Mandir – Hindu shrine
Main Ganesha murti at the Broome Street Temple, decorated for Ganesh Chathurti 2011
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Shrines in India are often built near ant nests, which attract snakes. The deities are adorned with garlands in an act of worship.
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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. There has been much interest in the use of new artificial intelligence tools for writing. What about AI for objects? Craft provides a critical perspective on technology. In this case, we can assess how well algorithms can help us navigate complex collections of craft objects. It also opens our eyes to the innovative culture of contemporary India which seeks to connect the past to the future. We invite you to an online workshop to explore INTERWOVEN, an AI-based platform developed in partnership with Microsoft, that enables users to visualise and draw connections between […]
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.
The Heart of the Necklace: A reverse Sleeping Beauty story – 20 December - Listen to stories by Gauri Raje about the bead jewellery by Sitaben Chavda, a unique maker from Ahmedabad.
Kumarisari ✿ Buy forward fashion - We learn the thinking behind an innovative approach to India's vibrant market in saris, applying circular economy principles.
Greening Delhi: An interview with Ranjit Sabikhi - Chitra Balasubramaniam interviews architect Ranjit Sabikhi about his new book, A Sense of Space – The Crisis of Urban Design in India.
Marasim: Two films that connect craft with cinema and literature - Our friends from the Craft Village project share two beautiful video essays that celebrate craft from the perspective of cinema and writing.
Kashmiriyat: Craft out of conflict - Harpreet Padam ventures to Kashmir for craft development, but finds the conflict difficult to ignore. He works with local artisans to develop papier maché objects that reflect their daily life.
Asif Shaikh and Aziz Murtazaev ✿ A dialogue of print and stitch - Our October laurel goes to Our October laurel goes to an eloquent collaboration between Indian embroiderer Asif Shaik and Uzbek ikat maker Aziz Murtazaev.an eloquent collaboration between Indian embroider Asif Shaik and Uzbek ikat maker Aziz Murtazaev.
The Princess & the Bael Fruit ✿ A unique encounter with Warli art on 24 October - Garland presents a new kind of encounter with craft and object-telling.
Chikankari: The gift of health - Jaspal Kalra's scholarship leads him back to Lucknow where he celebrates those who add delight to our new masked identities.
A village delivered to your home: Report from the Selvedge World Fair - Helen Ting finds new ways to showcase cloth-making traditions in a pioneering festival.
Pashmina: A perennial luxury - Khushbu Mathur reflects on the enduring appeal of the Kashmiri shawls made from the wool of the Himalayan Ibex.
Inspired by the peoli ✿ Textiles that emerge between the river and the forest - Vasanthi shares her experience of nurturing a grounded textile enterprise in Uttarakhand.
Fashion from silent Indian cinema: The blossom of the cobbler’s flower - LOkesh Ghai introduces a new course on the role of textiles in Indian cinema. He offers a sample from the controversial silent film "A Throw of the Dice". 
Sreenivasulu ✿ A pen-ultimate world - Sreenivasulu is an Indian software engineer who combines classical dance with recreations of the world's architecture made from used felt pens.
Terracotta at hand: The cool water bottle - Khushbu Mathur celebrates the latest evolution in Indian terracotta craft: the clay bottle to keep your water cool.
COVID: An opportunity for the handicraft sector in the long run? - LOkesh Ghai interviews artisans and finds there is more to consider than the immediate problem. This includes challenges but also a Garland of Hope and Wisdom.
Rites to Writing ✿ Ishan Khosla links craft and graphic design - Indian graphic designer Ishan Khosla is presenting a model for creating typefaces from craft on 14 June 2020 at 1:30pm IST.
Rahul Kumar ✿ Ceramic art and science - Utkarsh interviews Indian ceramic artist Rahul Kumar about his art and science of technique.
India Craft Week live 1-3 May - Garland supports Craft Village in its India Craft Week online forum 1-3 May 2020, covering the breadth of the nation's impressive crafts.
When there’s nowhere left to turn: The need to support Indian village crafts - Ashoke Chatterjee issues a call for support to help India's artisans cope with the unprecedented crisis of a national lockdown.
Chandan Bose ✿ The rich social world of patam art in Telangana - Our latest podcast interview with leading craft scholars includes Chandan Bose, whose study of naqqash artisans in Telangana reveals a sophisticated narrative art form.
Jodhaa Akbar: A love story tailor-made for today - Lachlan Blain looks behind the sixteenth-century Bollywood blockbuster Jodhaa Akbar and discovers its master storyteller, the veteran costume designer Neeta Lulla.
Shahpura School of Phad Painting ✿ Coronavirus advice - Our April laurel goes to the Shahpura School of Phad Painting, including Vijay and Vivek Joshi, who produced a canvas that beautifully details the dos and don'ts in response to the coronavirus.
Bakhiya: The beauty of the imperfect - Bakhiya is not just a form of sewing with long stitches. It also offers a sufi meditation on the beauty of the imperfect and fragility of life, as reflected in these poignant works at Threshold Art Gallery, Delhi. 
The power of wedding adornments - Khushbu Mathur itemises the rituals and adornments of a Hindu wedding, showing how love is exchanged through conduits of auspiciousness.