Macrame pe charcha for well-being

It was in 2009, when her daughter studied in a Waldorf-inspired school, that psychologist Nirupama...

The return of the Manjappai

In Madurai, where tradition and everyday life blend quietly, the Yellow Bag Foundation...

Collecting waste, creating beauty

It was the 1990s, and Dharamshala’s waste problem was increasing day by day. Tourists and...

Woodcraft along the river: Etikoppaka

Etikoppaka is a small village about 1 km square on the banks of the river Varaha. It’s what the...

Lighting Up Futures: Terracotta Diyas

Kalaiselvi and Murugan of Pondicherry were just married when the idea of their own enterprise took...

Threading Heritage Anew: Kasuti

Walk through any traditional home in Karnataka, and you might find a doorframe dressed with...

From Floors to Indoors: The Kolam Collection

The Irulas are famous for one thing: catching squiggly little creatures on the ground, getting...

Crafting dignity in Madurai: The Bhoomika Project

The Bhoomika Project in Madurai doesn’t look like a typical workshop. There are no large machines...

Banjara: Designing for the Future

When Rohit Rathod’s grandfather came to see his grandmother to seek her hand in marriage, his...

On a Scroll: The Cheriyal Story

If you ever walk into Sai Kiran Dhanalakota’s home in Hyderabad, the first thing you notice is the...

Practice Makes Perfect: Club Artizen’s Vegan Line

When Kairavi Shahu started work on the exclusive vegan leather line for Club Artizen, the task...

Striking Black: The Art of Bidri

After school, Taher Siddiqui, then nine, would go directly to the karkhana (factory), helping his...

For Whom the Bell Tolls

In the quiet village of Zura, the rhythmic clang of hammer on metal still echoes through the...

Patchwork: From rags to riches!

Yesterday I came home with a noticeable tear on my shirt. While one part of me was  in pain to let...

The story of a home

For twenty years, the Rehoboth Home for the Mentally Disabled have been working with women who...

Resist and dye: The Shibori revolution

Of late, we have been hearing a lot of the word shibori. If the name doesn’t sound very Indian,...

For a colourful future: Bannada Dhara

One small village and five women. COVID. A passion to make something of themselves. One person to...

Channapatna: Wood toys, for good

The word “Channapatna” literally means “good town”, but the more colloquial name for it, gives a...

Club Artizen Travel Box for Green Journeys

Summer means mangoes, heat, and travel! Whether you travel to your relatives’ homes, Ooty, Shimla,...

Nothing Goes Waste!

Jaipur prints, for many of us, bring to mind one type of print, perhaps the ones we see in...

Handcrafted dissent

Craft. When you hear this word, what image comes to mind? A woman, knitting or embroidering,...

Seva Trust. They also make bags.

The first product that we came across, from Seva Charitable Trust, was the gobar diya. These...

A different kind of shark tank

Sura—meaning shark—has helped women in a rural coastal area in Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, fasten their...

Little-known facts about Kalamkari!

If you live in India, you could not have missed hearing the word ‘kalamkari.’ Chances are, you own...

Mewar Art: Small wonders

Artists were cameramen of those days, says Sachin Kothari, of Fine Arts School, Udaipur, of Mewar...

Palmistry!

Palm Leaves Cluster, Pulicat In Pulicat, the palm tree is a constant presence--be it in the crafts...

Dotted Lines

Lilesh has a master’s degree in social work. He is a farmer too. However, the identity he wishes...

A second life

A priest standing next to a pile of used flowers. An NGO whose staff offered to help the priest....

Nesting skills

Thirankoodu literally means “nest of skills.” This is what Satya Special School’s project,...

Honey, I shrunk the income gap!

In 1993, three friends backpacked across the Nilgiris to understand honey hunters and their...

All’s well that begins well

“We only use The Hindu,” says Danny Merguei, of Wellpaper. “It’s the only newspaper where the...

A common thread

Arockiyamary has been coming to the Cluny Art Embroidery Centre for around 40 years. She is...

Grass craft: The last straw?

We’ve always had a tradition of using everything that can be used, and grass is no different....

Mindful gifting!

For a lot of people, love and affection is expressed through gifts. For me, it’s a way of...

Handicrafts—a cure for the homesick!

These days, the word trousseau brings to mind elaborate lehengas and/or a celebrity getting...

Saree-incarnation!

Saree-incarnation!

Organizations that do amazing things with old saris

Tholu Bommalata: Dance of light and shadow

Light and shadow. Using this basic idea, this ancient art form of Andhra Pradesh has beautifully...

Tying together

How a craft dissolved differences in Goan craft clusters

Is it Indian?  

Of late, my daughter and I are watching a baking show called, “Is It Cake?” where contestants bake...

A cut above

Kriti: Action, doing Kalā: Art, craft Enter the Kritikala store in Hyderabad, and if you are...