We are a family working together to benefit many families. We believe in Aldous Huxley's perennial philosophy and work accordingly.

We gather the finest sarees made by weavers and, artisans (kaarigars), in the provinces of India, and bring them to your doorstep.

These weavers and artisans produce some of the most beautiful products in the world but they live at the mercy of rapacious moneylenders and avaricious middlemen. They have no real opportunity to get out the vicious cycle of exploitation because they barely make enough money to run their families.

They have no savings for family emergencies and no healthcare facilities of any sort. They have to depend on the mahajans, to lend them money to buy loom parts, dyes, thread, beads, stones, and other accoutrements for sarees. They also have to depend on the middlemen to market their products. We hope to effect a change in some of their lives by putting money directly into their hands and distributing their products for them.

Many village women in Bengal work to produce amazing pieces of kantha embroidery, which is a kind of stitch painting. Small stitches are used to embellish silk and crepe sarees in motifs taken from Hindu mythology and as well as from urban concepts. These women too are desperately poor. It takes over four months to make a kantha saree, and they have to depend on the kindness of the middleman to give them enough money for sustenance during that time. Their husbands, frustrated by their own limited resources to earn a living, often, resort to alcohol to relieve their stress.

The lives of these women become a living hell. We hope to provide these women with a constant source of income which will subtly alter the economic balance between men and women at the village level in the areas where we are working.

The Fabric of Our Future

Our workshops in Calcutta and its outskirts, have several artisans, who do the finest zardosi embroidery. Zar is an Urdu word meaning 'gold', the equivalent of the Bengali word, 'shona' (a term of endearment as well as my daughter's name). The Muslim rulers of India brought the art of embroidering on satin, velvet, and silks with gold thread into Hindu vocabulary. It became a pan Indian sensation.

For the revival of this art in our times, undoubtedly, we have to bow our heads to designer Ritu Kumar, who has strived tirelessly to resuscitate a skill that was allowed to be almost forgotten. The Mughal queen, Nur Jehan's fine zardosi ensembles are now no longer trapped in the pages of history books. You can now wear outfits worn by queens, consorts and courtesans. The romance and intrigue of those medieval times continue without the violence. We mitigate the violence of forgetfulness and poverty by giving the artisans a voice.

The art of zardosi embroidery once practised only by Muslims has been learned by Hindus as well. At our workshops, Hindus and Muslims work side by side. They celebrate each others festivals and together we celebrate the festival of life. Wearing one of their 'Shona!' creations, you can reach out and touch the stars. At noon and at midnight!