Muga Ghicha Kalidaar with Kanchipuram silk dupatta with booti embroidery

It is natural for a heart to feel nostalgia upon seeing rituals, festivities and celebrations. They bind us to the roots of our ancestry. Our childhood memories are intertwined with certain days when all we did was plan and execute the tasks around the festivity. Elders ordered, and we followed. The smells of food, flowers and incense.

Whether we loved it or hated it at that time, we could hardly ever escape it.

Now, when I look back, these festivals are my totem to bring me face to face with how much we have changed, how much we don’t do like we used to do, and how our tradition too is slowly changing.

In remembrance of festivals and the legacy they have carried for hundreds of years.

Tradition and cultural revival begin at home.

Taara brings together Kanchipuram silk with Muga Ghicha in a unique colour harmony. To accentuate the celebratory look of the dupatta, I decided to add Mora firefly bootis to a panel in the dupatta to add a textural element. With a geometrical play in dupatta already being highlighted, I decided to go bold and stark with the earthiness of Muga Ghicha. Sometimes, an untrained eye groups Muga or Muga Ghicha with “jute-like” fabrics. The textures, sheen and gold of Muga are truly rare. Muga is like gold after it has lived long enough, generation after generation in the family treasure. That gold. 

 The heft of Muga Ghicha dances and gives a good gait. Balanced, substantial and earthy. Textured and nuanced. Not everyone can handle ghicha yarn, especially that of Muga. One needs to be seasoned in the craft. Weaving with the naturally spaced slub of Ghicha makes it a remarkable feat of craft, especially when it is handspun. This Muga ghicha is completely handspun and woven on a throw shuttle loom. 

Taara is a one-of-a-kind textile designed to highlight a unique coming together of various techniques and creativity of handcraft. This design will not be recreated. Taara comes with a blouse fabric designed to encourage Mora fireflies to bring their authentic spirit to the fabrication of blouse fit, usage of borders and edgings. The blouse worn by me is not included

Param did the beadwork 

Gurmail, the tailor

Zahid bhai embroidered the firefly bootis

Narmohan Dada, the master wild silk pioneer

Mumma, Madhu, technical supervision of stitching 

Midtoan.com, the photographer

Designed by Ritika