Meet The One-Woman Army Reviving Varanasi’s Ancient Craft One ‘Lattu’ at a Time.
It was at this point that Kaushiki decided to do something about it. Armed with an MBA degree, she decided to speak to some of the artisans and figure out why the craft was dying. Most of the time, she’d receive the same answers – fewer takers, lower demand, financial constraints, better opportunities in the city. She identified three artisan families who were open to the idea of modernizing their designs, and with them was born Lattu, a Banarasi woodworkers’ collective.
‘Lattu’ is the Hindi word for a spinning top, one of Varanasi’s most popular wood-crafted toys. Over time, Kaushiki helped create scores of contemporary designs, including tableware, cutlery, coasters and coat hangers. The products are still uniquely Banarasi in their style, but now have a contemporary, utilitarian aspect to them that was never there before. It hasn’t been an easy journey for her though. “At first, it was difficult to get the artisans on the same page. But with time, they began to quickly understand the newer color combinations and product concepts.
Source: https://www.thebetterindia.com/160078/banarasi-woodwork-kaushiki-varanasi-lattu-artisan/
