Bridge Bharat has unveiled Fields of Chamba, a year-long, research-driven collection of Chamba Rumals developed in collaboration with Padma Shri Lalita Vakil and her atelier of master women artisans from Himachal Pradesh. The series reinterprets Himalayan botanical memory through archival study, design research, and traditional embroidery techniques.
At the core of the collection lies a botanical language drawn directly from the Chamba Valley, including native flowering shrubs, sacred trees, wild creepers, and seasonal flora deeply embedded in the region’s cultural and ecological landscape. These natural elements, observed in daily life across temple paths, agricultural fields, and forest edges, form the visual foundation of each textile work.
The project began with extensive documentation of historic Chamba Rumals, analysing their compositional structures, stitch techniques, and floral motifs. This research was further expanded through academic study of Himalayan flora, resulting in original design drawings created by the Bridge Bharat studio for translation into the intricate double-sided embroidery tradition.
Executed over 1,000 hours by 13 master artisans, the works reflect both preservation and innovation within the Chamba Rumal craft. A defining material advancement in the series is the use of handwoven Bengal muslin, significantly finer than the cotton traditionally used. This enhances the delicacy of the embroidery, where every stitch remains visible, while giving the textiles a translucent, light-responsive quality that elevates them as collectible art pieces.
Historically rooted in the Pahari visual tradition, Chamba Rumals have long reflected themes of devotion, seasonality, and sacred landscapes. In this contemporary interpretation, botanical forms also function as a living ecological archive, positioning each textile as both cultural record and artistic expression.
“In Fields of Chamba, the archive, the landscape, and the artisan’s lived experience come together,” said Aakanksha Singh, Founder, Bridge Bharat. “By developing original compositions through rigorous research and translating them through a discipline that demands extraordinary precision, we are extending the language of the Rumal while creating sustained, high-value work for the artisans who hold its technical knowledge.”
The initiative forms part of Bridge Bharat’s long-term vision to position Indian heritage crafts within the global collectible design ecosystem, integrating research, design authorship, material innovation, and traditional expertise into a unified framework.
