Ekla Chalo RE – A Journey of Undying Sprit of Kabbish

All excited, I was standing in the queue of India story, with my father. He was proud to be standing here at the first collection launch of her daughter’s venture. Giving a pause to his constant proud smile, he asked- So what’s next? As if I had all that figured out, I answered, “I wish to work next on Surahi”

Fast forward to 2020, it’s a homey afternoon; I am sitting in deep contemplation on a wooden charpai, in Nizamabad. I can see the clay characters of my imagination, preparing them for the big show, right in front of my eyes. The master craftsman is preparing the wheel to begin making the surahi miniatures. His father with his feeble hands is preparing the clay for the pots. As prevalent in the community of potters, the entire family is involved in the process. As the miniatures are ready and dried, the children are cleaning them and the women of the house are applying clay slip- kabbish onto the small Surahis.

I remember after the launch of my first collection – Gagri, my research for the next one began unplanned. Travelling and reading gave me a lot of insight into how I could take it forward. This unscripted journey took me to various Mughal Forts, Palaces and Museums across India. Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh being my main source of information, I was able to draw out a lot of inspirations from Indo-Islamic Architecture.

My inspiration almost took over my mind and anything and everything that I could see now was ‘Surahi’. This cylindrical pitcher was used in innumerable ways in the Mughal period. From paintings, frescoes on the wall, lamps, to store coins and wines, this pot was extensively used in the royal décor.

 

The blueprint of my ideas was ready in my mind. Developing pot earring designs combined with various architectural elements, we finalised on a few. Now, we decided to work on 7 prototypes. Every sampling begins with the discussion with the artisans. We built together the entire strategy of production and began with our sampling. The problems that we were facing now in production were different from our first collection. Creating a miniature of Surahi was a task. It has a thin cylindrical neck, which broke multiple times while cleaning it. We decided to stick to two designs eventually that could suit the skill of the potters and were production-friendly.

 

Launching the Surahi Collection was no less than a challenge for us. The year 2020 brought in a lot of troubles which almost made it impossible. The economic setback forced me into thoughts to put the project on hold for some time. Now, this was a dilemma I was going through every day. Reading about the industries and brands shutting down, was distressing. I consulted my friends and family and no one was in a state to predict anything. I have a sweet acquaintance with Kolkata. Ekla Chalo re is a song that I listen to very often while working and travelling. It became a routine track during the pandemic. Pondering on the situation, a few lines of this song struck me hard.

It almost felt like these lines were answer to my confusion and hesitation. This is what I needed, a validation from within. I thought about the craftsmen, who were awaiting this opportunity, which was being snatched from their hands. However, despite the crisis and the situation pandemic caused, we decided to continue our production, thinking this was the time when our craftsmen needed us the most.

As the work began, the pots started to come out well, but there was a new challenge to be faced every day.

Jewellery fitting in the delicate clay pots was one of the strenuous challenges we had. Size and location of the fitting holes were figured out and the same was to be followed with rest of the pieces. Every aspect of production had to be made stronger, to win over the risk we had taken. The metal part of the jewellery which was responsible to create the Mughal element too did not come easy. Multiple patterns were created and rejected to get the best one in hand. The plating of the metal pieces in gold and silver, to create the Ganga-Jamuna effect, was relatively dear and taxing. Designing, planning, execution during the lockdown was unfeasible. There was no scope of error, to afford an error.

In the process, we thought of adding more crafts to the product to support more artisans alongside pottery. Hand block print was added to create packaging to fit in the diverse range of Surahi earrings.

In retrospect, 2020 was a year of learning for me, it gave me a lot of time to learn new things and hone my designing skills. Being at home I read and learned about branding and marketing. I had time to introspect and comprehend the need and ways to put this collection together. It was a new experience altogether that helped us make this collection special. The launch of the Surahi Jewellery in December 2020 was a result of the victorious spirits of the team of Kabbish who made it possible.

We believe ‘Surahi collection’ is a product of the hard work, patience, and courage of its creators.  It’s a collection that impacted lives and made a difference.