Stories of Kantha

Kantha runs in every young girl's blood in rural Bengal. She has instinctive quilting talent and artistry, inherited from her mother or grandmother. Shamlu’s focus was to nurture this talent and revive the Kantha culture in every home.

Kantha runs in every young girl's blood in rural Bengal. She has instinctive quilting talent and artistry, inherited from her mother or grandmother. Shamlu’s focus was to nurture this talent and revive the Kantha culture in every home.

Over the years, MKC's band of senior Kantha artisans have been fanning out into the villages, training willing artisans in the nuances of 'Kanthar kaaj'. The MKC team commutes between the studio in Kolkata and the villages, giving the artisans fabrics, designs, threads and a visual picture of the final product. Colour palettes are discussed but the artisans are given the freedom to use their ingenuity and individual preferences in creating marketable Kantha textiles.

MKC is currently giving 'dwar pe rozi' (income generating opportunity at the doorstep) to nearly 1000 artisans with the help of eight senior team leaders. The artisans sit within the comfort of their homes, tending to their flock and family, enjoying the luxury of flexitime to work on their Kantha textiles. Often, four or five neighbours sit together in the backyard with palm trees swaying back and forth in the gentle breeze.

The artisans are given the freedom to choose their designs and colours that keeps this heritage stitch alive in its original form. Parallelly Shamlu has initiated the artisans to include geometrical designs and tonal shades into the Kantha repertoire. MKC has added the exquisite magic of Kantha to the more avant-garde Jackets, dresses, pants and capes infusing a new energy in order to achieve the dual purpose of sustainability of the craft and economic independence of all rural women.