After completing my studies, I started working in a museum shop which was steeped in luxury and heritage but most of all in traditional crafts. I dealt with the artisans, worked with people older than myself and at the same time interacted with people visiting Jaipur from all over the world. The years I spent here modified how I perceived things. This time, my own conscious choice and my pride in Indian crafts made me more attentive towards products which were produced locally by Indian craftsmen. Back in India, my wardrobe consists of a lot of hand block printed textiles and my home is adorned with handwoven rugs, folk paintings and blue ceramic decorative objects. Buying from artisans is not just a simple transactional act – it is rather an exchange where I consume not just the product but also days of labour and resources drawn from the environment (with minimum possible negative impact). In my small way I try to motivate craftsmen by showing an appreciation for their skill and hard work, and in turn get encouraged by the impact I create on their lives through my actions.
As every Indian child, I was brought up to make the best possible use of everything I had – from taking care of my clothes to make them last longer to keeping my books in a good condition so that they can be passed on to other children. As a child, more often than not, I wore my elder sisters’ clothes when they grew out of them and when they were no longer in wearable condition, my mother repurposed them to make either shoe cases or dusters. I do not remember a time when she simply threw out something because it wasn’t in fashion anymore. Similarly, living in a desert state where water was limited, we also grew up with a tremendous appreciation for nature and preserving whatever we could. In the early 2000s, my father installed a solar geyser to reduce our electricity consumption and also put in place a rainwater harvesting system at home to conserve rainwater. At every step of our growing up, my parents made every effort to inculcate in us the importance of making a conscious effort to function in harmony with nature as well as society.