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Reviving Tarkashi With A Fashionable Spin

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GJEPCIndia
Reviving Tarkashi With A Fashionable Spin

Tarkashi, an art form that dates back 500 years, is practiced in only a few centres in India. Aesthetiic India, founded by Sweta Pachisia and Sonu Pachisia, aims to revitalize this traditional jewellery craft, and with their innovative approach, they have successfully made tarkashi jewellery fashionable and fun, capturing the interest of a wide audience.



Intricate, lightweight and moulded into elaborate patterns by skilled artisans, tarkashi is a beautiful technique used to craft silver jewellery and lifestyle accessories. The art form has its origins in Persia and the main centres of production are Cuttack in Odisha and Karimnagar in Andhra Pradesh.



Like any handcrafted process, the art of tarkashi or silver filigree is a laborious process. The younger generation of artisans do not want to pursue mastering the skills making it a dying art. Efforts are being made to boost demand so that younger artisans are also enticed to continue to learn the art form.



In the last few years, there are few new-age e-commerce brands that are bringing a modern spin to the designs to make it more appealing to the women today.


Sweta Pachisia and her sister-in-law Sonu Pachisia are bringing an element of fashion to tarkashi through their brand Aesthetiic India. The brand features jewellery, men’s accessories, gifting articles as well as lifestyle and home décor pieces, all handcrafted by tarkashi artisans in Cuttack.



Co-founder Sweta Pachisia talks about the brand’s evolution and their plan to make it big by catering to a global audience.


How did you decide to work with tarkashi?


My husband would often visit Cuttack for work. He came across the art of tarkashi, a dying art and wanted to revive it. Since I ran a clothes boutique for 15 years, he asked me to visit Cuttack and have a look at what we could do with it. I initially started working with a jewellery exporter and took their orders for 2-3 months. Later, I started working directly with the karigars and focused on giving the pieces a modern edge.


I launched my own collection in June 2020 soon after the pandemic hit India. I created 10-15 products which were sold on Jaypore’s website.


Today, I have 300 designs. I create jewellery, lifestyle accessories, gifting articles as well as men’s accessories. People have begun to like and appreciate the craft and the intensive labour that goes into making these handcrafted pieces. I have also received orders from USA and Singapore.

 




To know more: https://gjepc.org/solitaire/reviving-tarkashi-with-a-fashionable-spin/

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