Before visiting Munnar, I was not aware of the health issues related to tea plantation workers in India. Often foreign media would focus on the working conditions of garment factory workers, yet the problems related to tea plantation workers (primarily female) are largely ignored. Although they are not stuck inside cramped factories [...]

 
The purpose of my trip to India in February was to attend a natural dyeing conference. And it took place before COVID-19 changed our lives. Aranya Natural is a natural dyeing organisation under Srishti Trust in Munnar, supported by TATA Global Beverages Limited, which runs programs for the education training and rehabilitation [...]

 
After a visit to the ghost village Durgapur (see earlier post here) near Mandvi, we visited another sleepy town called Sidhpur in Patan. Both places have exquiste haveli architecture but barely any occupants. What on earth happened to these places? I can't fathom why these home owners abandoned their beautiful homes. It makes [...]

 
Before coming to India, many people (who have never been to India before) were concerned about my safety traveling in India as a female, as well as food hygiene, street beggars, the list goes on. Yet during my travel, I was incredibly impressed by the friendly people I encountered, the beautiful places [...]

 
Unexpectedly, on the edge of the desert region lies a wonderful eco-friendly and rustic village resort owned and run by the Village Tourism Committee of Hodka village. The village is believed to have been set up by the 'Halepotra' clan from Sindh (now Pakistan) who were cattle herders and eventually settled in [...]

 
*Please do not use my blog photos without consent.
 
One of the most fascinating studio visits in Kutch was a trip to master weaver, Vankar Shamji Vishram's indigo-dyeing and weaving studio in a village called Bhujodi. Shamji is the son of Shri Vishram Valji Vankar, who won the India's prestigious National Award [...]

 
In our current fast-paced and globalised world, we are faced with some important questions about our past, present and future: how to preserve traditions and yet make them relevant today? Can we preserve the skills and knowledge but evolve at the same time? Many artisans, craftsmen and designers around the world are [...]

A large bandhani piece we saw at Mr A A Wazir's house
 
I think many people are familiar with the term 'shibori' which is the Japanese technique of resist dyeing on cloth. The word itself means 'to wring, squeeze, press', and it is a way of manipulating the fabric to achieve the desired [...]

 
Embroidery plays a eminent role in Kutch textiles, and Gujarat was the world's centre for commercial embroidery in the 17th century. The area was renowned for its mochi (meaning 'cobbler' in Gujarati and Hindi) embroidery maintained by the Mochis, who were originally cobblers but developed their own style of embroidery technique on [...]

Ajrakhpur – the land of Ajrakh
 
Before my trip to India, my knowledge on Indian textiles was minimal, yet the textiles workshop at Somaiya Kala Vidya (see my earlier post) completely opened my eyes. I did not realise that block printing is such a complex and time-consuming process, especially when only natural dyes [...]