The kurtas Dadiji was pointing at, I later found out, were each hand-embroidered by her between 1975 to early 2000’s for Panditji to wear for his music performances, important meetings and album recordings!
The kurtas Dadiji was pointing at, I later found out, were each hand-embroidered by her between 1975 to early 2000’s for Panditji to wear for his music performances, important meetings and album recordings!
Ma’s penchant for the handicrafts always mesmerises me. Sewing, embroidery and knitting are her forte.My mother has no exotic buttons in her box. She is not a collector. Her box contains regular, mundane buttons that she thinks she might find useful.
These vintage dusting powder boxes have been in the family from around the 1940s when my maternal grandparents got married. They belonged to my grandmother, Bani Bhattacharya, who brought these from her maiden home in Maldah, West Bengal.
The Bonti is a kitchen instrument that is used in Indian households to peel, chop, shred, slice and dice vegetables and fruits, especially in the states of Bengal, Assam, Orissa.
This cabinet was originally commissioned by Bhaskar Vinayak Pandit or Aṇṇā, my great-great grandfather, some time towards the latter half of the 19th century. But the story of the cabinet is as migratory as the family that possessed it.