People know my worth in this town. They show their respect by calling me a professor or an artist. But what I do has a zero value in the market. All the craftsmen, who knew the art of carving patterns in wood and shading them, have passed away. I’m one of the last two artists left in the business. Kapurthala is known for its unique furniture with ivory inlay. But when the government banned the ivory, we started using acrylic sheets to maintain the white colour.
In 1911, my grandfather went to England as part of a team to do wooden work in English homes. We still possess the certificate he got back then. I was 10 when I held the shading pencils for the first time. We were three brothers. One died early on. The second one was the most intelligent. He completed his M.A and went to Iraq for work. I never excelled at school. My family decided to take me off the school and teach me the family profession. First thing I made was a sheet with Sohni Mahiwal carved on it. We sold it for 1500 Rupees. My father was so strict with me, I got beaten up for mistakes so many times. Who lets that happen these days.