Laila Tyabji

Laila Tyabji
Born 2 May 1947 (1947-05-02) (age 68)
Delhi, India
Occupation Social worker
Years active since 1978
Awards Padma Shri
Aid to Artisans Preservation of Craft Award
NIFT Lifetime Achievement Award
Chishti Harmony Award
Limca Book of Records Person of the Year
Website Official web site

Laila Tyabji (born May 2, 1947) is an Indian social worker, craft revivalist, art designer[1] and the founder of Dastkar,[2] a Delhi-based non governmental organization, working for the revival of traditional crafts in India.[3][4][5] She was honored by the Government of India in 2012 with the fourth–highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.[6] She is the daughter of late Badruddin Tayyabji, ICS, who was a senior Indian civil servant and diplomat.[7]

Biography

Beyond her image as a sophisticated and stylish woman, Laila could make and hold a bridge with craftspeople. She has been there for them through calamity and crisis; from teaching them how to price their products to valuing themselves. The respect and affection they have for her is rare, says Archana Seth, a Delhi based entrepreneur and author of the book, Shifting Sands, Kutch: Textiles, Traditions, Transformations.[8]

Laila Tyabji was born on 2 May 1947[9] in a Sulaimani Bohra Muslim family to a former Indian diplomat as one of his four children in the Indian capital of Delhi.[8] Her early schooling was at the Welham Girls' School in Dehradun and she continued her studies in art at Vadodara.[10] Later, she went to Japan trained under Toshi Yoshida, a Japanese printmaking artist to start a career as a designer.[8][3]

The turning point in her career came when Tyabji received a contract from the Gujarat State Handloom and Handicrafts Development Corporation to visit Kutch for documenting the handicraft work of the Gurjari craftsmen.[10] The assignment, originally fixed for 3 months got prolonged to six. Returning from Kutch, Tyabji worked as a merchandiser for Taj Khazana, a chain of luxury lifestyle stores run by Taj Group of Hotels,[11] dealing in Indian arts and crafts. However, the difficulty in the procurement of goods from remote areas like Assam gave Tyabji the idea of starting a procurement agency to act as the middle man.[8]

Tyabji co-founded Dastkar with five other women[10] in 1981[12][3][5][13] and the inaugural Dastkar Nature Bazaar was held in New Delhi, the same year at the Triveni Kala Sangam.[14] The nature bazaar has since become a regular event with a permanent venue at Kisan Haat, Mehrauli, Delhi. Tyabji also cooperated with the Self-Employed Women's Association of India (SEWA), a similar non-governmental organization founded by renowned Gandhian, Ela Bhatt. She is credited with revolutionizing the craft industry in India by developing a market for Indian crafts, modernizing the artisans' skills, and acting as the liaising link between the artisans and the buyers.[3] Dastkar operates on the policy of leaving the ownership of the goods to the artisans who produced them, retaining a 20 percent revenue towards the operating costs.[4] It provides the artisans with training and assists them with credit, designs, and product development techniques.[9][5] The organization has a producer group base of over 250, which collectively employs more than 36,000 artisans.[9][5]

Under the aegis of Dastkar, Tyabji has worked in Kashmir for the social reestablishment of the victims of terrorism, in Ranthambore, for the rehabilitation of the people who were evacuated for the National Park[4][9] and in Bellary for the revival of the dying art of Lambani embroidery.[14][3] She is associated with the artisans across the country such as Banjara Needle Crafts and Rabari mirror work craftswoman of Kutch and Maharashtra, Chicken craft workers of Lucknow, Kasuti embroidery artisans of Karnataka, and the clay artisans of Rajasthan.[4][9][5]

Laila Tyabji authored Threads and Voices – Behind the Indian Textile Tradition,[15] published in 2007,[9][5] and has written several articles in Indian journals.[5][16] A spinster by choice, lives in Delhi, attending to her duties at her Shahpur Jat office[14] as the Head of Dastkar.[8]

Awards and recognitions

In 2003, Tyabji was awarded the Aid to Artisans' Preservation of Craft Award, the first Asian and the second overall recipient of the award,[5] the investiture ceremony taking place in New York.[4][13] Eleven years later in 2012, the Government of India honored her with Padma Shri, the fourth–highest Indian civilian award.[17] She is also a recipient of the NIFT Lifetime Achievement Award[13] and the Chishti Harmony Award.[9] The Limca Book of Records, an Indian repository of records and achievements, named Laila Tyabji as the Person of the Year, in 2014.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Design Ideas - Laila Tyabji". Print Rest. 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Dastkar". Dastkar2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Tehelka". Tehelka. 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Asia INCH Encyclopedia". Asia INCH Encyclopedia. 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "University of Copenhagen". University of Copenhagen. 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Padma Shri" (PDF). Padma Shri. 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
  7. ↑ Brussels in winter
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Live Mint". Live Mint. 9 August 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Limca Book of Records". Limca Book of Records. 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 "Business Standard". Business Standard. 21 March 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Taj Khazana". Taj Hotels. 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Free Press Journal". Free Press Journal. 19 August 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  13. 1 2 3 "Harmony India". Harmony India. 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  14. 1 2 3 "The Hindu". 7 October 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  15. ↑ Laila Tyabji (October 7, 2007). Threads & Voices: Behind the Indian Textile Tradition. Marg Foundation. p. 148. ISBN 978-8185026794.
  16. ↑ Laila Tyabji (2007). "Handcrafting a Culture". India Seminar (575).
  17. ↑ "Padma Awards Directory (1954–2013)". Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-11-15.

Further reading

External links

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