Saree Story: ‘The LILY POOL’ – an inspiration from Indonesian Batik art form
The world of Art & Crafts for me has been a fascinating one always. A true Piscean that I am, Creativity gives me the refuge from the mundane world,to harbour and wallow in the world of colours, threads, yarns, dyes, textiles and fabrics and Imagination!
Batik, the wax resist craft form that Tagore introduced at Santiniketan (Kala Bhavan of Viswa Bharati), has always fascinated me! Particularly, as my maternal aunt, has been a student of Viswa Bharati and her intricately created Batik stoles are my heirloom pieces. I truly wanted to create a beautiful Batik saree, taking inspiration from Indonesian Batik art form, the fine application of molten wax using Tjanting pens and the blend of subtle colours. But not all artists can use a Tjanting pen, no matter how skilled he might be and create such fine pieces. My search for the artist took me to Santiniketan several times, talking to artists and students from Kala Bhavan till I thought of creating this masterpiece, with the help of a young former student of Kala Bhavan, who belonged to the Dhibar community. Tjanting pens were flown in from Indonesia, by a friend of mine who lives there. Various experiments with design form, colours and fabrics were done and we finally could create our dream saree – ‘The Lily Pool’ on pure hand woven Bishnupuri silk. We tried in two base colours- one being the soft and subtle golden yellow of Champa flower and the other in Black. ‘The Lily Pool’ has been a favourite amongst my patrons across India and abroad! In my heart, ‘The Lily Pool’ occupies a special place!!