Sanket Jain

Our students are documenting dying art forms via hand embroidery. Here’s why:

86-year-old Shamshuddin Mulla is a master mechanic with over 70 years of experience. He repairs all kinds of traditional engines – water pumps, borewell pumps, mini excavators, diesel engines and many others. This is a vanishing art form and only a handful of mechanics can now repair these complex engines. Shamshuddin raised his signature style of repairing engines to the level of an art.

Our students spent 220 hours designing this hand embroidery artwork & in turn used these 220 hours to learn more about the life of Shamshuddin.

We’ve started a new curriculum called vanishing livelihoods and dying art forms. As part of this, our students study the work of the finest craftspeople, artists, and art practitioners, who have spent over five decades working on their art and craft.

These artists are not the ones whose work you will find in museums or art galleries. They are everyday artists from remote villages, and their art, often unheard of, remains undocumented. With this curriculum, they not just learn embroidery but also learn about the massive transition the society is going through and why several art forms are on the verge of extinction. They learn critical life skills and relate to this learning over conventional schooling.

Isn’t it fascinating?