If you know me, you know that I have a hundred stories from the 10 days that I spent in Bathinda during college. I had been dreading this trip for months but I’m so glad that I ended up going.

I grew up thinking I was a city girl, but this 10 and a half hour road trip to Punjab changed my mind completely. I loved every bit of the trip, from the fresh saag we had for lunch to the 2 am room service chai we ordered every single day. This trip really was a canon event for me. I know it sounds corny, but the pind and all the people I met there will always have a piece of my heart. I don’t speak a word of Punjabi but the connection and bonds we made didn’t need words.

In Punjab, the craft of making Panja Durries is preserved by the women in the family. The durries are woven by hand and the design is perfected with the use of the Panja, a metallic claw-like tool used to beat and set the threads in the warp.