OUR STORY

Established in 1970, Kanishka’s was born in the modest home of the founders Dilip & Nandita Raja and named after their first born, Kanishka. Driven by single-minded passion for handloom textiles, the couple envisioned a brand for hand processes in textiles to be celebrated and appreciated. Kanishka’s has charted an incredible journey through the decades keeping at its core the same values of innviation, design excellence and quality. Considered to be a pioneer in the modern revival of the hand block process in India, Kanishka’s is a deeply loved and celebrated brand all over the world, known for its unique design sensibilities and celebration of individual aesthetics. During the course of its five-decade journey, Kanishka’s has consciously made the choice to stay local, channelized its pursuit for design quality and invest in personal relationships. Its relationships with its weaver communities, skilled craftspeople, and its patrons are tenderly nourished and has grown like a large family over the years. Kanishka’s is a celebration of life – a celebration of love.

OUR FOUNDERS

Kanishka’s was started on 15th August 1970 in the modest home of its founders, Nandita and Dilip Raja. At the very beginning they shared their work and vision for Kanishka’s with their neighbours, friends and well-wishers who became their earliest patrons, and the first seed for the Kanishka’s family was sown. Named after their infant son, the couple were driven by sheer passion for handlooms, block printing, folk art and the splendour of colours of Indian heritage. 

Small but significant steps helped build Kanishka’s. Over the years, formidable challenges were overcome with deeply rewarding achievements, yet the passion for design remained at the centre of their work. Today Kanishka’s is a way of life. Every design is handmade by the couple, every saree that is produced is supervised personally, exactly how it was in the beginning. Kanishka’s strength lies in remaining personal and intimately close to its family of patrons, its weavers and craftspeople who define it’s identity. 

While Dilip passed in 2020, Nandita continues to carry forward the work they started together, led by an able team who have imbibed the same ideals. The brand goes beyond what it makes, embodying a particular aesthetic driven by the founders’ work, building a truly inspirational legacy. The Raja’s are considered active enablers of livelihoods to hundreds of weaving families that they continue to work closely with. Along the way several accolades, recognitions and awards were bestowed from all aspects of industry and press. 

Having consciously pursued relationships, Nandita & Dilip Raja count their friendships nurtured over generations and their contribution in revival and continuity of handloom processes as their achievements. We hope you will see the world of Indian textiles through their eyes and feel what they make through their hands.

50+

Years

250+

Team-Members

1 Million

Happy Customers

OUR ATELIER

Located in a century-old heritage building in Kolkata since its inception, the atelier represents an extension of the brand. The atelier is the central space for design development and houses a tasteful retail experience. Designed as an open accessible environment, Kanishka’s offers a personal space that is inviting and filled with warmth.

OUR WORKSHOP

Steeped in exploring the traditional craft of wood block printing and ancient practices of handloom weaving, Kanishka’s has over the years, gradually expanded to include several weaving community units across India and a consolidated printing, dying and finishing workshop in Kolkata, India. Our workshop is run by a group of incredibly skilled craftspeople who have dedicated their lives to the creation and development of the hand processes that truly celebrates the heritage of Indian handloom textiles. All processes involve the human hand as no machines are used, enabling a true human touch to each and every product made at the workshop.

OUR LOOMS

Our looms are spread over several clusters all over India where we weave our textiles. The weavers in our looms work in close collaboration with us furthering our personal quest for the overlooked and under-explored hand processes of the fabulous textile heritage in the subcontinent.

Having pioneered and revived traditional hand-block printing in the first decade of its formation, since the early 1980’s we turned to weaving communities in villages in the remotest parts of the country, where handloom is a way of life. Over the next decades along with establishing a dozen weaving clusters all across the country, Kanishka’s began to be recognized for its contribution to the hand process – a fundamental pillar of its story.

In the absence of institutional support, we have developed our own unique model of micro-financing the weaving process, becoming co-owners and seed-funders for yarn production and even in sericulture farming in parts of the country.

OUR PEOPLE

Our biggest asset lies in our people, our skilled craftspeople at our looms and our workshop, who uphold the design and production aesthetics of our brand, our committed personnel at our atelier who know and attend to the individual needs of each of our patrons, and our support team who hold all the aspects of the organization together. Our values of a growing, nurtured family extends to all who are associated with us.

Our Journey

1970
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1970

Kanishka’s is formed in the apartment of its founders Nandita & Dilip Raja. They decide to name their labor of love after their firstborn, who is only a few months.

1975
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1975

Kanishka’s establishes its Gariahat atelier in a graceful turn of the century building, which has remained its home since.

1980
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1980

Turning towards the rich weaving heritage in India’s villages, Kanishka’s establishes its first weaving community in remote Orissa, followed quickly by neighboring Andhra Pradesh.

1985
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1985

Through this decade, Kanishka’s exhibits in different parts of the country and appreciated widely from social work icons to celebrated actors and even the Prime Minister of India is one of its admirers.

1990
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1990

Celebrating 20 years, Kanishka’s forays into bespoke, small quantity design led exports to discerning institutional customers in Europe and Japan followed by Australia and North America.

1995
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1995

Kanishka’s is woven into the social fabric of the arts and culture. Performers such as Usha Uthup start wearing Kanishka’s sarees to their stage performances, acclaimed directors Aparna Sen and Rituparno Ghosh adorn the actors in their films with its sarees, vocalist Girija Devi wears a Kanishka’s on stage and danseuse Sharmila Biswas dresses her troupe in these unique sarees while theatrician Usha Ganguli delivers powerful performances wearing them.

2000
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2000

Kanishka’s organizes the first ever Tussar Utsav, bringing together the widest range of tussars woven on its looms from all over the country and designed with care at its workshop, establishing this landmark exhibition as a much awaited event in the annual calendar of textile lovers. Is awarded by the Federation of Small and Medium Industries.

2005
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2005

35 years on, Kanishkas celebrates the milestone with a cultural event with classical music and performances. Its patrons pour their love from all over the world and the brand is featured in every significant leading textile publication and handloom story on India. Kanishka’s launches its handloom pret line KORA.

2010
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2010

An annual calendar of exhibitions, each celebrating an incredible collection of designs, attuned to seasons and materials is now established alongside its regular in-store activities. Kanishka’s continues its development of handlooms and invests resources in women-centric social activities across its weaving centers which by now number 8 weaving village communities dotting the country.

2015
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2015

Kanishka’s workshop expands and new skilled craftspeople are trained and a research and development cell in the workshop is established which aims to revive old natural dyeing processes.

2020
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2020

As Kanishka’s turns 50, awards and recognitions continue to be bestowed for the brand and its founders come from all quarters. The Bengal Chamber of Commerce in 2021 awards Nandita Raja for “the exceptional creation of livelihood and upliftment of Bengal’s fashion heritage” and the acclaimed The Telegraph “She Awards” bestows the Lifetime Achievement Award to the founders Nandita & Dilip Raja.