Rugs to riches: Meet the carpet manufacturer who defied all social stigmas

It was 1978. Twenty-five-year-old Nand Kishore Chaudhary, a commerce graduate, found running his family's company, Bharat Boot House, too boring to be endured. Instead, in 1978, with just Rs 5,000 as starting capital, Chaudhary set up a carpet manufacturing unit, beginning with nine weavers. Ignoring the social stigmas about untouchability, he hired many workers from socially disadvantaged backgrounds and working with them, in eight years expanded his manufacturing units beyond Churu to 100 looms and 500 weavers. He was able to do this, he says, because "creativity merges all castes into a creative caste". As business picked up, Chaudhary began to export goods, and in search of more weavers, shifted base to Pardi, in Valsad, Gujarat. He spent nine years there, and brought many women into his workforce. "I broke the rules of our family to send my daughters abroad for higher education, and involved them in my business," says Chaudhary. It paid off; two of his daughters, Asha and Archna, look after his office in Atlanta, dealing with 5,000 retailers. His business has spread to 45 countries and has a turnover of Rs 150 crore. A decision he made to have weavers design and sell their own carpets under a new brand, the Artisan Original Collection brought major design awards. Beyond business, in 2004, he set up the Jaipur Rugs Foundation, for the welfare of weavers.