It all started on a small boat in mid 2014, with a team armed with some cameras, books and personal belongings. The majhi (boatman) steered the sputtering engine smoothly over the waves in the river, stopping at villages where we interviewed the residents and showed them photographs of the ‘phuti karpas’ plant, explaining its connection to muslin. Over the next twenty months we visited more places within the country and outside, interviewed experts, collected artefacts and information, recruited artesans, brought on board stakeholders, spun and wove yarn and held an exhibition in 2016 published a book with a film in the works.

Sleepless nights, wide- awake discussions and a vanishing budget were constants. And though it’s been almost a decade since that unremarkable beginning, the journey continues as the interest and queries from an appreciative audience continues, as more challenging motifs and finer counts have to be created. The aim is to spread the word and product, and not to lose our heritage again.