Macrame pe charcha for well-being

It was in 2009, when her daughter studied in a Waldorf-inspired school, that psychologist Nirupama Rao understood the significance of handwork. “It was not enough to develop the mind alone—the movement of hands are so important to a person’s well-being,” says Nirupama, who picked up the craft of crochet and macrame after decades. That skill is now helping women of a Mumbai basti create a new livelihood for themselves. Through Prafulta, a Mumbai NGO that works on psychological wellness of communities, Nirupama works on a project that brings together women to create macrame products, while allowing them the space to have meaningful conversations that spark change, in a sort of “macrame pe charcha” model.