User:Ketayun, Katz/Anokhi, Jaipur

ANOKHI, JAIPUR

Anokhi^[1][2][3] (Hindi pronunciation - Uh n oh kh ee)  means ‘remarkable’ or ‘unique’ in Hindi.

Anokhi is a famous Indian apparel label operating out of Jaipur, Rajasthan and specialising in block printed, ready-to-wear clothing, soft furnishings and accessories. The brand was created to conserve, develop and promote traditional textile printing techniques by infusing conventional designs with contemporary ones and establishing a marketing network to provide a sustainable livelihood to the men and women who have, for centuries, depended on this craft as their only source of income.^[4]

HISTORY

Faith (Nee Hardy) Singh, the daughter of British missionaries, had come to India with the aim of buying fabrics to sell at home in England. While in India she met Jitendra Pal (John) Singh, a Rajput, who had returned to Jaipur after a stint in the tea gardens of Assam. They got married and set up home in the Pink City of Jaipur.

John Singh and Faith Singh decided to support the textiles created by the local craftsmen when they realised that the long-established art of hand block printing and the use of vibrant, natural dyes was fast vanishing and the artisans were leaving behind a centuries old tradition to look elsewhere for their basic survival.

Anokhi was established in 1969 in a garage with a printer and a few tailors. The company was started with the express purpose of rejuvenating and revitalising this dying art form and in the early years, the focus was primarily on reviving Rajasthan's traditional techniques of hand block-printing that had lost local relevance, while simultaneously creating products for Western audiences out of the local craft tradition.

It was in 1973 that Anokhi really took off after the Hollywood actress Jane Seymour was photographed for Vogue magazine, posing amid hand block printed textiles while doing a photo shoot for the James Bond film ‘Live and Let Die.’ Immediately the shops selling Anokhi became trendy and the fashionistas could not have enough of hand block prints.

Meanwhile, the brand started developing its own repertoire of block designs, and ventured into doing its own research and development. This process was driven by the desire to keep the craft relevant by constantly innovating and also to actually show the craftsmen that new designs were possible.

As Anokhi revitalised the craft of hand block printing, it also evolved its own philosophy of business built on values such as `fair trade', `openness' and `taking care of people'.

In 1996 Faith Singh and John Singh retired and handed over the management of Anokhi to their son Pritam Singh and his wife Rachel Bracken-Singh.

THE ANOKHI MUSEUM OF HAND BLOCK PRINTS

John and Faith had bought Chanwar Palkiwalon ki Haveli, a crumbling mansion near the Amber Fort, in the 1970s and in 1989 they set about restoring it. The role played by trained architects was kept to a minimum and the chief mason was given a free hand allowing him to use traditional techniques and materials similar to those originally used in the haveli. Within three years the haveli was restored to its original grandeur using indigenous materials, time-honoured construction

methods and skilled artisans.

The restoration of the haveli attracted and employed many local craftsmen and it encouraged other owners in the town to attempt restoration of their own property, land was no longer being made easily available for builders and the entire exercise led to the awakening of a sense of pride among the people. Queries to do similar restoration work in other monuments began pouring in and the haveli became a hallmark in restoration techniques in Jaipur. The project was awarded by UNESCO as a Project of Excellence in 2000.

After completion of the Chanwar Palkiwalon Ki Haveli restoration, it remained unused until 2007 when it was converted to the Anokhi Museum of Hand Block Printing by the Rachel Bracken-Singh and Pritam Singh to act as a platform to introduce visitors to hand block printing..

THE ANOKHI CAFÉ

Along with the museum came the idea for starting a café that offers organically grown food with an international flavour. The food served at the café is made of the produce grown on the Anokhi farm. In October 2005, the company opened the Anokhi Café adjoining the Jaipur shop. New and exotic vegetables were introduced on the farm and are now included in the menu. The Café has become a famous tourist spot and a favourite local hangout for both its ambience and food.

REFERENCES AND EXTERNAL LINKS

http://www.anokhi.com/

http://www.anokhi.com/museum/home.html

http://anokhicafe.com/

http://www.anokhi.com/anokhi/our-shops.html

http://www.anokhi.com/anokhi/contact-us.html