This handmade cotton blanket is from the village of Girot in the district Khushab Punjab. It was made on a non-electric loom; the craftsman was seated on the ground with the loom in front of him, and his legs were dangling in a hole before the loom began. I traveled to Khushab while a doctoral student conducting research for my dissertation, which was later published as ‘Culture, Class and Development in Pakistan: the Emergence of an Industrial Bourgeoisie in Punjab.” I have published seven books on Pakistan, and am working on my eighth.
My time in Girot was one of the most delightful time in my life: a simple place that didn’t have electricity when I first visited it. We would race camels in the nearby desert, and I loved the hospitality extended by everyone I visited there, including the weaver who made this blanket.