An assortment of royal fineries, heritage crafts and legacy cuisines of princely India’s blue-blooded scions will be exhibited in Bengaluru today (March 29). Organised by Royal Fables, a revivalist platform that showcases the royal world — in association with FICCI Flo, the all-India women division of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry — the 12th edition of the one-day pop-up will showcase products made in palace studios helmed by designers and design professionals from royal families.
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Rani Jaykriti Singh Baria in block-printed cottons
On display are 30 rare craft stories curated from across the country, from block-printed cottons by Rani Jaykirti Singh Baria from Gujarat to art-inspired chiffons by BBG Royals, founded by designers Nidhi Sah and Digvijay Singh from Awagarh in Uttar Pradesh. Restoration stories by Rang Riwaaz is one of the highlights at the exhibition. Rajkumari Alka Rani Singh who hails from Pratapgarh, Awadh, Uttar Pradesh, along with her daughter, Yashodhara Singh, has rejuvenated the Banarasi style of weaving tissue saris in pure gold. On a personal note, founder of Royal Fables Anshu Khanna shares, “I had a vintage paithani sari, which belonged to my grandmother and was in dire need of restoration. They worked their magic on the legacy sari and changed its colour from rani pink to a beautiful golden tissue drape, retaining its original borders.”
Anshu Khanna in her legacy sari restored by Rang Riwaaz | Photo Credit: Instagram @rangriwaaz
Alka Rani Singh is also recreating forgotten beauty rituals that she learnt from her grandmother and mother, such as extracting natural kajal over a clay lamp and kneading it in pure cow’s ghee, or the tradition of ittar-making, and presenting them in hand-blown glass miniature bottles that can be worn around the neck.
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“Over the years, Royal Fables has seen the revival of many palace studios that are employing local artisans and nurturing the master crafts of their region,” says Khanna, adding that it has made entrepreneurs out of many women from the royal lineage. After being suspended during the first year of the pandemic, the exhibition returned to Delhi last September.
Hand-rolled kajal by Alka Rani
The forum also has two brands (started in 2019) to its credit: Palace Karkhanas and Kitchen of the Kings. “The former takes heritage stories of handloom, art and artefacts into the realm of retail, and the latter shares culinary stories of the royal families by hosting curated dinners at royal palaces, or any other place of interest,” says Khanna.
At the exhibition’s inaugural dinner last night (March 28), Tikarani Shailaja Katoch of Lambagraon, from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, shared recipes from Cooking Delights of the Maharajas (1982 ) — by her great grandfather Maharaja Digvijay Singh of Sailana, Madhya Pradesh — with the chefs of the Leela Palace Hotel. The book, it is said, was found in Saddam Hussein’s palace when the US army raided it. Mahima Kumari, princess of Bikaner, also made a traditional patod (steamed colocasia leaf rolls) for the dinner guests.
The exhibition is on at Leela Palace Hotel, from 11 am.