Aratrik Devvarman reflects on his homage to the craftspeople in his world.
✿ How did you come to make this film?
The film came from a very personal space because of my relationships with the people who are engaged in the studio—dyers, printers, embroiderers, supervisors—craftspeople whom I’ve known and worked with since the beginning of my career, and relationships that have endured for over 15 years now. I consider them like a second family and wanted to make a film that tells their stories and shows their side of things. We are used to appreciating a craft object for its artistry but don’t know enough about the people who make it, and this is a disconnect that hinders real understanding. For example, why should a handmade product be consistent in the way an industrially made product is, what makes it more expensive, how do we understand luxury in today’s market context, and how can we be fair about crediting craftsmen and not only designers? Are they to be appreciated only for their labour but not their minds? What is a rapidly changing environment doing to their traditional livelihoods, which have existed as interconnected, complex ecosystems for centuries?
These issues need deep reflection today. Rather than focus on the object, I wanted to share what goes into the making of the object because going behind the scenes sensitises us and deepens our appreciation of what it means to do things by hand. With this in mind, I approached Milann John, my friend and filmmaker from NID (we went to the same college) and asked her if she would do this with me. Milann is also someone who I felt had an enormous amount of empathy and experience for this sort of story.
✿ What surprised you in the making of it?
To be honest, I was already very familiar with all the subjects (people) in the film and set out to construct a narrative out of my understanding of their personalities. I knew I ran the risk of putting words into their mouths. So, while filming, it was very important for me to make space for surprises and keep an eye out for a magical moment, something unexpected, because otherwise I would miss it. Over our conversations, many private worlds opened up to me, and I felt very privileged to be allowed entry into them. It was a generosity that I’m not sure many of us would extend the other way around. But what surprised me the most over the course of the making of this film was how similar we are as people; in a way, it is the same value system that we hold close, one in which we are connected because we take pride in doing things well. We all want the same things: a secure future, acknowledgement at work, friendship, a good laugh and challenging projects.
✿ How are the values expressed in this film reflected in the way Tilla operates as a business?
Our values as a design practice and a business stem very directly from the craft context that we work in. One size does not fit all, and it is important to constantly make business decisions with both the head and the heart. It is important to dive deep into stories, take time to get to know the people we work with, nurture and respect their skills and imagine a collective future that takes into account their goals and aspirations, and not just those of the studio. For example, we still work with most of the craftspeople in the film, and when we begin new projects in new clusters, we ensure that there is longevity rather than it being a seasonal exercise. We recycle all our cutting remnants to make patchwork garments and are trying to be a zero-waste studio. But in all of this, alignment is crucial and impossible without transparency.
Short jacket constructed out of narrow woven cloth from Tripura, India, known as ‘risha’; 100% organic cotton, indigo dyed; weaver: Chandrani Deb Barma, Gamchakobra village, Tripura
✿ Do you have any current or future projects you’d like to mention?
I have been working in Tripura, my home state, on documenting and reviving narrow cloth weaving on the loin loom. Traditionally, women from tribal communities in Tripura wore a narrow cotton breast-cloth known as a Risha, which has long since been replaced by blouses and other upper garments. But this textile still holds a special place in the hearts of the weavers there, and I am trying to revive this craft by looking at new contexts for it while simultaneously working with small groups of weavers to build this into a sustained livelihood project.
✿ In a couple of sentences, can you describe the particular features of the neighbourhood where you live, including nature, culture and weather?
I live in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and our work draws heavily from the textile crafts practised in and around this region: bandhani or tie-dye, block printing, roghan, ari embroidery, folk embroideries from Kutch, applique, etc. We have very hot and dry summers and moderate winters. Paldi, my neighbourhood in Ahmedabad, is like a village for design students because it is home to NID (National Institute of Design), located on the banks of the Sabarmati river, which divided the city longitudinally, as well as culturally into old and new.
About Aratrik Devvarman
Aratrik Dev Varman is an Indian designer and the founder of Tilla, a design studio based in Ahmedabad, India. Established in 2011, Tilla celebrates handmade Indian textiles and craftsmanship4. Dev Varman studied textile design at the National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad and fashion design at École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs (ENSAD) in Paris. He has also initiated The Tripura Project, which led to the publication of a book titled “The Risha: History in a Narrow Weave” by Marg in 20241. Visit tilla.in.
