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...

A 600 year old trek!

  Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. Ralph Waldo Emerson One Saturday morning, we went in our quest for the Kondapalli fort - if you had read the previous post then you would know why 🙂 yes, the crafts community that makes...

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...

#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...

Re – imagining Design: following M P Ranjan

M P Ranjan, India's foremost Design Thinker, said on 16 October 1997 at the AEP Bridge Semester, National Institute of Design: “Design is a responsible and creative activity that aims to understand human needs and aspirations in order to generate effective alternate solutions that can resolve these needs. By its very nature the process of...

Students’ Visit to ‘Jaya He GVK New Museum’

As part of a research and documentation field visit, the 4th semester students of Interior Design, ISDI Parsons, Mumbai, visited the Museum at the T2 Terminal of Mumbai International Airport with me and some faculty members of the Design School. This Museum is known as the Jaya He GVK New Museum,  and most of us...