Hemangini Rathore

Sudarshan Means Beautiful

In Hindi, the word Sudarshan means beautiful.  In the ancient district of Jaipur, India, Sudarshan is also the name of a thriving artist collective founded by expert textile artisan Hemangini Singh with a goal of preserving and promoting traditional folk textiles. Singh collaborates with skilled craftsmen to create a collection of handmade textiles, scarves, and accessories. Her aesthetic reflects a gorgeous melding of traditional craft techniques with contemporary styling. The ever-evolving collection presents a diversity of approaches, using block-printing, handloom, and folk embroidery styles.

Traditionally a hub for fine textiles, Jaipur’s hand-block printing methods extend back for generations, with some methods dating to the 1700s. Sudarshan’s artisans work alone or with another’s help, depending on the difficulty of the project. Some scarves are richly colored in indigo, first by drawing a design, then folding repeatedly to create a range of colors—from soft cerulean to deep, inky blues. After dyeing the folds, rinsed and dried stitches are opened to display unique designs. Other items produced include warm, quilted jackets and other luxurious wearables. Sudarshan has honed their techniques in hand block printing, dabu resist printing, indigo dyeing of akola, patola weaves of Gujarat, resist stitch shibori, natural dyeing of Bagru, khadi cashmere weaves, and antique suzani and tilla embroideries of Kashmir.

Some textiles incorporate floral and animal motifs—all representing the region’s wildlife. Political issues in Kashmir endangered this craft for generations, but Sudarshan’s artisans now hope to develop safe workshops with adequate production facilities to help sustain this artform in a lasting way.

Hemangini hails from the royal family of Bikaner. She is the great granddaughter of Maharaja Ganga Singh of Bikaner, who was a well known patron and connoisseur of fine arts. The city of Bikaner, located in the northwest region of Rajasthan, India, is known for the Fort Museum ; specifically as it contains one of the best archives of royal and folk Rajasthani textiles. Textiles and artistry were indeed significant staples for Singh, as she has been surrounded by extraordinary textiles and the skilled artisans that crafted them since she was a child. Inheriting both an affinity for craft and a trust from her family, she has gone on to promote the arts and artisan welfare throughout the course of her life.