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Naga designs enrich city's fabric

Ethnic Crafts
Last Updated 05 February 2015, 16:22 IST

Ritu Varni an architect has also been associated with craft design for the last 18 years. Her architectural work in residential and resort design has been mostly in wood and bamboo material.

The E’thaan design studio is her brainchild. An art and craft studio, it is a one-stop shop for plush furniture, lights, tableware, utensils and all kinds of crafts – a place where the artisan’s kill and the designer’s creativity come together in original design with a distinctly
Indian flavour.

E’thaan design studio is soon going to have an exhibition in Delhi. When asked what is E’thaan, Varni says, “The word itself is derived from a word in Naga language. ‘E’thaan’ is a Lotha Naga Indian word for something ‘new’. The designs are based entirely on our work in Nagaland and Naga motifs.”

The range of lights are based on the use of sanjhi or paper cutting craft in combination with wood and bamboo. These designs create moods with colours and texture, accentuated by light quality through the lattice cutwork. Minimally and finely carved wooden lights form yet another range of lights for a more elegant look.

There is a range of tableware comprising three different collections, each one of which is based on a particular skill. The tableware has unusual products that are geared to Indian lifestyles like the roti dish, beilan, butter dishes, snack serving trays, tongs, masala dibbas. Finish and detailing underline the product designs.

“From 1991 as a student of architecture, I did my thesis on two tribes of two districts of Nagaland called the Konyak and the Zeme tribes. That was a one year research thesis and I lived there during that time. I was moving in and out of different villages.”

“I found a very deep connect with the Naga culture. It was life-transforming. It has enriched my life in terms of work, knowledge and introduced me to woodwork and bamboo, which have been my love and passion and continue to be,” says Varni.

“The artisans who work and partner with E’thaan are paid according to a certain standard, in recognition of their hand skills. These skills can only be preserved if they get the respect that is their due. The studio believes craft has its own space and place and defines a way of life.

We cannot and do not believe in competing with the industry,” says Varni.
The use, research and development of bamboo as a material for craft and architecture have been the focus of Varni’s work in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Nagaland for a number of years.

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(Published 05 February 2015, 16:22 IST)

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