Designer Shruti Gupta on creating Kriti Sanon’s mythical ‘Ayodhya Tales’ shawl for Adipurush promotions

Revealing the details of the one-of-a-kind shawl, Sanon’s stylist, Sukriti Grover wrote in an Instagram post, “Intimate observations of books, and references helped the artist to create the drawings so accurately. Each glance reveals a small detail that has been put together with precision. The palaces, clothing, vegetation, birds and animals have been depicted truly as the paintings and reimagined by the designer.”

 

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To know more about the riveting piece, we spoke to the designer behind the creation–Shruti Gupta, founder and creative head at Shaza.

The inspiration for the shawl came to Gupta in 2020 when she had the opportunity to meet Bimlendra Mohan Prasad Mishra, the royal king of Ayodhya, and his family at Bikaner House. “He had bought two pieces from the label–a Krishna Tales shawl for his daughter Princess Manjari and a Shikargarh border Dushala for himself. Owing to his interest in these stories, I delved into the history and descent of the Ikshvaku Dynasty and literature in Ramayana. It was then I decided to create this piece,” she said.

 

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The designer went through the facts documented in Tulsidas’ Ram Charitra Manas, Valmiki’s Ramayana
(Journey of Ram) and even the 78 episodes of Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana to live through the experience. “I became quite attached to it, read anything and watched everything that I could find. In this process, I learnt the values and spirit these stories hold and become attached irrevocably to these characters on their journey,” she revealed.

Explaining the making of the shawl, she shared that the mythological piece took more than 2 years and 6000 hours of handwork to be crafted by a team of 12 artisans and went through four different processes. “The first step was to conceptualise and read through the literature. We needed to be as accurate as we can be for the construction of Ayodhya, different places, to choose our scenes and select a Pantone for the shawl. The scenes were drawn digitally using a pen tool on software and then by hand over a tracing paper, also known as khakha, placed on the fabric,” she continued.

The next step involved the use of an age-old technique called Kalamkari used to paint the shawl on a selection of white Pashmina to bring out the colours vividly. “This was a very tedious process as unlike any other fabric Pashmina is thicker and it takes more than 4 strokes to sweep the paint in,” Gupta informed.

The final stage of the piece included fine needle ship that required a single-line stitch and closing of each loop. “The outline and direction of the thread were changed from time to time. The silk threads were dyed to match the paint and woven to give the shawl its colour,” she shared. “Finally, any zari detailing or key symbols were not strategically placed in the shawl. As the designs can be copied easily, no other person would be able to explain why a motif is there. Everything is there for a reason. Intimate observation and each glance reveals a small detail that has been woven with precision,” Gupta added.

 

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The shawl depicts four pictorial scenes, which are the “iconic moments” from Ramayana and “each shows the strength of every character”–Sita’s unshakeable devotion in Ashok Vatika, Laxman’s selfless service in Panchavati, Hanuman’s Bhakti in Ram darbar, and Ram’s strength and humbleness at the Swayamvar.

After the design gained national acclaim, Gupta said that she never thought the shawl would be picked up by Kriti Sanon and her team for the promotions of Adipurush, and the biggest coincidence is that piece finished in the month of May, when the film’s promotions had begun.

 

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“I am overwhelmed by the response. It strengthens the belief that we are on the right track of creativity and exploration. I am grateful to Kriti Sanon and her team, Sukriti Grover and Vani Gupta, for choosing Shaza for this look and doing such justice to its presentation by styling it magnificently. I am motivated to bring out stories that amalgamate art and passion into creation. Shawls are a beacon of luxury, woven artfully and complement the wardrobe. It’s time it receives its due recognition,” she concluded.

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