Dida (that’s how I address my grandmother) always says, that a woman’s hand should never sit idle. My mother and all the other women in the family adhered to it as the gospel truth and as long as I can remember, my cousins and I have always been made to keep busy and creatively so. We could pick up whatever we liked, be it stitching, knitting, crochet, crafts, glass painting, and vacations became an awesome fun experience, with all of us learning, sharing and making new stuff.
Kaarukriti is an extension of that hobby, of the phrase “busy hands” and a space that motivates me to keep doing something more creative. My inspirations are the needs and necessities in everyday life, like that pen stand I always wanted, or that extra vase, or those new accessories that goes with my dress. The motivation to continue and do more comes from the encouragement of my family.
Kaarukriti is the Bengali word for Handicrafts.
I have traveled a bit across the country, not as much as I would love to, but enough to give me an idea of some provinces and their art. So Bengal has Bankura (terracotta) and Kantha (a typical for of needlework) amongst many others, Kuchtch has applique and mirror work, Kerala has stuff made of coir and jute, and most of Rural and small town India has wooden dolls and mechanics for children… will try and put up a page on arts and crafts of India soon…where you can dig in for your daily dose of know-more!
Art and designs that are found in the fringes and inner corners of our country still enamor me… and I love to take ideas and inspiration from them. Imitation is the best form of flattery and that is what Kaarukriti is all about.
The desire: To share, to let you explore and to create something pretty out of things lying around the house. The intent is also to conserve, preserve and recycle. Kaarukriti is my space, its my mind, its a reflection of what I have been brought up with and is a tribute to the amazing women in my life.
Welcome to Kaarukriti.
They call it ingenious little pieces of art… I think they are beautiful…. Knicknacks go a long way in telling us that small is beautiful. All my life I have been collecting knicknacks wherever I went, be it wooden dolls or dagger shaped key chains, wind chimes or vases, masks or puppets. What wowed me was the thought, the idea, the design and creativity that went behind it.The everyday craftsmen whose deft hands work effortlessly to turn out a perfect design from an inconsequential bottle, wood piece or even straws and candy sticks. Kaarukriti is a space where I display some of my creations. "Best out of Waste" is something that I adhere to and in the hopes of making this small world a little more pretty. And while some may go beyond the usual definition of knicknacks, I would still like to call them so. Welcome to Kaarukriti.
