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Naseer

"Hi friends, it's beautiful to know you all.

"For me, paradise on earth is my hometown in the exotic land of Kashmir. I spent my childhood, schooling and even college in Srinagar and I enjoyed every bit of it. In Kashmir, arts and crafts have a long lineage and almost every household practices one form or another. Even my own family has been in this field for many decades now. My uncle, Nasir, is a great papier maché craftsman and I remember spending a lot of time with him. My father was a government employee so he refrained from working in this field.

"Uncle Nasir has been a great inspiration to me. Since he was alone and unmarried, I spent a great deal of time with him. In fact, most of my youth was spent with him and I stayed in his home while completing my graduation. He had a wonderful eye for quality and fineness. I would watch him create exquisite art – his color combinations, his neatness –it was a pleasure watching him work. After my graduation, I decided to follow in his footsteps.

"I moved to Delhi and became a trader in shawls and stoles. A mutual friend introduced me to Paula, an Italian woman. We clicked instantly. I understood her concept, style, etc., and she encouraged me to take up designing. I trained under her. It was not a difficult task for me since I already had a good sense of design, quality and color combinations that I inherited from my uncle. But Paula taught me the finesse of my art. She was my mentor and I am still learning from her. I'd sum it up by saying, 'She dreams and I create!'

"In 2000, I started out on my own. My first creation was a jacket and it was fantastic. Paula introduced me to another friend, Alape Kaur, an amazing person and a great associate of mine. I call her Maharani, meaning 'the queen' because of her greatness as a human being. She is graceful, with the manners of a queen and, more than anything, she is a very generous person. She played an important part in shaping my life. I create dresses for her and her family for weddings and special occasions.

"Today, my younger brother is working with me. Our designs have been well received in many parts of the world and we exhibited them in Paris in 2006.

"I am so happy with my work. There were times when I was apprehensive and I felt shy about facing the market. But several years ago I had the opportunity to design outfits for Taj Mahal, a Bollywood movie, and today I am confident and optimistic. My wife is a designer and we have two children. When they're older, she'll join me and we will do great work together.