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Urvashi
Using a variety of blocks to create just one motif, an artisan’s deft hands illuminates a simple piece of Mulberry silk with delicate floral and geometric motifs. Another crafts-person adds a layer of shimmer to it with intricate mukaish work, and yet another, collaborates with a designer to shape the fabric into feminine cuts. And…
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From House To Home In Just A Few Clicks
That yellow ikat rug you brought from Bali, those dhokra dancers a dear friend gifted to you, your mom’s set of silver frames or that planter you just bought on a whim…these are the things that make your home look like a 3D version of you. And its elements change just as you do…a new…
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A for Ajrakh: Fascinating stories about India’s block prints
You see them all around you – those complex geometric motifs in red and blue, the floral vines, the Mughal jali, the deep, earthy colors and the symmetry of patterns on fabric. But do you ever wonder who makes these block prints with exotic names like saudagari, dabu or Sanganeri? Do you know how the dyer…
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Road to Auroville: Why this commune attracts artists
Auroville is best known as a spiritual hotspot that attracts scores of people to its verdant, lush grounds, looking for peace and a meaning to their life. An ideal township, Auroville also attracts creative beings that are looking for a new approach to their life and work. Artists, designers and potters driven by their passion…
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Matters of the Art: In conversation with gallery owner Anchal Shinde
Shaped by her experiences and driven by her zest for art, curator and gallery owner Anchal Shinde is unapologetic about her views on the current Indian art scene. She studied commercial arts at South Delhi Polytechnic and fed her love for art with courses from the University of Melbourne and the School of Oriental and African Studies…
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Colors of the Earth: The Allure of Natural Dyes
In 1856, a 14-year old William Henry Perkin invented aniline purple or Mauve, while trying to synthesize Quinine from chemicals derived from coal tar. His little accident created a whole new industry of chemical dyes and put natural dyeing, one of mankind’s great achievements, on the list of endangered arts. Indigo blue, Tyrean purple, Madder…
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Out of the Woodwork
In a world of steel, glass and chrome, where does wood, one of the earliest materials used in a home fit in? In nearly every corner! As accents like keepsake boxes, tissue boxes and tea-lights, as serveware like trays, platters and bowls or table ware with coasters and napkin holders. Once largely relegated to the…
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Wallflowers
Every society continuously draws from its own past to re-define its collective aesthetic and it is quite often visible in clothing fashions, decorations in the home and of course in the revival of ideas. In this spirit it is a great idea and one that is rapidly gaining ground, to use vintage lithographs, advertising collaterals…
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Design by Flowers
Roses, tulips, chrysanthemums and peonies; acanthus and Irises… the grammar of ornamentation on textiles, jewelry, furniture and architecture has always included flowers. Whether they were carved onto wood, sculpted in stone or block printed on fabric, the human world has had an unceasing fascination with floral motifs. Flowers were perhaps one of the first things…
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In a Qila
How Qilasaaz is effecting change in the lives of women artisans of Mahmudabad. The backbone of the erstwhile world of feudal privilege and opulence was always an invisible army of skilled craftsmen/women and artisans. They ensured a splendor and an aesthetic richness that was often breathtaking. Their efforts affected every aspect of life then and…
Storytellers of Wonder 