Bangladesh 2019: Visiting My Mother’s Native Land

A long way to home…

I had always wanted to visit Bangladesh, the land my mother and Mamabari left behind so many decades back. In July 2019, I finally made it with the help of my dear friend, Suraiya Chowdhury! The stories were vivid and the emotions were strong.

After a short 30-minute plane ride from Kolkata, my sister Anasua and I landed in Dhaka. We were welcomed with pouring rain, a welcome I had not had in some time! Our next destination was to Cox Bazar and then Chittagong.

Chittagong, or “Chadga” as my mother would say, was the most emotional destination for us. As it was the last stop of our journey, it felt almost like a ‘tirtha’ or a pilgrimage often described as a journey where one goes in search of an experience that leads to personal transformation.

Undoubtedly, visiting Chittagong was a cherished experience which ended in creating a thread, a connection to my mother that seems more difficult to part with in each passing day.

Ganesh Chaturthi 2024 Relaunching my Website

Ganesh Chaturthi Sept 7th Relaunching my website.

Wishing everyone a Happy Ganesh Chaturthi! Hope Lord Ganesha blesses you with lots of happiness, success and prosperity!

Growing up in Bombay (not Mumbai yet) in my early years we were part of the celebrations in our neighbors and friends houses -small, intimate family pujas filled with love, devotion and good wishes for all.

My mother was an enthusiastic collector of Ganesh murtis from different parts of India. One of her most beloved ones was from Mahabalipuram in black stone  and still dancing in my home in New Jersey! She strongly believed that all her pujas to “Siddhivinayak” were the connection to “all the good” in our household!
I often wonder at the remarkable way in which our beloved Gods are adopted into our daily lives. My oldest nephew was lovingly named Ganush after Tagore’s poem from Shishu- “Ganesh ke o bole je ma Ganush”! 

Another familiar print of Ganasha-Janani by Abanindranath Tagore where Parvati is playing with baby Ganesha was part of our home decor forever.

Lord Ganesh is known as the god of beginnings, wisdom, and luck so on this auspicious day I chose to relaunch my website tiapakhicollective.com. In addition to the genuine Dhaka Jamdanis from Narayangunj, Dhaka there are some beautiful tussar sarees you will love. Please do visit the site and let me know what you think! 

#tiapakhicollective #dhakaijamdanisaree #jamdaniweaves #tussarsaree

How to recognize a genuine Jamdani Saree

Jamdani sarees invoke  stories with deep rooted emotions  involving artistic, historical , political  as well as emotional threads which connect  to roots in undivided Bengal.  Jamdani has always been a source of pride of Bengal and owning a Jamdani saree was a cherished dream! The ancient Muslin fabric is however no longer available but there are fascinating stories which hold the legend of the Muslin fabric together! In its most classical form Jamdani must be 100% cotton. (Mr. Saiful Islam). The thread count should be on the higher side 80-100 and the complexity of the motifs and designs determine the price of the sari as it is proportional to the cost of labor and time spent. Dhakai Jamdani prices are also related  to  the quality of the threads the weavers use. A finished product can take up to 12 weeks, depending on the designs and quality of the cotton threads used. The goal is to educate oneself to recognize a fine, light weight and quality finished Jamdani  sari. Tiapakhicollective presents exquisite, one of a kind  Dhakai Jamdani sarees - creations of an award winning  Master Weaver who has worked with many reputed designers.