Aham Bhumika

Last month I did a guest post for The Handmade Co about my process and experience of working for Aham Bhumika - an NGO in Bhopal. Here is the link for the post.

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Aham Bhumika is an NGO based in Bhopal - working on education and women empowerment for over 3 years. They have skill trained 40+ women in hand embroidery in the outskirts of Bhopal. Embroidery as a skill and a method of making; requires least investment. Wonders are embroidered with a single needle, thread and a piece of cloth.

Two years ago when I crossed path with the founder of Aham Bhumika, I was overwhelmed by the quality of embroidery and dedication towards the “handmade” concept. They were looking for design inputs to enhance their product line.

Design is not a discipline; it is a way of life – is what I followed while working on project Aham Bhumika.

My idea of a good product is – good material, proper process, right detailing, optimum design and colour. Textile design is more of what you touch and feel than what you see.

Streamlining fabric sourcing and pre-processes of embroidery and utilizing existing fabric is what I started with. The result of this was a small collection of zipper pouches named EYE CANDY.

Ranging from local inspiration of Gond Art to global inspiration like Sashiko and Otomi embroideries, I made sure that design is process driven and is as cohesive as possible. It is a need of hour for craft design to have global aspirations along with a strong local foundation. 

The fun part of working with crafts is the hands-on approach it demands to achieve desired outcome. 

Happy Horchow Sunday

:) 

Its a Happy Sunday! My "Prachi" design is now on Horchow. Table runner textured with red and gold beads!! Do you like it??

My dear friends in the US can grab this beaded glamor for the coming festivities from here.  :)

Blue

Some more napkins.. hand embroidered and Blue :)

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Napkins

In magenta, gray, turquoise and lavender... my new development is here!!!
A set of hand embroidered napkins. >Some napkin rings are here.

A sneak peek

New development!!

Lately, worked on set of napkins, some hand embroidered.. and some aari embroidered...

Muharram

Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar and also one of the sacred months of the year. Being religiously very significant, many rites and rituals are carried out in this month. The tenth day of this month is noteworthy being the death anniversary of Imam Hussain, the grandson of Prophet Mohammad. Processions are carried by the mourners on this day. More info on Muharram can be read here and here.

Street besides an Iranian Mosque

Imam Hussain sacrificed his life in the battle of Kerbala. The whole story of the sacrifice quite much revolves around water. The tragedy happened to be a hard one where the people fallen prey were refrained from having a single drop of water. They were un-courteously killed for having water or even being able to go near any water body. This is the reason why, today, during the month of Muharram one can find people courteously serving water on all the road sides. Stories of the martyrdom are narrated and acts are played on the same subject to make people aware of Islam and its virtues.

Decorations done on streets

Water being served on the streets

Last week, when we (me and my friend Dj) were on one of our Mumbai exploring days under the JJ flyover, we encountered a lot of rites and practices that were being followed for Muharram, that being the first day of the month and those were all the preparations for the tenth day. Water was being served on all streets and corners. The water stalls had been decorated with illustrations and holy writings that depicted and recited the tragic story. Muharram being the month of mourning, black color was a dominant one on all the decorations. Beautifully embroidered cloths were hung all over the place which illustrated the story. At the first glance I thought these clothes were printed, but a close look to it proved to be of a wonder! These were all machine embroidered cloths with aari embroidery in majority along with other kind of stitches. Embroidered with bright and bold colors on a black base gave these cloths a different look. These cloths reminded me of the patachitra paintings of Bengal, Mata-ni-pachedi of Gujarat, Pabuji par of Rajasthan and even the Pichvai paintings of Nathadwara all illustrating stories of gods and goddesses.

Cloth depicting the story of the need for water, killing of Imam Husain's horse etc

All these beautiful cloths are embroidered

We also had a chance to see some in-house decorations done for the occasion of Muharram. These decorations include a dummy horse of Imam Hussain, beautiful ornate metal (possibly silver) hands (each hand here represents each martyr) and many other things; all embellished by fabrics of glitter and sheen. Here are a few pictures showing these decorations.

Muharram decorations inside a house

This was indeed a very lively, welcoming and enriching explorience!!

Kashmiri Hastakari- Bags

Sling Bag

Hand Bag

Today, I got these bags as gifts! From Srinagar!! I have a pouch of Kashmiri wool aari embroidery on a white base. Such embroidery on white cotton base is very common. Here, the embroidery is done on dyed and patched leather. It has an awesome texture. And to add, the colors are very typically fall colors of this season: aubergine, mauve and true red with brown, black and olive greens and accent of mellow rose. I love these bags!

Bag from Kachchh

The obsession of bags continues...

Hand embroidered bag from Kachchh, Gujarat

The Sari

Image: Sari, silk screen print on crepe + silk hand embroidery
Photo Credits: Swapnil Sakhare 2006

Sari, the most beautiful Indian drape that celebrates a woman.
The above sari is with a contemporary design inspired by art and tradition. The motifs are inspired from the works of artist Joan Miro, it is printed on a crepe fabric with and the borders and pallu are hand embroidered by silk with a deeper shade making the sari a monochromatic drape.

A book worth reading
Mr. Vijai Singh Katiyar, a designer, senior faculty at NID and my guide has recently written a book “Indian Saris: Traditions – Perspectives – Design". A blog on this subject by the author is here. Mr. MP Ranjan also writes about this book on his blog.
I haven't yet read the book, but I had a chance to flip through when it was still in a manuscript stage. Apart from traditions and designs, it also has a focus on the sari to be used by the younger generation which today is influenced by the western clothing. It throws light on the contemporary use of the sari.