Master Weaver Roopraj Prajapat exhibited  his distinctive pieces of artwork and demonstrated his family’s century-old dhurrie weaving technique at Bunjara, Cambridge  on July 16, 2005. As the descendant of a long line of weavers, Roopraj Prajapat’s fine craftsmanship has led him to participate in exhibitions throughout the world.

Roopraj Prajapat, is one of the finest exponents of the centuries old Indian tradition of weaving hand-woven dhurries. Roopraj’s family has been involved in weaving for at least 200 years. He weaves dhurries on traditional looms consisting of a simple wooden frame. Roopraj has participated in exhibitions in England, Japan, and throughout India.  During this first visit to the United States, Roopraj demonstrated at the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market and at  Bunjara in Boston. “We are thankful to Bunjara people for giving the opportunity to present these unique skills,” said Roopraj.

His unique pieces of artwork are woven on a traditional horizontal simple wood loom using colorfast yarn made out of cotton, wool, goat or camel hair and a tapestry weave.  In this technique, the interlaced weft yarns are tightly compacted with a wooden beater, almost covering the warp yarns completely. The Interlocked weaving system not only provides strength to the dhurries but also enables weavers to present their artwork through dhurries.  It takes about 10-15 days to weave a typical dhurrie  of 6 feet by 4 feet and has a price tag of about 400 dollars. 

Bunjara is the exclusive provider of Roopraj’s dhurries in the United States and specializes in antique furniture and handcrafted gifts from the Indian sub-continent. Bringing peoples and cultures of the world closer is part of its mission.  Sofia Bapna, the founder of Bunjara,  has explored and studied may products and the processes involved in producing the products  and presents the best and environmentally friendly ones to her customers.  More information about Bunjara can be found at http://www.bunjara.com/.

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