World-renowned Jaipuri razai industry is on the brink of a crisis

The razai industry, makers of   world-renowned Jaipuri quilts, is on the brink of a crisis.
 

There was a time when Jaipuri quilts made from cotton found many takers in the country and abroad.
 

And, even former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and ex vice-president Bhairon Singh Shekhawat were its admirers.
 

However, with increasing use of fibre in place of cotton, quilts made of cotton have seen sales dwindle and this has affected the livelihoods of artisans. It was once a flourishing business.
 

The industry, which is almost 250 years old in Jaipur, used to see around 20,000-25,000 artisan families engaged a decade ago. But now, less than 10,000 families are engaged in this trade. The USP about Jaipuri razais or quilts is that they weigh just 100-500 grams and are completely hand made. During severe winters, even a 100-gram quilt is considered adequate to save one from the bitter cold. Hariom Lashkari, president of the Jaipur Quilt Trade Association Committee said the razai industry is on the “verge of extinction.”
 

Lashkari said that a few people are cheating customers by giving quilts filled with fibre, and calling them Jaipuri quilts, for the sake of making more profit. “At present, the quilt business is estimated at about Rs 50 crore, compared to over Rs 100 crore a decade and a half back,” he pointed out.
 

Atiq Ahmed of Kadarbakhsh Group, whose family has been in the business of Jaipuri quilts for almost 250 years, said that his ancestors used to make quilts for the kings of Amber and later in Jaipur. He added that fibre quilts are bringing a bad name to the Jaipur razai industry.