Decorating with the durrie
By Shona Adhikari

AWARD-winning UK designer Clarissa Mitchell feels that as a floor covering, the Indian durrie is hard to match. More and more interior designers are veering towards the same opinion, and at many newlydesigned homes, offices and even five star hotels, the humble durrie is making its mark. Placed strategically, the durrie is an inexpensive and convenient way to brighten up a dull corner. Some of the newer durries from Salawas in Rajasthan are so outstanding in design and colour that whole rooms are being designed around them.

Foreign buyers have also not been slow in noticing the potential of these attractive rugs, and while there has been a slump in the export of carpets, due to the higher prices, the durrie market is booming.

The tiny village of Salawas is just 22 km and a half-hour drive away from Jodhpur. Clarissa Mitchell who has been involved in developing specially designed items, is all praise for the technical skill and the ability of the Salawas durrie weavers, to translate her designs into durries that are virtually collector’s items. But Clarissa’s discovery of Salawas was preceded decades earlier by India’s own Shyam Ahuja and even earlier by American John Bissel of Fab India.

One of the best-known weavers of Salawas, Anandaram Bhobaria and his brothers belong to a family of traditional weavers. Their father and grandfather wove coarse fabric on their looms for local usage. Side by side they also made a few durries in Camel hair, goat hair or coarse wool, just before the winter months. The villagers would buy these to sleep on, and these durries would double as blankets or shawls on cold nights in the desert.

In 1980 Shyam Ahuja discovered Anand and persuaded him to devote all his time to making durries for him. Anand worked exclusively for Ahuja for seven years adapting to the use of chemical dyes, in preference to the traditional vegetable dyes of earlier generations. From just one family, durrie-making spread through the entire village, and there are now about 70 families, all involved in this trade. Anand himself, his two brothers and their wives are skilled durrie makers. The weaving is generally the work of the menfolk and young boys, while the women of the family look after the washing and drying processes.

For Anand the introduction to western pastel colours was an eye-opener. The foreign chemical dyes created shades that he had never seen before and made the durries ‘colour-fast’.

The durries that are made at Salawas fall into the "Panja Dhubri" category of durrie-making. Anand now has 40 looms and 150 workmen involved in the various processes, working under him. Depending on the size, upto three persons may work collectively, in weaving one durrie. The largest size that Anand makes is 15 ft.x30ft., but says that larger ones can also be made with a special loom fashioned specially for this. The maximum demand is for the 5’x8’ and 6’x9’ durries. These sizes are usually popular for living rooms. A 4’x6’ size can be used as a diwan cover and a 3’x5’ for the bedside. Mini durries are also made, and a 2x3 may be used as a wall hanging or doormat. Cushions to match durries having became popular, Anand now weaves 18"x18" squares, specially for this purpose.

The colour palette has also changed with demand, and Shyam Ahuja’s cool pastels in peaches and turquoises of the 80s are now giving way to warmer beiges, mustards, greens and browns. Many of Anandaram’s new durries are being marketed by Fab India locally, and exported by them and other agencies to Europe, the USA and the Middle East foreign buyers have also discovered Salawas, and orders now come directly to Anand. For these special clients, designs are kept totally exclusive, and not shown to their competitors, or released to the local market.

The weaving of the durries, is followed by a complicated process of washing, before they are ready for despatch. Each durrie is first washed in plain water, and liquid soap is sprayed on it while it is still on the loom. It is then rubbed with a stone for the popular "stone-washed" look. Chemicals are then applied to the durrie five times and washed off thoroughly each time, thereby "fixing" the colours. The durrie is stretched on a frame and allowed to dry, and is then finally considered ready.

With the current fashion trends, the durrie has come into its own, and is rapidly replacing carpets in many modern homes. Cheaper and easily washable, durries are now available in any colour under the sun. Wherever they are spread, the Salawas durries can be counted upon to become the cynosure of all eyes.