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An Uncommon Journey
Design in India permeates everything we do. Its in our clothes, our buildings, our temples, even in the pots and pans we use in the kitchen. In this plentiful land of many seasons and myriad languages, of ancient civilizations and constant influx of new peoples; every material possession has become a canvas for expression. It…
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Koraput – Reviving Odisha’s Timeless Craft
Koraput – rough, coarse to the touch, yet soft on the skin and completely organic. Like a wildflower’s unrefined beauty, Koraput’s elegance lies in its unassumingness and simplicity. Woven for centuries in Kotpad – a dusty little town in Odisha, this fabric is entrenched in Kotpad’s regional identity. Traditionally woven by the Mirgan community, Koraput…
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The Untold Tales of Khesh Weaving
The khesh weaving process is simple. The warp is with new yarn and the weft is with strips of thin cloth obtained by tearing old sarees length wise. Because of the tradition of khesh weaving in Birbhum in the last many years, a market for old sarees has come up in Amodpur, where old sarees…
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National Handloom Day, India: Jaypore Speaks with Experts
The Indian government announces 7th August as India’s first ever National Handloom Day, with the unveiling of the brand ‘India Handloom’. “The National Handloom Day and honouring of handloom weavers will not only provide an impetus to the handloom industry of India but would also serve to promote handloom as a genuine international product of…
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Reviving the Lost and Forgotten
When the history of India’s crafts and textiles is written, it will speak of treasures that once occupied a pride of place in the lives of royalty. These are today lost in the annals of time, fighting to survive the dynamics of the contemporary marketplace. However, there is a breed of revivalists and designers who…
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Resurgence of ‘Shakti’: Shamlu Dudeja’s Kantha Crusade in Bengal
Each piece of work is a labour of love, in its patterns, the story of simple women, their joys, sorrows and aspirations. The origin of Kantha can be traced back to the Buddhist era when devotees had to seek alms for their daily survival. The ‘bhikshus’ often received old fabrics which they layered and tacked…
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7 Indian Women of Style & Substance
These legendary women represent the quintessentially Indian sense of style by pairing handcrafted sarees with elegant accessories in their unique way…read on! 1. MS Subbulakshmi Image Courtesy: The Hindu & karpuramanjari.blogspot.in A renowned Carnatic vocalist and the first Indian singer to receive the Bharat Ratna Award, the divine voice of MS Subbulakshmi is an inspiration…
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Ganjifa: 16th Century Traditional Playing Cards of India
The Story of Ganjifa In June 1527 Babar, founder of the Mughal dynasty, sent a unique gift to Shah Hasan, a close friend from Sindh. It was an exquisite set of Mughal Ganjifa round playing cards, each hand-painted on ivory and inlaid with precious stones. Little did he know that he was going to spark…
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The Royal Atelier: Preserving the Legacy of Miniature Paintings in Kishangarh
Kishangarh is an erstwhile princely state founded by the Jodhpur prince Kishan Singh in 1609. Located at the centre of this now bustling town is the Kishangarh Fort, enveloped by the Phool Mahal Palace and the Gondulav lake beyond. The Fort, built in 1649, is an epitome of the Rajput and Mughal styles of architecture.…
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Mashru Project by Raw Mango: Celebrating A Lost Legacy
The word ‘mashru’ comes from the Arabic word ‘shari’a’ that means ‘permitted by Islamic law’, an allusion to the prohibition of wearing pure silk fabrics by Muslim men, citing laws in the Quran that restrains luxury in their lifestyle. Mashru is a mixed fabric composed of a smooth silk surface and soft cotton backing, thus making…
Storytellers of Wonder 