Mirzapur is an area in Uttar Pradesh with a high population of carpet weavers. Most of them replicate old Mughal designs, copy abstract art and old English paintings or create geometric patterns. They make tufted and knotted floor coverings and flat durries in cotton or wool. Being able to read and write Urdu, and being young and of a poetic nature, Mohammad Kalam had an advantage when given the challenge of developing calligraphy for a carpet. He was shown a small book of poems by Khalil Gibran with calligraphy by Salah Moussawy, "Amour et Femmes".