The valley of Kashmir is home to snow-laden mountains and attracts thousands of tourists annually with its exquisite handicrafts. The Kashmiri Carpets and Shawls are famous worldwide for their handwoven beauty. The real heroes behind the beautiful handicrafts of the valley are its gifted artisans who have been doing this for ages and are responsible for making the valley’s art famous and for carrying the thousand years old legacy forward for the younger generations to learn from.
One of these unspoken heroes is Mr. Yaqoob Bafanda. Born and brought up in a humble family in the valley, Mr. Bafanda describes how he believes destiny is nothing but how much effort a man puts into his work to achieve his goals.
“With the right number of hours put into your work, good intentions in heart, and god’s blessings one can achieve anything they wish to.”
When you scroll through his Instagram you would find various pictures of beautifully woven Kashmiri shawls that would make you stay on his Instagram page a little longer than you had intended to. Beautiful art crafts made out of paper mache and cotton suits of Ari embroidery are to look for. Bafanda tells that every piece of work requires precision and practice to maintain the quality of work.
He told that his family has been involved in the business of handmade carpets and shawls even before he was born. He describes how his father used to wake up at the brink of dawn and work till late at night. His father has been his source of inspiration all his life. Watching him work relentlessly to provide the family with everything inspired Mr. Yaqoob to work honestly and never give up despite how challenging the circumstances to get.
In 2020 when the world suddenly came to a halt due to the deadly coronavirus many businesses were uprooted and artists had to sleep on an empty stomach. At times when people were only buying the necessities, it was a far fetch dream for them to buy expensive carpets and shawls. Artisans, Businessmen, and laborers around the world suffered the wrath of COVID-19 through stocked-up warehouses and zero to null sales. The valley too suffered the rage of the pandemic and made several businesses shut down which are still finding it hard to surface back in the market.
Yaqoob’s business was also affected by the pandemic and he had to spend several months in his home uncertain of what the future may behold for him. This is when his well-wisher Ms. Praveen Shalini Dhawan approached him to venture into the business of dry fruits. Yaqoob who was already going through a lot was uncertain and concerned about starting a new business at times when it was hard for even age-old businesses to survive. But when his friend showed faith in him, he surrendered himself to god and leaped into the business of dry fruits. The business did well enough to get him through the lockdown.
Most people hire digital marketing experts to expand their business on social media but Yaqoob did it all by himself without anyone’s help. He started posting pictures of his work on social media and for several months received no response. He nearly gave up and one day received a message from a foreign client who was interested in buying one of his carpets. By word of mouth, he expanded his business abroad and now ships orders to his customers in the UK, US, and other countries around the world.
The last few years have been rocky for Yaqoob but his determination and hard work helped him sail through it all. Artists like him possess talent beyond measure and give you a hundred reasons to shop local. There are several people around you like Yaqoob who wake up every day and work till they achieve their target even when they are halted by unimaginable forces. Your one purchase from a local artist can benefit many lives.
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