Deep joy, hope, and a heart’s greatest blessings; these are the moods we find this gorgeous Raw Mango saree exuding. With its intense red, delightful magenta pink fall, and gold zari border, it is a beautiful embodiment of moods and sentiments that are perfect for intimate celebrations, lifetime events, and ceremonies where loved ones come together—no matter far or near.
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Ranee never thought she’d host her only daughter’s wedding with no formal ritual, no impressive hotel, and no guests. But, here she is, on the eve of a humble home wedding adhering to the latest health guidelines issued by the PHI, cutting long-stemmed pink flowers from her much prided rose garden to make a simple bridal bouquet. She made sure that the evening cool had settled upon the city before she cut the flowers; this is so they wouldn’t wilt before the auspicious time to sign in front of the marriage registrar—the most significant photo of the nuptial procedures that she wanted to Whatsapp her oldest and closest sister in Australia. Ranee admired her roses as she placed them in a tall vase. She felt her heart well up at the thought of her treasured roses making her precious girl’s bridal bouquet. Ranee had spent a good part of the day perfecting the spice mix for her son-in-law’s favourite yellow rice—it’ll be the first meal of the newlyweds tomorrow; She smiled at the thought of his sweetly exaggerated compliments on her cooking.
Ranee took out the lovely silk saree that her daughter had gifted for the occasion; not showy, nor extravagant, yet an absolutely beautiful celebration of her favourite colour blue. She hung it under the fan to be aired out overnight.
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…
Blows the thaw-wind pleasantly,
Drips the soaking rain,
By fits looks down the waking sun:
Young grass springs on the plain;
Young leaves clothe early hedgerow trees;
Seeds, and roots, and stones of fruits,
Swollen with sap put forth their shoots;
Curled-headed ferns sprout in the lane;
Birds sing and pair again.
There is no time like Spring,
When life’s alive in everything,
Before new nestlings sing,
Before cleft swallows speed their journey back
Along the trackless track –
…
When we were curating a capsule from the Anavila ‘Bloom’ collection to be housed here at Rithihi, we fell in love with this floral saree. What we really adore are those hand-painted roses that have then been digitally transferred onto the handwoven linen. They are absolutely lovely—don’t you think? It’s a saree that puts us in the mind of blossoming—the courageous act of becoming against all odds.
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“You can cut all the flowers. But, you can’t keep the spring from coming”, said the ever so brilliant writer Pablo Neruda; And, we couldn’t agree more.
No matter how bleak things look, we trust in the light and the beauty that our inner sun holds. Just like the inevitable spring that comes, we know that at the end of the day, life will always find a way. This wonderfully optimistic yellow saree by Anavila captures the mood perfectly.
Continue reading »We think it’s never too soon to talk about why it’s important to sustain the wisdom and beauty that the arts and the crafts bring to the world, especially in the face of crisis. To Rithihi, the crafts are a warmly human response to life— one rooted in our creative courage. Each craft is a reservoir of knowledge that involves cultures and communities with distinctly beautiful histories. To us, the call to craft signifies hope and optimism; two very necessary perspectives that the world needs. To craft is to believe; To want to better things. The practitioners of crafts are living embodiments of this calling.
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These rolls and rolls of gorgeous Banaras brocade at Rithihi steal every eye searching for special fabrics at our store. They really are the perfect envoys of the mystique of their home—the historic Banaras city with streets lined by workshops of brocade weavers whose artisanal lineages often go as far back as the sixteenth century. The glimmers of silver or gold zari in these brocades still echo the wonderfully musical symphony of click-clacks coming from hundreds of looms producing yard after yard of gilded wearable magic. We’re taking a moment to appreciate this remarkable craft as the looms in Banaras remain silenced by the pandemic.
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These beautiful Jaipur block printed cottons at Rithihi resound with memories of many people. They speak of ways of life and ancestral crafts learned and passed on from generation to generation for nearly three hundred years. They remind us of the weavers, the yarn spinners, the printers, the woodblock carvers, the dye vat keepers, the dhobis… a wonderful ecosystem coming together to create textiles that delight the senses. Today, lives and ways of artisans all over the world, particularly those in India, have been changed drastically by the ongoing pandemic; We’re reminded even more strongly of these wonderful makers, their remarkable artisanal practices and ways of life centred around the crafts.
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What is pink? a rose is pink
By a fountain’s brink.
What is red? a poppy’s red
In its barley bed.
What is blue? the sky is blue
Where the clouds float thro’.
What is white? a swan is white
Sailing in the light.
What is yellow? pears are yellow,
Rich and ripe and mellow.
What is green? the grass is green,
With small flowers between.
What is violet? clouds are violet
In the summer twilight.
What is orange? Why, an orange,
Just an orange!
No, it’s not a colour, but a liquid summer. It’s the sun caught in all the sunflowers… It’s that feeling shining through in a smile. It’s warmth. It’s hope. It’s the unbroken magnificence of gold. It’s a place where nothing ever dies.
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