Behind the scenes

Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing

Reported By Sunaina Sehgal

Photograph by Subhojit Paul

Restoration services
In the eighties, the founders of Anokhi came across the ruins of Chanwar Palkiwalon Ki Haveli, and decided to restore it and house the museum in it. They chose Ahmedabadbased Nimish Patel and Parul Zaveri to do the restoration work in 1990. Their firm, Abhikram, engaged local craftsmen and artisans to maintain the haveli's essence. Founded in 1979, Abhikram has also restored The Oberoi Udaivilas hotel in Udaipur and Chotalal Ni Haveli. It has 30 employees.

Mannequins
Established in 2005, the museum showcases the craftsmanship and traditions of hand-block printing in and around Jaipur. To capture the essence of each print, mannequins have been made to look different. Those in sitting and reclining positions have been sourced from Delhi-based Clone Mannequins. Headed by Ravi Verma, the 23-year-old firm also supplies mannequins to high-street brands, such as Puma, Reebok and United Colors of Benetton.

Glass exhibits
The mannequins draped in varying prints are placed in glass structures made and installed by Ayush Kasliwal Design. The Jaipur-based company also crafted and mounted metal jaalis on the top floor of the museum to prevent the entry of monkeys. The railings and sign boards, both in brass and stone, have also been made by Geetanjali and Ayush Kasliwal. Set up in 2001, the company has 34 employees and does more than Rs 8 crore in turnover..

Organic cotton
Anokhi uses fabric made exclusively from organic cotton for its range of Western and Indian apparel. So, it isn't surprising that its museum uses organic cotton cloth to cover the glass exhibits and mannequins. The plain organic cotton fabric is sourced from Coimbatore-based Super Spinning Mills. The Rs 400-crore-company, headed by Vidyaprakash D., cultivates around 18 million kilograms of cotton annually, and exports to Turkey, China, Italy and Switzerland. It employs more than 250 people.

	EMAIL THIS ARTICLE	PRINT THIS PAGE