Akupara, textiles inspired by nostalgia
Your brand evokes the essence of nostalgia and almost this calm in a chaos. What was the inspiration behind this artistic expression? How did you birth the concept and what inspires the name?
To understand the heart of Akupara, you have to understand the place that I come from and the family I was born into. My paternal hometown is called Ballia, historically a boiling point for radical political ideologies, resistance and rebellion. It lies on the border of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, the rivers Ganga and Ghagra run parallel to it. I have had the privilege to be born into a family of politicians, what it brings along with itself is multiple layers of boundaries and code of behaviour. The imprints of caste, class and patriarchy are heavily embedded in the land. For a huge part of my life my interaction with the people of my hometown was very limited. As I grew older I got stubborn, I learnt how to make space for myself, I insisted on it. For me Akupara is a medium of exploring the entire spectrum of it, I believe that to understand the core of any place one has to look into the hearts of its people.
As a young girl I mostly grew up in my great grandfather's world. दाढ़ी वाले बाबा ( grandmother’s father), as we endearingly called him, was immensely influenced by the architecture he encountered in South India during his पद यात्रा ( travel on foot) from Kanyakumari to New Delhi and brought back that aesthetic with himself to Ballia in the form of temples, schools, guesthouses and other community structures. My father contributed to the legacy in line with the same aesthetic. Akupara is simply a reflection of the world they created around me.
ना ज्यादा ना कम, बस ज़रूरत भर । ( not too much, not too less, just enough)
The world bearing turtle, AKUPARA appears in multiple mythologies across the globe. It is believed that the earth rest on four elephants, who further are supported on the back of a turtle, this turtle forms a strong stable base for our world.
Akupara is the symbol of feminine energy which provides stability - स्थिरता, the elephants are symbolic of masculine strength. The amalgamation and union of both provides the perfect balance which is required to hold our home planet upright. Akupara in sanskrit translates to Limitless. A turtle lives a long and slow life, breathing everything in, taking conscious pauses, holding the wisdom of the world and yet yearning to learn more. May we as a brand strive to follow the footsteps of our precious mascot.
The brand focuses on visual storytelling. How do you see this as a powerful tool that sets you apart in the sea of a digital visual space? Are there any constant values that you wish to reflect through these visuals? How is it different from other indie brands trying to tell stories inspired by India? How do you think Indian visual language sits in the global aesthetic market ( Especially with the rise in maximalist cultures).
As a brand, the process and structure of storytelling, the little details that help form our individual aesthetic, is what intrigues me most about design. What makes a product relevant, the associations of it in our daily lives and its cultural value and significance are questions I continuously ask myself.
My stories and visuals are not an extension of the products I make but the other way around. I photograph my people and places, the lives of which have been intertwined with mine and my family. The visuals are honest because the focus of the imagery is not a mere product, and a product is always treated simply as an object lingering somewhere in the backdrop on my set. The place, its history, the clothes, the language, the music, the food, is what takes centre stage. I try to be as honest as I can and how can I not be? They are stories of my home.
I personally feel that when a ‘white voice’ appropriates ‘Indian Culture’ we can simply strike it out as ignorance but when Indian brands with Indian voices try to ‘white wash’ their point of references from our country, then we suffer largely. We are a young free country with centuries of colonisation and suppression, we are not perfect and massively chipped off at the edges. I believe the world today requires visuals that are relaxed and honest at heart. The beautiful and ugly running parallel, holding hands.
Documentation of lifestyle, is relevant today and will live on to be relevant tomorrow. I have never looked for validation of my work from outside my closed wonderful circle of friends, but when a young adult from Ballia messages us on Instagram with an addition to our stories, or how it reminded them of their childhood home, or how wonderful it is for them to hear a folk song from their side of the world : My Heart Grows A Little. I may not be very well versed about the politics of the world, I am still learning but I know what my state is made of.
No form of art is ever apolitical, I wish people would take out the time to read the descriptions that make our visuals what they essentially are. The global aesthetic market has benefitted from the Indian visual language for decades, I think our generation has finally taken a keen interest in taking ownership of it.
I see your brand a simplistic textile brand. What techniques are you using? Tell us about your background in textiles. Did you have a formal education or experience of working in the industry before staying here? What are your thoughts on the textile space in India today? Any other brands that you think are pushing the envelope?
I am formally trained to make clothes, I graduated in 2017 from Pearl Academy, Delhi and worked with a beautiful brand called Eka for about a year. After which I went ahead to pursue my masters in fashion from Domus Academy, Milan. On the first day of 2021 I started working for Divyam Mehta as his assistant designer, it was one of the most educational and enriching experiences of my life.
I dream of making clothes again, but I have a lot to learn on the business graph of fashion. Akupara is a learning curve for me, to be honest textiles are not my strongest suit but in the last two years I have tried to educate myself and build on it. To make simple and minimal requires a steady hand and a disciplined head, precision comes with practise and editing of design to be ‘Just Enough’ is a chaotic process.
My products are mostly made in ordinary cottons, easy upkeep and strong durability is what I look at when I pick out fabrics. For now we work mainly with block printing and some Kantha. My block printers are from Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh and have a small home unit in Sangam Vihar, Delhi. Printing with blocks is like playing with legos, it gives space to endless combinations and design possibilities. Working with wooden blocks has always felt like a happy play date. 23°N.69°S, are very well versed with their craft. I hope one day I get the privilege to document their work, fingers crossed.
What is your idea of home? How do objects/ materials and visuals add to this idea?
I grew up in multiple places, and the semblance of home came from the people I met rather than concrete structures. पापा अक्सर कहते हैं कि चार दिवारे और एक छत खड़ी करना आसान है, उसमे जान भरना मुश्किल क्योंकि उसके लिए लोग जोड़ने पड़ते हैं। ( Dad often says that - it’s easy to built a house with four walls and a ceiling, but difficult to give it spirit as for that you need people). Find your people and build your community. It will bring along with it a beautiful home. I have often found a sense of home in old photographs.For as long as I remember I have stolen photographs from old family albums. These images allow me an intimate moment in a place and time that I have no agency over, for a tiny second I am allowed to sit in the frame and bask in its warmth. It is comforting.
Another thing I steal very often are clothes of friends and family, when I wear them I feel a sense of belonging. Like a very long and comforting hug from a loved one. My Amma’s jewellery, not just because they are beautiful but because they are a very dear part of her. On days I feel low, they act as my serotonin pump. A plate full of Aloo Bhujiya, Daal, Chawal and Mirchi Ka Achaar is an instant reminder of home.
Lastly, what is the future of this brand? What is inspiring you for new collections? Do you think Indian indie brands have potential in the international market? What kind of customers/ community do you seek?
As a young brand I feel that it is our responsibility to address that very often the future of the brands we are building isn’t always clear. We are still at a phase where we are trying to find the direction that is right for us. Yes Akupara has a strong foundation in terms of design values and aesthetic but we are still trying very hard to find a strong footing in the market. I believe that the brand I have given birth to has potential, I am willing to work and fight for it. It has been exhilarating and exhausting all at the same time but it has been worth every second I have put into it. I would like to believe that if I continue to do good work, my community will find me.