Seated on the grasslands in distant hamlets, often below the shade of a giant tree, the Toda girls of the Nilgiris have interaction of their artwork — a particular, Geotagged black and purple embroidery — singing full-throated songs that discuss of damp grass, heat daylight, and mountain air. Deeply impressed by Nature, this intricate pukhoor (motif) embroidery meticulously follows the warp and weft of the bottom material, creating a surprising visible impact. Artisans depend threads purely by contact, gently stretching the material as they sew — a testomony to their extraordinary talent and instinct.

On August 29, Aadhyam Handwoven, a social enterprise that helps craft and weaving clusters, and Coonoor & Co, showcase a curated line of Toda shawls, scarves, residence textiles, and linen saris, handcrafted by artisans at an intimate gathering in Hyderabad. “We’ve a full vary of stoles and shawls on luxurious materials. We’re additionally unveiling an expanded residence assortment — a spread that features new designs on cushions, lumbar pillows, runners, and throws in tender cotton,” says Ramya Reddy, creator of the ebook Soul of the Nilgiris and founding father of Coonoor& Co, a gradual life impressed journal and on-line retailer. Ramya shall be in dialog with Anuradha Gunupati of Saptaparni and Dr Reddy’s Basis, as she holds forth on the evolution of the beautiful geometry of Toda embroidery — it’s measured rhythms and lineage of fingers.

The primary look of the Khadi line, a work-in-progress developed particularly for Toda embroidery, and one other that includes block prints impressed by Nilgiris botanicals may even be showcased. “These prints, designed by our in-house designer, will seem throughout khadi and linen bases, and are envisioned to take a seat synergistically alongside the Toda work in future collections. We’ve been working with an indigenous neighborhood in West Bengal for our khadi and our block printers belong to an artisan neighborhood in Udaipur,” explains Ramya including that one other key element is artwork providing. This can be a assortment of hand-embroidered wall artwork, created by shut collaboration between artisans and design workforce, showcasing each basic motif-based items and extra summary, conceptual expressions of the embroidery. One of many compelling examples is the reinterpretation of the puthukuzhy, the ceremonial cloak, as textile art work.

The gathering as an entire displays a deeply collaborative course of, one which respects lineage whereas making house for experimentation, she explains. “Three of our Toda artisans shall be travelling with us to share this journey and likewise exhibit the work.”

Residing in distant settlements within the Nilgiris, an ecologically wealthy UNESCO Biosphere Reserve within the Western Ghats, the Toda neighborhood is an historical, pastoral, indigenous group. Right here, amidst lush biodiversity, the Todas have maintained their cultural traditions over generations. With fewer than 1,700 Todas remaining and solely about 500 artisans actively practising, preserving this embroidery is vital to sustaining their cultural identification.

The muse of The Toda Challenge, Ramya recollects, lies in a long-standing relationship with the Toda neighborhood, going again over a decade, through the analysis for her ebook, Soul of the Nilgiris. “When the ebook was revealed, I felt so strongly in regards to the neighborhood’s imprint on the undertaking that we embroidered every backbone (2000 distinctive spines!) with a singular, hand-stitched Toda motif. That gesture of letting the ebook carry their thread deepened my connection. I turned notably near an elder named Mutsin: a smart, forward-thinking lady with a quiet however visionary outlook. Earlier than she handed, she nudged me to consider what extra this embroidery might change into,” she explains including that after Mutsin’s passing, her daughter-in-law Seeta picked up that thread — fairly actually — and started to actively pursue methods to evolve the craft. Alongside along with her sister Satya and artisan Anbu Lakshmi, they turned the primary collaborators. “They have been curious, open to experimentation, and introduced in a small group of seven girls to start our first spherical of labor,” says Ramya, reflecting upon the genesis of the model.

What started with seven girls has grown right into a collective of practically fifty artisans — lots of whom now think about this their major supply of livelihood. “The character of embroidery is like inheritance, an astonishing geometry that’s so excellent. Achieved completely by hand, with a humble needle and thread—anchored in contact, repetition, and a type of inherited instinct that borders on ancestral muscle reminiscence. Either side of the material can be utilized or displayed, one thing fairly uncommon amongst world embroidery traditions,” explains Ramya. She started a protracted strategy of experimentation, testing varied materials, consulting with weavers throughout the nation, and iterating on weave buildings that might accommodate the distinctive calls for of the embroidery. One among her early breakthroughs was with a cotton-merino wool mix, which provided the suitable construction and a mild hand-feel. She launched the primary vary of shawls and stoles in 2023 and later expanded into residence textiles and saris on these materials.

“Every bit carries the imprint of place and reminiscence. The Toda embroidery language is completely rooted within the panorama, the mountain ranges, particular flowers of the Shola forests, butterflies, parts from sacred rituals, and even the clay lamps utilized in temple ceremonies. The motifs are handed down, however at all times interpreted anew. We now encourage artisans to embroider their initials or names straight into the items,” says Ramya and pauses to debate the challenges. As Toda girls dwell in distant, dispersed hamlets throughout the Nilgiris, a few of which aren’t even accessible by automotive, it impacts each side of the work — from high quality management to course of design. So as to add to this, there are erratic cellphone and web connectivity, sudden climate occasions that block routes or delay journey, and the rhythms of neighborhood life. Weddings, funerals, and different giant gatherings usually draw total hamlets collectively, making it unattainable to maintain a strict manufacturing calendar.

“That’s additionally why the work is so significant. The embroidery continues to occur in situ — throughout the hamlets, surrounded by the Shola forests and the sacred mountains. The ladies work communally, sitting collectively below timber or on verandahs, and the work holds the spirit of that land: its mild, its rhythms, its tales. The method is gradual, layered, and deeply human,” she says, including, “The enjoyment lies in watching the work take root in the way in which they dwell —not by imposing exterior timelines, however by discovering a rhythm that enables the embroidery, and the ladies behind it, to really thrive.”

The Artwork of the Toda is going on at Saptaparni, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad on August 29, 6pm. The exhibition stays on view until August 31. Go to coonoorandco.com

Printed – August 28, 2025 04:30 pm IST