Woodcarving and inlay work Book Cover

Pilakhuwa and its adjoining areas in western Uttar Pradesh have, for centuries, been home to woodcarvers who sustained the printing industry by making patterned blocks. As screen printing and industrial printing took over most of the market, their finely honed ability was put to wider use. Families like that of Arshad Kafeel began to make carved boxes or inlaid them with brass, white metal and copper wire. Picture and mirror frames, vase holders, lamps, low tables and wall plaques with intricately laid designs have earned them national acclaim. While tentatively exploring calligraphy, Arshad was encouraged to communicate something of significance for his family.

Displaying another crafting technique, the second book cover is carved with script that is a replica of an ancient Sanskrit palindrome in Devanagari. The words are the same whether read from top to bottom, bottom up, left to right and right to left.