A chance encounter with a small, raw rendering of a khatwa appliqué, a traditional art form from Bihar and Jharkhand, at a Crafts Council exhibition in New Delhi drew designer Anavila Misra to Dumka in Jharkhand, and a group of young girls who had trained in the embroidery. Bringing them into her fold and refining their craft over the last few years, Misra was keen to provide a peek into their world.
At the launch of her new collection, ‘Sarmast’, in Hyderabad, which also coincided with her brand’s new outpost at Maison Isa, a boutique housed within The Leela hotel, a delightful khatwa wall panel of a forest stood as testimony to their collaboration. These were no textbook renditions or botanical illustrations. This was folklore, innocent and whimsical, with lush trees — identifiable by the way a branch curves, a leaf bends — sparrows pecking grains, a mother hen leading her chicks, and sheep and sprightly deer engaging with squirrels and peacocks. It was nature the way their forefathers saw it and rendered as art.
The khatwa wall panel
It is these stories of co-existence — the traditions of craft and culture, the lives built around it — that is the foundation of not just Misra’s work, but her DNA. Her late father, born into a humble farming community, chose to study and not pursue agriculture, she shares. He went on to become an accoladed dairy scientist. “But as much as he left behind his village, the village never left him,” she recalls. “We spent every vacation there playing in the sugarcane fields and stepwells. Morning walks with my father were slow and leisurely. He’d pick leaves and flowers, and delight in studying them.”
Outfits from Sarmast
Those walks now find permanent expression as a tattoo — a vividly inked image of Misra and her father Jagveer, strolling through sugarcane fields — on her forearm. Unhurried, mindful, exploratory, it is a moment in time that she aims for in everything she does.
Misra’s tattoo
With curiosity leading the way
Misra is often referred to as a textile explorer, but that would be to minimise the time and thought spent on the process of innovating and reinterpreting what exists, in her own language. Her recasting of the linen sari is one for the annals. “In 2011, I set out to create a textile that was new. I had loved linen from the time I worked in menswear design, but it was not conducive to the flow and ease a sari required,” she reminisces. “No one wove with linen yarn then, and my search took me to a weaver in West Bengal who wove linen stoles. So began my first collaboration.”
Anavila Misra
Since then, linen has met zari, jamdani and more in its couture format, and been a staple in the boardroom for women leaders and CEOs. Fourteen years on, Misra has expanded her range from saris to occasion wear, contemporary, children’s wear, and now home linen — all while staying committed to responsible creation and collaborative initiatives with artisanal communities.
Her curiosity to learn has also taken her across geographical locations, from Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Rajasthan, to her more recent sojourns in the Chettinad and Puducherry regions. And her travels have often informed her collections, including the 2024 ‘Payanam’, which drew inspiration from southern architecture and textile, and ‘ÉTÉ’ that reflected the French and Tamil influence found in Puducherry.
In the city of Nizams
Hyderabad is Misra’s next stop in her growth story. The new Anavila boutique opened with a showcase of ‘Sarmast’ (meaning “poetically intoxicated” in Persian). The hotel lobby was reimagined as a Nizam’s salon with tables draped in luxurious velvet, and chandeliers, including one sprawled on the floor in casual irreverence, spilling light over fruits and models alike. “My research led me to the Basheerbagh Palace and two invitations made of textile and lace from [prime minister of hyderabad] Sir Asman Jahan Bahadur, for a dress-up party,” she says. “Celebration and hospitality are integral to Hyderabad’s culture, and from there came the theme for the show.”
Her metallic drapes and dresses reflected a cross pollination of cultures, too. “Our research came from images of Nilufer Hanimsultan and Durrusehvar Sultan, Ottoman princesses who married into Hyderabad royalty,” explains Misra, adding that floral motifs were borrowed from Rococo cornices and ceiling ornamentation of palaces such as the Falaknuma, while metallic zari linens and jewel toned silks were a nod to Baroque tapestries and brocades that furnished the spaces.
Sarmast showcase at The Leela
For a minimalist home
With the launch of her home line, Misra widens the body of her work while the soul stays aligned with her philosophy. Using kala cotton, linen, wool, and khadi, nature continues to play a central theme in the creations. “Spaces are a part of our self-expression,” she believes. “We had been exploring our home line for a few years, but were unsure if Indian homes were ready for our minimalistic aesthetic. Post COVID-19, we found that had changed, and customers were looking for a quieter ethos.” Her quilts, cushion covers, table runners, and napkins that sport kathwa, sujini, and prints echo this.
The Anavila store at Maison Isa
People of the Forest
This season, Misra’s love of collectibles (remember the dolls, Busa & friends, which came about as an attempt to make saris more relatable to children who are seeing less of the garment in their daily lives?) take the form of hand-carved neem statues. They are a tribute to the Birhor, a nomadic tribe in Jharkhand. “The Birhor hold a repository of ancient knowledge of the forests. Although efforts have been made to bring them into the mainstream, they prefer their natural home,” says Misra, who has been working with artisans from Jharkhand since the inception of her brand. British documentarian Michael York’s work is another resource. Draped in sustainable textiles, the statues are a memory of a time that was slower, considerate and graceful.
People of the Forest collectibles
As she continues to travel and innovate, her goal is to introduce local culture, textile and craft into all her work. “What I’ve learnt is that one can integrate external influences without losing one’s history and identity,” she says. It will be interesting to see the Deccan and southern textiles and craft integrate further into her language.
The freelance writer is a professional in the design space.
Published – June 05, 2025 03:31 pm IST
