Rajkumari Devi had embroidered this map for a school competition in the year 1948 when she was only 8 years old. Her school in Amhara, Bihar was visited by some British officials, who awarded her 10 annas for the extraordinary embroidery she had done, despite her young age.
My aunt, Neelam, tells me that this silk banarasi saree had been a gift to my grandmother, Chandrika Devi, from my grandfather’s side and she wore it at her bidai, when she left her father’s home for her husband’s. It is a Gulabi pink colour and has been woven in the finest banarasi weaving technique – Kadhua or Kadwa, which means kadha hua or embroidered
Amongst these items was a white cotton mulmul odhni, a large scarf like a dupatta, entirely hand embroidered with chikankari by her grandmother, who was from Lucknow, and presented to her on her wedding day on 29 June 1954. I cannot recall ever being enamored by anything as much as that odhni.
This Kirpan belonged to Shanta Boora, my nani , my maternal grandmother. She always carried this with her.
One such thing is a beautiful Persian carpet, which started its life in Qom where my husband’s grandparents bought it while on holiday more than 50 years ago. In the centre is a medallion, a tradition harking back to early 15th century Persian Manuscript covers. The medallion has four flowers coming off at each corner topped with a palm tree motif.
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