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The trip to Hampi was exciting. Having heard the mythological narratives surrounding this historical town declared as a World Heritage...

Having heard the mythological narratives surrounding this historical town declared as a World Heritage site it was imperative that one...

The trip to Hampi was exciting. Having heard the mythological narratives surrounding this historical town declared as a World Heritage...

The black pavilion built during the early part of Jahangir’s reign (1569–1627), in the top terrace of the Shalimar Bagh,...

The Air India flight the dreamliner carries almost 500 people and its the great Indian Piazza. I hate to be...

Bangladeshis in every nook and corner for sure. The journey return home was a revelation. At Rome the flight was...

Right across Italy, when you talk to a local they feign ignorance of the language. No English. No English. Not...

I was waiting in the Bangalore airport lounge to catch a late night flight back home, happy with the Hampi...

I am a sort of voyeur. I love public places, observing people, their dress, idiosyncrasies, cultural whims, the list goes...

Goa, a speck on the map always appeared to me to be a few kilometers along the coastline with well...

Disclaimer: This is 2012 – It has improved since I flew Air India after 20 years. Had almost forgotten why...

Mughal Serai. It was the longest platform and important junction. It is culture and heritage and memories. We waited to...

God created the world and rested on the seventh day, the day of Sabbath!  A version close to my heart...

Holi The colours of spring, the change of season to warmer tones of yellow, vermillion and green from the starkness...

Not only a shopping ‘kind of’ savant, I am a great bargainer. Labelled relentless and have been disowned by some...

My earliest memories of Bazaars are clinging to my mother’s saree and noticing with awe all the goodies around me....

कुछ पल एकान्त चार दीवारों के अन्दर कुछ गपशप कुछ गरमा गरमी बाकी समय अकेले टीवी के संग विवश हमने...

The colonists came to India to control the economy. Macaulay introduced English learning to create a group of native scribes...

An unusual winter. After a long hiatus we have been invited to about 15 weddings and occasions, some of them...

MKG lay on his side as two young girls, his nieces ran around finishing the daily chores. Nathu sat by...

Many moons ago, maybe half a super moon ago, as soon as we turned 18, all North Indian girls trooped...

A gloomy day with dark looming clouds lending a grayness to a picturesque landscape. The huge expanse of trees, flowering...

    My mother, every morning sat at the kitchen window and had her cup of morning tea. Liquor tea,...

British historian Philip Davies had once said of the Hooghly river that it is not just one Indian river, but...

Love for old, Love for tradition

Reach out, share, going away can never be an option  

The Heritage Journal by Vibha Mitra under the aegis of CHC

The Class Distinction of Textiles – Taara and Taarika The Karuna Dolls being made by Disha. Kakoli, Parvati, Mousumi and...

Ethical Fashion is an umbrella term to describe ethical fashion design, production, retail, and purchasing. It covers a range of issues such as...

Six yards and more. Sarees were for special occasions. We loved dress up time. The love endured! I grew up...

I grew up an idealist and critical of the Mahatma. His attitude towards Kasturba and son piqued me. His Experiments...

Textile traditions and ecosystems around weavers have succumbed to modernisation and have survived and renewed its energy. Weaving as an...

Wabi Sabi – Perfection in imperfection! In this world of automation it takes just a few hours to make flawless fabrics...

Patteda anchu is also known as dundina seere or devaru seere or laxmi seere. Jedara Dasimayya wrote about it in...

Spinning yarn on the charkha, Gandhi believed, inculcated discipline and dedication. It was meant to be a great social equaliser...

WHY QISSAA Textile narratives!  Legends of the Indian artisan. Regional traditions, culture and history! Qissaa is the yarn, anecdote, the...

  This beauty is the world’s newest shade of blue, and it could be revolutionary Mas Subramanian, a chemist at...

The history of the textile arts of Bangladesh dates back to the 1st century AD. According to the archaeological excavations, Bangladesh was once famous...

India’s textiles both woven and printed that have dazzled the world have their own fabulous stories to tell. Stretched along...

  Khadi : the fabric of India I had gone for work at Central Avenue and was passing the Khadi...

Harvard has an amazing color library – and it’s open to the public   The Straus Center for Conservation and...

CRAFT AND RELIGION In India every craft has sprung up with the influence of religious traditions. The finest creations of...

Pra-Kashi: a display presented by the National Museum in collaboration with the Devi Art Foundation, curated by Pramod Kumar KG...

I love my Indian textiles and colour spectrum, the weaves, the embroidery edits, the print profiles. The saree does perhaps...

The Eye of the Needle – An event by The Crafts Coucil of West Bengal – A talk by Shabnam...

Living lives of entitlement in Ivory towers of complacency we often forget to acknowledge and stop to appreciate splendid achievements...

Venkatesh Narasimhan the MD of Cooptex and his team, came to Kolkata with a trunk full of sarees. “Vintage kanjivarams and...

A ritual in most of our families with the changing seasons is the swapping of wardrobes. With the advent of...

The Khadi Spirit – A way of life Khadi the handmade handspun textile owes its revival to the Father of the...

Sustainable fashion In 1987, the UN defined sustainability as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the...

When one sees a figured fabric having a rich woven design, one is not sure whether it is a jacquard...

  An awesome interview with Oprah Winfrey on Netflix. Uncannily I found myself in a whorl of echoes that is...

One always thought that these happened “not to us”. I am devastated because some incidents have struck close to home....

Bonedi Baari Puja   The year was 1757 just after the Battle of Plassey. Raja Naba Krishna Deb decided to...

The Mangrove Man The Amphan brings into focus my interactions with this giant who toils and believes. God as relentless...

I was watching Ayn Rands interview. The core of Rand’s philosophy, which also constitutes the overarching theme of her novels,...

Long Post Alert At a long last. A tumultuous journey later. Hope! Since a few years I stopped airing my...

Dreams submerged yet again and again… Self respect and a little bit of sunshine is what they need. A shelter...

The concept of democracy as it is commonly understood is a myth. Rousseau’s claim that “a true democracy has never...

A tribute to my father who is 80 today! Who is he? What does he stand for? Honesty, integrity, charity,...

Issues A personal Reckoning – In the Sunderbans A rewind to the past – 9 years ago and my tryst...

Memsahibs such as Mary Carpenter and socalled ‘Indianised’ white women such as Annie Besant also established girls’ schools.8 Similarly, the...

Conservation, reuse is a laudable initiative. But a very difficult choice indeed! A conundrum with the RCTC property premises that...

Raqs O Mausiqui The first stop on this tour was Begum Akhtar ki Mazhar, newly done up by Sanat Kada....

I was married into a “Bonedi” Bengali family with regal antecedents. Though we lived in South Calcutta, having come away...

I love New Market (ergo Hogg Market) even today and would rather go there instead of shopping at the glitzier...

  Lucknow ki Ada, Raqs o Mausiqui was the theme. Music and Dance was alluring after having heard Askari sing...

Lucknow Ki Ada The Kotwara House is a part of the erstwhile palace complex of Kaiserbagh, built by the last king...

Having landed in Lucknow as we were driving to the hotel we passed many domed structures. My interest was piqued...

My grandmother lived in Vrindavan and I was enamoured with the Blue God, an enigma for me in my growing...

I have always loved everything old. Be it textiles, wood, glass, art, traditions. A Heritage Collective started by some friends...

The Heritage week in November, we started it’s schedule with a Walk in Metiaburj. In the Garden Reach area near...

Bengali entrepreneurs, their history goes back to Dwarkanath Tagore who acquired the Raniganj collieries in 1836 from  an English agency...

With the Mughal conquest of Bengal zamindar became a generic title embracing people with different kinds of landholdings and rights....

The diversity of India’s corporate history, is peppered with names  such as The Assam Company, Andrew Yule, Williamson Magor, Harrisons...

Why does heritage conservation even matter to anyone? A talk in the Indian Museum. A hot afternoon found me making...

Verandahs , were introduced by the Portuguese, though the word itself is of Indian origin as mentioned in dictionaries. In-...

Rash Mela in West Bengal is a festival celebrating the divine love of Sri Krishna and Radha.. Celebrated on the...

Rash Mela in West Bengal is a festival celebrating the divine love of Sri Krishna and Radha.. Celebrated on the...

Cooch Behar – Mohurganj Tea Gardens We met him ( Aditya Palch) on the flight and were invited to his...

We crossed Teesta and the Torsha river We came to the Bangladesh border The same blues and greens and paddy...

Chilepata, A jungle camp was an experience non pareil. The quiet and the hum of crickets actually create a calm...

Chakdighi Dhanekhali ~ Bengal Home to the most opulent, a lifestyle unimaginably grandiose, there are gems tucked away in every...

The Party street Park Street was renamed Mother Teresa Sarani a travesty of sorts. This happening street was once a...

The Magic of Kumartuli The magic of Kumartulli, where the potters create Gods and Goddesses tirelessly with wet clay, straw....

With the East India Company, not only the British but the Irish and Scots made India and more specifically Calcutta...

Is it murder? Is it punishable? I am depressed, sad really along with the other members of the group, Mukul,...

Navpreet Arora, this petite woman led us through a trail of the Colonial Empire, a walk back in time.. The...

The Burrabazar Market locally known as China Bazar now Bagri Market was always a destination for buying firecrackers during Diwali....

Chandi Basu a successful businessman owned many Bheris, including Nalban and made the house at 92 Kabi Sukanta Sarani, two...

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” — Scott Adams We tend to...

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fcountrysquire.in%2F2022%2F02%2F16%2Fthe-lit-fest The Lit Fest has become an important winter activity in Kolkata. The schedules are perused. Shortlists made according to...

This was a fun interacton. a Full house. Talking about what I love the most. Indian Textles  

Kadhwa / Phekwa (North India) ~ Golani / Chalaani (Bengal) The weaving traditions in all textiles work on predetermined designed...