Carpets adorn living spaces across the length and breadth of the country and are appreciated for many qualities—their design, their colours, their ‘feel’—but rarely their history. Yet, each carpet has a story hidden within its intricate details, and the value of a carpet is not only determined by what it costs, or by its technical and aesthetic qualities, but also by the story it carries. Of Indian Carpets and Carpetwallahs: An Appreciation tells the stories of Indian carpets by delving into the histories of an assortment of unique carpets—that of delicate Kashmiri carpets, a Herati-inspired carpet made in Amritsar, and even one made in Rampur jail—collected by Norwegian diplomat Jon Westborg over his lifetime.
Of Indian Carpets and Carpetwallahs: An Appreciation melds history, memory, and aesthetics beautifully to create a complete and detailed picture of the Indian carpet-making tradition.
Norwegian diplomat Jon Westborg was born in Darjeeling, India, in 1946, but spent most parts of his childhood at different mission-stations in Assam, and at a boarding school in Shillong, then the capital of Assam. At the age of thirteen, he moved to Norway.
He began his professional career as a town planner in Norway after securing multiple degrees in engineering. In 1972, he began working in refugee rehabilitation work in Bangladesh, subsequently moving on to work in roles spanning project administrator to secretary general in various countries in South Asia and Africa with NGOs, governments, and private sector organizations. After earning an MPhil from the Cranfield School of Management, UK, in 1990, he joined as Councillor and Representative of NORAD in India, Bhutan, and Nepal at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi, and became its deputy director general in 1993. Three years later, he was appointed Norway’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives and was a central figure in the Norwegian facilitation of the Sri Lankan peace process and ceasefire. In 2003, he was appointed Ambassador to India and Bhutan; he returned to Norway after four years. Prior to his retirement in 2010, he served as Ambassador/Special Envoy to the South Asia region. He is a Knight Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit and is recognized as an Overseas Citizen of India. His fascination with carpets dates back to his childhood, but only became a real passion and a subject of study during his first posting in Delhi in 1990.
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