Marvels of a bygone era (Prakalyam Gallery)

A lifelong obsession with antiques and natural affinity of a bygone era resulted into a recipe of a healthy business for Veshali Visvanaath. With cultivated taste and deep passion, Veshali is spreading her love of authentic and genuine antique collection far and wide through her online venture - Prakalyam gallery- one stop stomping ground for handmade antiques and colonial furniture hunters in Singapore and beyond.

When I found myself unapologetically glued on the collection of antiques and colonial furniture on Prakalyam Gallery online, I knew at an instant that it has a script-worthy story to share with my readers.

Nestled in the protective arms of Veshali, Prakalyam Gallery is an opulent place dripping with riches of antique collection that echoes India’s expertise and artistic excellence of master craftsmanship in colonial past. With chiseled to perfection pieces Prakalyam Gallery is creating a stir with their glam collection of wooden furniture, antique silver, glass and other artefacts. Each of these unusually exclusive pieces are a fusion of Indian craftsmanship and the styles of an olden colonial era.

 

It was a different ballgame when Veshali was hunting antiques for her home, but when the shopping game gone overboard for her home; Veshali translated her years of experience of curating antiques in steering a business empire of Prakalyam gallery. Though the name ‘Prakalyam’ may sound a bit challenging to pronounce, it has the perfect meaning and essence of what Veshali was looking for. It is a Sanskrit word which denotes “all things beautiful”. The word is an amalgamation of two Hindi words...pracchin and kaal which literally means ancient times.  

Accomplishments and accolades come at an easy trot for Veshali in a short span of three years.  A desi soul and a lover of simplest things, Veshali innovates with an eye to what is meaningful in her client’s beautiful homes. When it comes to products, Prakalyam is committed to suffusing its gallery with the most genuine antiques. Each piece has gone through intelligent and deliberate design process under Veshali’s supervision and care. Veshali is steadfast and has a clear blueprint of what Prakalyam Gallery should provide. With an eye for antiques and her addiction to hunt, Veshali is keen to rethink the very essence of what she puts in the gallery. Veshali personally goes through the grind of endorsing every unusual and rare piece for the gallery from India. Important pieces in the gallery are secured through auctions and personal contacts of Veshali. Keeping the line of design close to the colonial era, off lately, Veshali is also bringing a few reproductions upon request. Veshali’s business breaths on –“Being true to everything I do”.  As she firmly believes that the only thing she is answerable is her own conscience. No wonder, the uniqueness in Prakalyam brand is an expression of Veshali’s individuality and personality that has begun to cast a major influence for anyone who loves to blend classy and exclusive pieces in their homes.Prakalyam has prospered in keeping the spectacle and marvels of Indian era alive through their gallery. As we sign off, wishing Prakalyam all the very best for all future accomplishments. Do take a trip down the nostalgic lanes of a long-gone era by visiting the gallery of Prakalyam here. Follow along Prakalyam gallery on Instagram here and Facebook page here. If you ever step your feet in Singapore or you live there to drop in the physical store of Prakalyam by appointment.

Until we meet again, stay connected on Facebook and Instagram feeds of Pinkz Passion, toodles!

(Image Courtesy: Prakalyam Gallery. The pictures can not be used without a consent  from the store owners, however, you may re-pin them from Pinkz Passion's Pinterest account) 

Gaatha - A tale of crafts (Featured e-shop)

Gaatha, an online brand long associated with iconic Indian inspired designs and built on the idea of persevering disappearing art and craft of Indian heritage is what we are cheering today via snippets of their collective pursuit.

Well thought out ethics, strong sense of styling of products reflecting traditional charm, and above all promoting the efforts of artisans that went in making that one of kind artefact shows how team Gaatha has beautifully capitulated cultural preservation.  

 

Amazed by the rich detail on their website, I reached out to Gaatha to find more about some exclusive facts and inside scoop. Led by imaginative forbearers and visionaries with strong social conscience, Gaatha holds committed team of 8 people at the moment, of which three are the founding members viz. all Alumni  of National Institute of design, Ahmedabad . One team member is a software engineer from reputed engineering college of India. One applied artist, graphic designer and a couple of content developers.  Gaatha also keep collaborating with volunteers, researchers and photographers who help adding research volume into their craft documentation on project/freelance basis. 

When elements like passion, mindset and dedication to fortify local crafts coalesced in a unique and artistic way, Gaatha was germinated. As termed out by team Gaatha:

 

Passion for handicrafts was seeded while doing academic research under Prof. M.P.Ranjan and Aditi Ranjan at the National Institute of Design (NID). We (the core team) learnt how many beautiful traditional Indian crafts are fighting for survival today. When a craft dies, we not only lose the time-tested techniques but we also lose generations of faith and wisdom that went into making that object.

To uplift the pride and prosperity of the wearing away Indian legacy of handicraft, Gaatha is reinstating that faith and respect via their fruitful marketing prowess. As coined out by team Gaatha:

Gaatha was originally created for researching and documenting Indian craft clusters and heritage which are experiencing rapid erosion. However, we learnt from artisans themselves that need was not to do research alone but to restore ‘pride and commercial opportunity’ in their ecosystem. Today Gaatha thus aims to bring the lost respect and wealth back to these heirloom artisanal clusters. 

In an effort, Gaatha not only connects with artisans from far-flung villages, but also shares visual journey of their products. Gaatha affirms:

As Indian crafts are so varied, so is our inventory; ranging from extremely sophisticated and high end products like Kashmir Pashmina shawls, Gold Theva jewelry to utility based items like kitchenware but one thing that runs common to everything we keep at Gaatha store is the quality and good aesthetics.

Chiefly motivated by Indian origins, Gaatha, since last three years, has only been doing research and documentation of various crafts across India. They started e-commerce portal a couple of months ago. Gaatha intends to cover everything from pottery to ship making and even the simple daily utility-based crafts such as rope or broom making.

Sky is the limit when you shop Gaatha, as they have hundreds of items through their e-commerce platform from the deepest alcoves of vibrant India. So, what are you waiting for, head straight to their website here and bring a handmade Indian vibe to spiff up your home by one of a kind piece from Gaatha. Like Gaatha's facebook page or follow their fancy feeds on Instagram.

Until we meet again, stay connected on Facebook page or Instagram feed of Pinkz Passion, toodles!

(Image courtesy: Gaatha)