Khyali Ram

Artisan Organization: Khyali Ram

Country: India

"Hi, I am Khyali Ram and I was born and brought up in the Churu district of Rajasthan. We are a big family of six brothers and one sister. So it was great fun growing up together. I studied until the 10th Standard and moved to Punjab in 1980 in search of a job. One of my elder brothers was working there.

"I got a job in a handicraft enterprise that dealt in decorative items and games of all kinds. While working there, I had the opportunity to learn the various techniques for crafting chess sets. In 1984, a riot broke out in Punjab and I had to go back to my hometown. But when the situation got back to normal, I returned to my job Punjab where I worked until 1987. My boss offered to let me continue my job in Delhi, where I worked until 1992 when that office was closed.

"By then, I was quite an expert so I teamed up with my brother-in-law and together we started a small workshop with money our family and relatives lent us. Initially, we made chess sets and sold them in the local market. Then a client ordered 100 sets. This was our first big sale. Over the years, our workshop has continued to grow.

"We specialize only in games and create a huge variety of them. Now through Novica, my name will go along with our designs, and for that I am really thrilled. Thank you for making this possible.""