Blessed by rays of rising sun with hope and ambition in her eyes
she sits under the shade in a yard
overlooking the valley of kashmir with her baskets to unfold the tatters and mix them with the magic solvent,
She examines the chopped paper from yesterday
Her five year old playing with Channapatna dolls
She returns to her work - clay, glue, starch in water as agents of binding & plasticity
She mixes the batter well, pounds and churns and churns to expel the lump
Nor to think or thick :
and a crescent of satisfaction forms on her coral lips
Adding rose fragrance to the universal solvent, she let the dissolve for minutes and pours
In a wooden mould...
At twelve
Wiping her perspiration
Inside her home
Along with the toddler she enjoys the lunch...
Beautiful birds ,animals and wooden panels...boxes, trays, book covers,lamps, pen cases, mirrors and flowers with samovars( kashmiri tea pot) are neatly orchestrated on a display shelf,
With her creativity she carved them well
With paints and varnish she upcycled the paper well.
After a nap,
She carries on with work of the day
And craft out beautiful objects with papier machie
To supply the future commission, with lots of toys and crafts of papier machie.... And earn for the months to come
But everyday she repeats the craft famous from Iran ,kashmir, ujjain, gwalior, ratlam.(protected under Geographical indication tag of Paris convention).. to enhance her skills...and to make toys for festival with an undersign of her name yet an unknown but creative artist !









© kalika singh