Former teacher Aijaz Bugti and his woven charpoys shot to fame on social media after a PPP MNA tweeted about his work and linked to his profile.
Bugti is from Nazar Mohammad village near Sanghar district. He is known for his beautiful woven charpoys. Speaking to SAMAA Digital, he said he was thankful to MNA Nafisa Shah for not only posting about him on Twitter, but also personally contacting him to encourage his work as an artisan.
The politician also assured him she would share his work on international forums.
Discovered another artisan #AijazBugti from #Sanghar – village #NazarMohamadBugti who has taken charpai weaving to to another level. #HandMade #Pakistan . His face book page is https://t.co/9UEgoTPwXn pic.twitter.com/QWSZDs6Yu1
— Nafisa Shah (@ShahNafisa) September 21, 2020
About Aijaz Bugti
Forty-eight-year-old Aijaz Bugti learned the art of weaving cots at the age of 14 from his late father Mohammad Saleem Khan, who was also a great weaver.
“I retired early from the government [as a primary teacher] and started to spend all my time on weaving, which has not only earned me fame but I am also earning enough to look after my family.”
Bugti said one of his three sons, Sarfaraz Ali, helps him work to carry on the family legacy while also continuing his studies. He further added that he mainly sells his decorated cots on orders that he receives from across the nation.
“I sell my decorated cots for between Rs18,000 and Rs32,000,” he said, adding that despite the increasing costs of his raw materials, he tries to charge as little as he can to promote his work and provide quality charpoys to his customers. With over 200 unique designs, the skilled artisan says he has made thousands of the sought after charpoys.
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“This is a great part of Sindh’s culture and I want to promote it more by using modern methods.”
Bugti said he has been awarded twice by the deputy commissioner of Sanhar in 2018 and then again in 2019 and after seeing his work, Sindh Culture Minister Syed Sardar Ali Shah also sent a team to visit him.
He said that the woodwork on the charpoys was done by known carpenter Ustad Mohammad Ibrahim Lehari until his recent death.
Now, I have to collect raw wooden structures from Hala, which is famous for cultural decoration pieces and  handicrafts.
Bugti said that while most regional TV channels and newspapers had given him enough coverage by filming documentaries and writing stories on his work, no national media house ever tried to contact him to promote his art.
Via Samaa
