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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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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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7 Workwear Styles That Every Wardrobe Needs
Contemplating about what to wear to work? Here’s a simple work wear guide from Monday to Sunday that will be your ultimate wardrobe changer! Beat the Monday blues with a pop of bright pink and add summer spirit with hand crafted silver bangles. 1. Pink Hand Woven Silk Saree 2. Brown Saddle Tote 3. Dendrite…
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6 Ways To Reinvent Your Saree Style
The most elegant of Indian dress forms, the six unstitched yards gracefully accommodate individual creativity and aesthetic, making the saree so unique to each wearer. Read how this time tested and much loved silhouette can make way into your wardrobe. 1. Cocktail Craze Whether you’re attending a cocktail party or a wedding, add a chic…
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Event Focus: Devi Art Foundation Presents ‘Fracture – Indian Textiles, New Conversations’
Fracture is not a break. It is a continuation and a cycle, of tradition, which itself is ongoing and ever evolving. Drawing from India’s rich handloom and textile tradition, the Devi Art Foundation spearheaded by Lekha and Anupam Poddar, alongwith three co-curators – textile curator Mayank Mansingh Kaul, designer Sanjay Garg and textile author and…
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The Handloom Sector Needs Your Help
Handlooms are India’s unique heritage and the livelihood of lakhs of skilled handloom weavers. A move is on to repeal The Handloom Reservation Act, which since 1985 has been protecting traditional Handloom weaves, especially saris, from being copied by their machine-made and powerloom competitors. It was a small but important protection for Handloom weavers, who otherwise…
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The Geometric Genius of Toda Tribal Embroidery
This red and black play on cloth is an embroidery so fine that it looks like weaving. Toda embroidery created by the Toda tribe inhabiting the Niligiris, is reversible and they consider the rougher underside of the fabric as the ‘right’ side. The Todas are a small pastoral community who live on the isolated Nilgiri…
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The Vankars of Bhujodi
The festive vibrance of embroidered textiles is the natural show stealer within Kutch textiles, but the subtler, elegant outcome from the rhythmic clacking of Bhujodi’s Vankar family of weavers is not far behind in appeal. The Vankars or weavers of Kutch weave colorful threads on the loom, with the yarn coming from Bhujodi, Ludhiana, Rajasthan…
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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…
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Bandha Re-Interpreted: The Famed Ikat of Odisha
Indian Ikat particularly from Odisha is admired for extraordinary illustration in resist technique. Nuapatna village in the cuttack district of Eastern Odisha is famous for the religious weft ikat textile – Geeta Govinda. It was inscribed with 12th Century poems of Jayadev written in the praise of Lord Krishna. In this village weavers belonging to…
Storytellers of Wonder 