Hi, I'm Chitku 🙂 we've met before. This is my brother Kaachbo. We have been brought into this world by Priyanka Tolia. She is an Exhibition Designer from the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, and had studied History (Honours) from Lady Shri Ram College (LSR) before that. Priyanka often heard from the elders in... Continue Reading →
Traditional Indian crafts with new life
Usha Prajapati Varia, the founder of Samoolam, emailed me about an upcoming event in the city. Since she is busy working in London could I attend it? Why not? Of course, anything Usha suggests is always unique - and so it was! I read up about Jiyo from their website, it says there: JIYO !... Continue Reading →
Mystery object
I had asked on social media after these objects I had seen a couple carry on their bike on a highway in Andhra Pradesh. Seeing my curiosity and desperateness to photograph them, the biker had slowed down and the lady giggled and let me take a few quick shots. Nobody was harmed in... Continue Reading →
Tighten your seat belts for some time travel!
Welcome aboard! You are on a time travel device. And, are advised to hold tight, keep your jaws from dropping and eyes from popping out as Aparna Andhare, the maverick pilot, swooshes you through the lanes and by-lanes of Shekhawati in north east of Rangeelo Rajasthan. The region of Shekhawati is probably one of the... Continue Reading →
The Look Book: when they saw us, and how!
My first review as the Mumbai correspondent for Art Fact, the newsletter for ArtsAcre Foundation, Kolkata I could stare at that Persian couple the rest of my life – really! Her hairstyle, their fashionable garments and footwear, his headgear, her direct gaze and his almond dreamy eyes – together they were celebs of their day... Continue Reading →
Have you visited your local Museum yet? We have :)
March is here, everyone will get busy with their financial work in India as this month ends the financial year here. It’s a stressful time when you realise that most of your investments have gone wrong and the essential papers are missing! For a de-stressful time, visit the local museum in your city to marvel... Continue Reading →
Thank you for accepting #projectinterpret ❤️
It has been a very exciting 2018 for VarnikaDesigns 🙂 The biggest was an attempt to reach out to more and more people through launch of its venture #projectinterpret - a multi sensory, cultural, interactive and inclusive space With #projectinterpret we travelled, excavated stories, explored multiple perspectives and interpreted them through experiential tours to heritage... Continue Reading →
Design your History! Yes, you can :)
For the History of Design course for the Industrial Design students at the National Institute of Design, Vijayawada, we strapped ourselves tightly and zipped onto a roller coaster time travel... yeaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh, like a virtual reality experience, especially customised for your personal choice 🙂 don't believe me??? then read on... One lazy... Continue Reading →
What makes Indian Textiles so exquisite?
A wide variety of beautiful textiles ranging from embroideried, woven, printed and painted comprise India’s rich textile heritage. For most of us, there is a familiarity with most of the textiles coming from all parts of India – like Banarasi, Baluchari, Chikankari, Kalamkari, Kanthas, Kanchivaram, Ikat etc. The skill of Indian weavers is... Continue Reading →
#projectinterpret’s 3rd quarter
In the months of July - September, #projectinterpret explored new avenues of Access through live coverage of talks, apart from the usual heritage, history, museums, arts and culture visits, explorations, workshops and postings. Knowyourcity challenge: started on VarnikaDesigns Instagram and Facebook social media profiles in the last quarter, this game continued with insights across... Continue Reading →
