the newer monastaries built around 12 years ago and replacing an old building on this corner.

All the monastaries are decorated with fabulous murals. This one is a little different as some of the murals are 3D.

Monks at their prayers.

The area used to be full of vacant lots. Not very many are left now.

Another monastary.

Shechen Guest House where I stayed for several weeks in 1996 with my two granddaughters when we were volunteering in a school here. It was called Rabsel House then and didn't have the furniture in the yard.

We had a triple room on the upper corner. We did our wash by hand and hung it on the roof. My older granddaughter was startled one night to find a monk praying on the roof when she went up to hang the laundry.

They now have a fancy restaurant in the garden. And the prices are quite a bit higher of course.

And the neighborhood is now all built up.

Well, ok, the meat markets have improved a tiny bit. There still is nothing resembling refrigeration. But they used to be just a little stand on the side of the dirt path. They would close down in the heat of the day and come back in the evening for returning home customers with a candle plunked in the middle of the meat to light it up for customers.

Trip to India & Nepal -Patan

On our first morning we ventured out to Patan's Durbar Square, across the Bagmati River. Once a fiercely independent city state, it is now almost a suburb of Kathmandu. Its Durbar Square is considered to have the best collection of temples in the Valley.

Its a World Heritage Site, one of 7 in the Valley. Most building in the square were constructed during the 14th to the 18th centuries.

Reconstruction inside the Royal Palace.

There are beautiful carvings everywhere.

To the locals its just the town square.

The statue of King Yoganarendra Malla installed in 1700. Above the Kings head is a cobra and above the cobra is a bird. Legend has it that as long as the bird remains the king may return to his palace.

School children "hanging out" on the Vishwanath temple before class. Legend has it if the bird
flies off the king's statue these elephants will go to the Manga Hiti (step well) for a drink. This temple was built in 1627.

A man drawing water in Manga Hiti.

Up the steps and on his way home.

Some nice cafes ring the square which are a nice place for a break and a cup of tea.

Unfortunately it was a bit misty for views from the windows.

There are a few bead sellers in the square who also string the beads. A fascinating process to watch. There is a bigger bead market in Kathmandu.

Some repair work being done on the street.

Some women wearing beautiful saris for some sort of celebration. Click on the photos for closeups.