Shrines adorn the Indian landscape. Visit and enjoy the epic stories of craft from India.

✿

Shrines in India are often built near ant nests, which attract snakes. The deities are adorned with garlands in an act of worship.

✿

Heart of Parijat - Ranjith Sivaraman shares his poem inspired by Tanya Dutt's recounting of the romantic myth of the coral jasmine flower.

Dancing bodies, moving touch: Textiles, materiality and touch in Indian dance - Krishna P Unny from the MAP Academy finds in Briana Blasko's photographs a testament to the intimate relationship between textiles and dance.

Vakr ✿ A fluid touch - Devyani Gupta's furniture morphs into curved forms that tell ancient stories.

Looms of Ladakh: Keeping with knowledge of shesrig alive - Nalin Rai tells of an association in India's remote north that creates opportunities for local women by shifting pashmina production closer to the source.

The sacred garden: A photo essay of worship through flowers - Prerana Chandak shares images of the flowers that play an important role in her Hindu faith and practice.

Lotus blooms and divine blessings: A spiritual journey through fragrance and festivity - Japneet Keith recounts the floral scents associated with the deities invoked in Durga Puja.

The Song of the actinomycetes - Priyanka Jain sings about microbes in medieval Indian miniature paintings of a love that is triggered by the smell of rain.

Through the garden gate: Litrahb Perfumery and the world of synaesthesia  - Chloé Wolifson learns about the olfactory curating of Bharti Lalwani, which resulted in a scent canopy for an exhibition of Indian miniatures.

Surrounded by scent: Perfumery in the courtly cultures of early-modern South Asia - Simran Agarwal finds an extraordinarily elaborate culture of fragrance in India's Persianate world.

A fragrant pilgrimage to the Norbulingka Institute - Japneeth Keith ventures to little Lhasa, the source of Tibetan incense craft. 

Dhoop-batti: The fragrance rises from the roots - LOkesh Ghai discovers the authentic incense of the Gaddi nomadic community, redolent of the land they traverse.

The rose perfumers of Kannauj - Dwan Kaoukji tracks the production of the most exquisite floral scent from the perfumeries of Kuwait to the traditional distillers of Uttar Pradesh

A manifesto for craft in space design - Join our Reinventing the Wheel series for a focus on the value of Indian craft, featuring a manifesto of the Indian Institute of Interior Designers

Lavina Baldota on curating Sutr Santati - We speak with Lavina Baldota about the epic curation of Sutr Santati, an exhibition of contemporary Indian textiles celebrating 75 years of independence.

Kalpataru ✿ Jharkhand’s Tree of Life by Sahil & Sarthak - Our August laurel goes to the epic Tree of Life made by Sahil & Sarthak for the Mall of Ranchi, Jharkhand, India.

Who owns craft knowledge? - As part of our Reinventing the Wheel series, Annapurna Mamidipudi introduces a new publication that questions the formalisation of craft knowledge.

Weaving song, work and memory in Indian culture - MAP Academy reveals the intimate and authentic relationship between weaving and song in Indian culture. 

“I feel as if I’ve dropped into a secret cave”: The power of clay in recent Indian fiction - D Wood reviews two recent novels by Indian writers that evoke the allure of ceramics.

Remembering Jasleen Dhamija: India’s custodian of crafts (1933-2023) - Saiful Islam shares memories of Jasleen Dhamija, an always charming legend of Indian craft

The herb that must not be named - Divya N writes about a jewellery made with herbs that protects children from harm.

Time travelers: Gadgets that made heirlooms - The COVID pandemic prompted Priyanka Kochar to explore the curious objects made redundant by modernity.

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay on “the right kind of spoon” - Aarti Kalwa introduces the lecture by Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay which advocates for the idea of world craft.

Staining lips red for centuries: The heart-shaped betel leaf - The MAP Academy share the rich ornamental culture involving the consumption of paan, stuffed betel leaf, in India.

Why Runs The Abhisarika - Priyanka Jain presents a unique recitation of Sanskrit mythology and neuroscience. 

Follow the algorithm: New journeys through the world of textiles - As part of Reinventing the Wheel, India's MAP Academy will present a new platform that helps in discovering new artworks and textile objects based on artificial intelligence.

Pushkar women balance life and work on ornate indonis - Shefali Martins writes about the indoni, a richly decorated base still used today by Rajasthanis for balancing pots on their heads.

Transforming the landscape into colour: India’s natural dyes - MAP Academy detail the development of India's iconic natural dyes: madder, indigo and lac.

Spinning as meditation - YuddhavirSingh Jadeja explains how spinning became part of his morning routine.

Sherwani: The influence of British rule on elite Indian menswear - You are invited to hear Toolika Gupta present her new book about the influence of the British Raj on what seems a distinctively Persian costume.

Issey Miyake: Pleating craft and technology together  - LOkesh Ghai offers a personal tribute to the Japanese designer who did so much to bring Asian creativity to fashion, including an appreciation of Indian handmade textiles.

Mandir मंदिर ✿ Stories from India - Shrines adorn the Indian landscape. Visit and enjoy the epic stories of craft from India.

Bombay, batik & biotechnics: Gender and nationhood in modernist textiles - As part of our Reinventing the Wheel series, Antonia Behan, Vishal Khandelwal and Michael Mamp reflect on the careers of Ethel Mairet, Nelly Sethna and Ethel Wallace respectively.

Know your weaver: The revival of Udupi sarees - Nalin Rai outlines the campaign that helped rescue the precious craft of weaving Udupi sarees in Karnataka.

Fold craft: Uncovering the Nivi sari - In our Reinventing the Wheel series, Kaamya Sharma reflects on the emergence of the Nivi sari as a national dress and how it demonstrates the craft of using as well as making.

Yarn ni Yatra: Crafts as a board game - Mridushi Singhal explains the rules of the beautiful board game she designed to understand the craft cultures of Kutch.

Bappaditya Biswas ✿ A chintz conversation - Our February Laurel goes to Bappaditya Biswas for his glorious chintz reflecting a conversation between birds and flowers.

The year of the lotus - Toolika Gupta introduces the lotus motif as a guide to Garland's journey in its seventh year.

Pachanbhai ✿ A finely woven story of change - Our December laurel is awarded to the Kutchi weaver, Pachanbhai, for a beautiful scarf featuring a finely woven story of climate change.

Kangri: The dilemma of the Kashmiri portable heater - Irfan Ahmed and Saima Andleeb document the distinctive Kashmiri personal heater, which despite its heritage is destined to be a dying craft.

To steal a golden earring: In search of the chola in the mountains of Himachal Pradesh  - LOkesh Ghai continues his journey through the Himalayas in quest of the legendary choga over-garment.

Ulaṭbānsi / Zigzagging: Filming the spirit of weaving - Gauri Nori explains the thinking behind the film Ulaṭbānsi / Zigzagging, in which Kutchi weavers sing and tell of the spiritual value of the handloom.

Polishing: An overlooked craft - Jahan Rezakhanlou reveals the wonders of polishing in Japan, Uzbekistan and India.

Mata ni Pachedi: Sacred textiles come to the rescue - Kiran Chitara shares his ancient textile craft that rescues culture and fortune from destruction.

A Kolam for Washington DC - Shanthi Chandrasekar tracks the memories of Kolam adornment rituals that now inspire a homage to the US Vice-President.

Project Dor ✿ Care to wear - Aparna Negi promotes a textile project involving migrant women from Bihar and Jharkhand.

Anuradha Chauhan: A secret of the Himalayas - Join us in the foothills of the Himalayas to learn its stories and support its crafts.

Exile from the Forest: Craft collaboration in the time of COVID - Reflecting on his experience commissioning kāvads, Ishan Khosla writes about what a global pandemic can teach us about new ways of working with craftspeople. 

The forest on my flesh - Priyanka Jain draws on ancient Sanskrit poetry and Indian miniatures to reflect a contemporary appreciation of our microbial desires. 

Kumbharwada: Make in Dharavi - Nidhi Agrawal documents the dynamic potter's community in Mumbai's enterprising Dharavi neighbourhood.

In search of the keys: The chola regional over-garment, from the mountains of Himachal Pradesh - LOkesh Ghai shares his journey into the Himalayas, in search of a remarkable pleated fabric.

Confluence: Visualising Mumbai’s waters - Ipshita Karmakar and Sara Ahmed introduce a museum that honours the lifeblood of India's most maximum city

The Firebird Rises: Story-making - A unique series of story-making events opens our imagination to the beautiful world of block printing and making.

Sindhu – The river line: A dialogue - Pallavi Arora and Shirley Bhatnagar reanimate ancient pottery from the Indus valley civilisation

Ryndia silk of the Khasi Hills, Meghalaya - Nisa Lyndem speaks for her Khasi culture in north-east Indian and the beautiful silk dyed shawls that bear its tradition.

Kanta Kadse ✿ Khajur ki pattiyo - Our May Laurel goes to a broom maker from Madhya Pradesh, whose elegant implements bring beauty to the home.

It began with the daughter-in-law ✿ The story of Bhujodi weavers on 29 May - This story-making event offers a unique encounter with the legendary weavers of Kutch.

Jay Thakkar ✿ The fourth wave in craft education - Our first podcast of 2021 features one of the most innovative forces in Indian craft, reflecting Ahmedabad's status as a unique cultural centre.

Rajan Vankar ✿ A lifelong love for the loom - Using his hard-won English skills, Rajan Vankar shares his pride and knowledge of Kutchi weaving designs and techniques, inspired by nature and traditions intertwined.

Sitaben ✿ A narrative of courage - LOkesh Ghai profiles a bead artisan whose beautiful work reflects an epic commitment to her craft.

Erroll Pires ✿ The master of ply-split braiding - Helen Ting and Khushbu Mathur ask Erroll Pires from Ahmedabad how a timeless textile technique became his life's work.

✿

Go back to the Garden.

Tags

garden of stories | India