At Bikaner Central Jail, inmate Amar has formed a strong bond with three others. “We are sailing the same boat, and the journey becomes easier when you have friends. We drink tea together and exchange our thoughts during tea time,” he says. So, when he joined Jaipur Rugs’ Freedom Manchaha project to learn how to weave and hand-knot carpets, he created a piece with stripes to depict the ups and downs of his life, and four tea cups, to symbolise his friendship. ‘Hum Chaar’, his wool and silk rug, is available on the luxury carpet brand’s website for ₹1,32,300.
Since the project launched in 2018 — across prisons in Alwar, Jaipur, Bikaner, Dausa, Amer and Bharatpur — Jaipur Rugs’ director Yogesh Chaudhary says he’s seen a change. “Many prisoners say it has brought them peace; that weaving is like meditation. It has also helped then regain some of the hope that they had lost.”
Each rug takes between one and three months, and 75% of the sales goes to the prisoners’ families. “Reintegration into society is tough; some commit suicide once they leave jail,” Chaudhary says. “But this profession requires one to stay at home and work, thus making reintegration easier.”
