“For the first few years of my life, I only cared about playing around with my friends. But when I entered my teenage, I began to understand the financial problems of my family. I took the responsibility of earning some money on myself.

So I continued the ancestral profession of selling Kota zari sarees. Instead of selling them in Rajasthan, I packed my bags and travelled to different states.

Initially, people didn’t know much about these traditional sarees but today, they’re popular. Today, customers also understand that buying directly from karigars like me help us earn a living, while also saving the dying art forms of India. We sell handloom sarees in bright colours and motifs.

The demand is great, but our margin is minimal. I was one of the first people to take the sarees to a national level and sell them. It makes the villagers proud and that makes me very happy!”