Kashmiri namda artisan Arifa Jan took the road less travelled to much applause

Arifa Jan, a Kashmiri artisan, who specialises in weaving the traditional namda, a rug made of felted wool, had to strive hard to convince her parents, who wanted her to strive for a government job, to let her become an entrepreneur

It was not for Arifa Jan to take the beaten path and try for a government job. Instead, she defied her parents and risked it all to become an art-and-craft entrepreneur, and that too one specialising in the dying craft of weaving namda – a rug made of felted wool.

Arifa Jan, who is a commerce graduate, went on to sell the traditional Kashmiri namda in different countries and now works with 20 artisans across Srinagar. (Waseem Andrabi/HT )

Jan was drawn towards the traditional craft, which is in dire need of revival, while she was studying at the Craft Development Institute (CDI). While she felt she had found her calling, convincing her family of the same was an arduous task. “Soon after passing out from CDI, I decided to set up a stall in New Delhi. However, my parents were against it as they wanted me to strive for a government job. They only let me go when I told them that the exercise will fetch me a job.”

“Even my relatives were skeptical as there were no entrepreneurs in our family. My father is a government employee, and mother a homemaker. It was only after I won several awards and a trip to the United States under the Women Entrepreneurship Exchange Programme did my family accept that I had made the right decision,” says the 30-year-old, who has a year-old child. Her husband is also an artisan and deals in Pashmina.

Jan, who is a commerce graduate, went on to sell her products in different countries and now works with 20 artisans across the city.

Arifa says her art gave her the opportunity to travel far and wide, to the United States and Kyrgyzstan, where she received a lot of appreciation. In 2020, Jan was awarded the Nari Shakti Purskar, which was presented to her by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind. She also bagged a state award in 2018 and was also nominated as the chairperson of the women’s wing of Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI).

She has set up a couple of centres, where she keeps products ready for delivery. However, the lockdown imposed after revocation of Article 370 and the pandemic, she lost several business opportunities.

“The government has pledged to help entrepreneurs, but we are facing a lot of impediments on ground. I wanted to setup my own factory but officials are not cooperative. However, I am hopeful that one day she will have all the machines needed to assemble the final product under one roof. It needs a lot of investment, but I am not one to back down from a challenge.”