This treasured kimkhab lehenga was passed down by Shanti Devi Agarwal to her daughter, Veena Gupta, who became its second custodian in 1974. In 2022, Veena Gupta generously lent this heirloom to the ASMITAA Collection. This piece holds a special place in our journey as it was the very first object documented for ASMITAA, marking the beginning of our story. It is described in the Accessions Register as:

A heavy gold kimkhab lehenga (skirt), made in brocade, using silk and gold threads. The fabric features floral motifs that give the appearance of surface embroidery. The heavily patterned base fabric is further enriched by a finely embroidered zardozi border in real gold thread, attached on the flared hem of the lehenga. This piece was chosen for display at the exhibition ‘aaina’, a celebration of emotions and memories as reflected in legendary Indian textiles.

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The object is an off-white pashmina stole, handwoven and hand embroidered with kashida embroidery. The stole features an intricately embroidered border running along all four sides composed of a medley of paisley motifs, both large and small interspersed with delicate flowers and leaves, finely outlined in thread.

This doshala holds deep significance, having journeyed across four generations and remaining a cherished family heirloom.

It was first bought by Maya Devi Soni in 1945, and passed to her daughter-in-law Hans Kapur, who became its second custodian in 1948.

In 1982, the doshala was lovingly handed down to Renu Kapur, Hans Kapur’s daughter-in-law and its third custodian. In 2019, Renu gifted it to her daughter Akriti Kapur, the fourth in line to care for this treasured piece.

In a touching full circle, the doshala returned to Renu Kapur in 2021, once again placing her at the heart of its custodianship.

This ensemble belonged to Satya Narain Agarwal, a man of strong ideals and deep-rooted family values. This is the first and only piece of children’s wear in our collection to date. Originally crafted for Satya Narain Agarwal in 1939, this cherished garment was lovingly gifted to his granddaughter, Anya Agarwal, in 1996, making her the second custodian of this heirloom. The collection catalog describes it as:

The two-piece outfit comprises a jacket and trousers both tailored from ‘makhmal’. The dress is deep blue in colour featuring richly embroidered zardozi borders on the hemline of the trousers, sleeve edges, pocket trims, front bodice and collar in real gold and silver metal threads. The border features a delicate arrangement of small floral motifs, leaf patterns, and jaali painstakingly crafted by hand. Adding to the magnificence of the work are the sequins and beads that have been meticulously incorporated. The garment is machine stitched and hem finishing is done by hand.

Born in the year 1939, Mr. Satya Narain Agarwal, belonged to a reputed jeweller family of Lucknow whose members were treated with great deference in the society. He was the first fourth generation child born to Mr. Kundan Lal ji, his great grandfather and this was a matter of pronounced celebration! To mark this momentous occasion, not only were the great grandparents offered the golden ladder, but a special dress was made for ‘Satya’ by the Muslim karigars (craftsman) of Lucknow who worked for the Nawabs! The two-piece dress is beautifully enhanced with Zardozi embroidery in real gold and silver metal threads. No wonder, the embroidery still retains its charm even after 82 years of storage and use!

In the year 1963, ‘Satya’ met his special someone and they got married. They were soon blessed with two wonderful boys who got married in the year 1989 and 1991 respectively. Then came ‘Anya’ to Rajeev (the elder son) and ‘Karan’ to Arvind (the younger son) in the year 1996 - an occasion to celebrate again and a time for family rituals to repeat!

According to social customs, the golden ladder is offered to the great grandparents when a boy is born in the fourth generation in a family. But Anya being the first fourth generation child to Mr. Triloki Nath Agarwal, it was decided to change the customary tradition as the family strongly believed that both sons and daughters should be equally respected - the reason why Anya was never called the grand granddaughter but always the grand grandchild of her great grandparents! The family relived the old memories. A golden ladder was offered to the great grandparents and ‘Anya’ was gifted the ‘blue makhmal dress’ by her great grandmother!

Once the treasured possessions of an unknown owner dating back to 1942, these red block printed odhanis now belong to Kheemraj Nandlal Rathi, a master craftsman who acquired them in 1992. Though rendered in techniques different from his own, the odhanis remain a vital source of inspiration for the artisan sparking new creative expressions. The collection catalog describes these as:

A bright red women’s odhani, coarsely woven using handspun and handwoven malmal. It is composed of two fabric panels joined lengthwise to achieve the desired width. The textile is adorned with hand block printed motifs in khari. The main field is framed by borders in varying widths in alternating colours - gold, white and gold. The lengthwise ends are finished with compartmentalised block printed borders with similar motif in each compartment on either side.

A coarsely woven bright red odhani for a young girl, made from a single panel of handspun and handwoven malmal. The odhani is adorned with hand block printed dotted floral motifs in silver

Our Founder, Sareekah Agarwaal, happened to meet Mr. Kheemraj Nandlal Rathi, a renowned craftsman of Barmer appliqué and embroidery, during a research visit to the National Crafts Museum and Hastkala Academy, New Delhi. Amidst row of stalls, she noticed him quietly seated beside his neatly stacked appliqué quilts, patiently waiting for customers in the assigned vendor space at the museum.

While browsing through his creations she asked him if he has any antique pieces in his collection. He smiled and took out three pieces. It was a moment of serendipity. Two of the pieces were khari printed and one was made of soof, a counted thread embroidery from Gujarat. This sparked Sareekah’s curiosity as these textiles had nothing to do with the craft he is involved with and she wanted to know more.

Born in Pakistan in 1957 into a family of artisans, Kheemraj Rathi came to India along with his parents in the year 1971. Initial years were difficult for the family as there was not enough money. So, they took up small jobs and Kheemraj, alongside, began to learn the craft skills from his father Nandlal Rathi. It’s been fifty years now since he has been practicing the craft. Coming from a remote location and humble background, Kheemraj Rathi, traces his love for Indian traditional arts to his childhood days. He always had an eye for art and understood the effort and complexity that goes into the making of a handmade textile especially in those days when technology was lacking. So, he started collecting old pieces from the Thakurs and Sahukars (the upper class) of the surrounding villages for whom textile inheritances were nothing more than just a medium of making money. These old pieces of art give subtle The first piece the researcher saw was a bright red odhani that was around 80 years old, worn by the women of the elite during their wedding ceremonies. Hand-block printed in silver and gold, the odhani is a classic piece to treasure. As it’s an old piece, there are signs of wear and a part of it is also damaged on one of the sides. But Mr. Rathi is not afraid of pieces that show wear. The artisanship in things from the past is what his eye is after and he collects what he likes.

Another piece he had was again a bright red, 83 years old odhani, made for a small girl, made in handspun and handwoven malmal. This odhani had almost similar layout as the one made for the women but different patterning. The odhani features floral motifs with patterned borders adorned with silver and gold khari. ‘These pieces are rare as it’s difficult to get both the odhanis made for a mother as well as for her daughter. They belong to the same family and I bought it for 17,000 INR from an old woman who belonged to a rich family in the year 1992’, Kheemraj mentioned.

The third piece was an embroidered rumal (kerchief), approximately 73 years old, embroidered with counted thread soof embroidery of Gujarat. Tradition says that it was given by the bride’s mother to her son-in-law at the time of wedding. Multicoloured embroidery in geometric patterns set on a white cotton base makes it a piece to treasure. The design of the rumal inspired a whole new sense of patterning in Kheemraj as mostly floral and figurative patterns were used by him in his creations. Different products were designed using the new patterns for which he received a good response. The rumal is a family piece but Mr. Kheemraj was neither aware of the year of purchase nor

Once the treasured possessions of an unknown owner dating back to 1942, these red block printed odhanis now belong to Kheemraj Nandlal Rathi, a master craftsman who acquired them in 1992. Though rendered in techniques different from his own, the odhanis remain a vital source of inspiration for the artisan sparking new creative expressions. The collection catalog describes these as:

A bright red women’s odhani, coarsely woven using handspun and handwoven malmal. It is composed of two fabric panels joined lengthwise to achieve the desired width. The textile is adorned with hand block printed motifs in khari. The main field is framed by borders in varying widths in alternating colours - gold, white and gold. The lengthwise ends are finished with compartmentalised block printed borders with similar motif in each compartment on either side.

Dr. Ruchira Ghose is admired not only for her literary writings but also for her distinctive sense of style. What sets her apart is her passion for handwoven saris with minimalist aesthetics. Born in 1950, Dr. Ruchira Ghose, a textile connoisseur and Former Chairman, National Crafts Museum, New Delhi, attributes her love for saris to her childhood days. She grew up feasting her eyes on her mother’s saris and since then couldn’t wait to wear her first sari.

Dressed in a serene white sari with streaks of black in soft mal, Ruchira Ghose shared her carefully curated finds - her simple yet exotic saris - from the creations of Rta Kapur Chisti, Neeru Kumar, Rukmini Devi Arundale and more. She gazed at every sari she took out from her cupboard with fondness and passion, and her eyes sparkled when she talked about them.

This particular sari was bought in the early 1990s in Delhi, apparently a copy of a sari which was in the collection of Rukmini Devi Arundale in Tamil Nadu. With a wide border in contrast colours, the sari looks lovely when worn and Dr. Ghose considers it as one of her prized possessions. She remembered receiving many compliments when she wore it for a big celebration at the Swiss embassy, probably in 2015, and that was the last time it was worn. Since then, the sari has been left hanging on the rail, changing cupboards with every season.

Another favourite collection of hers consists of the saris she bought from the Kalingavastra exhibition, curated by textile conservationist and cultural revivalist Martand Singh and designer Rakesh Thakore in the nineties. Simple but unusual, the saris have a unique appeal in terms of their colours and