The Guide loves these handmade Papier-Mache containers etched with henna patterns of buses and taxis instead of the traditional paisley motifs done on the palm

Racing taxis, trundling buses and the humble bicycle get a delicate makeover on the surface of Papier-Mache containers at matsya, a Mumbai-based brand that sells sustainable and eco- friendly products like Madhubani and Gond wall art, papier mache containers, finger puppets, home furnishings and pottery since 2008.


Neha Gandhi

Owner Neha Gandhi, a graduate of Sir JJ School of Fine Arts, Mumbai, got together with a bunch of rural women artisans from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh who were already working with papier mache for this project. "I wanted to provide a strong and sustainable marketing platform for them through matsya," she says.

Neha suggested contemporary design ideas and got them to etch out an entire transport series featuring buses, auto rickshaws, taxis and bicycles with henna filled in a cone, applied onto the Papier-Mache surface and dried. The container can be used to store stationary on your office desk, stack your baubles or as a stand-alone piece to perk up a living room.

The same patterns are available as Papier-Mache wall art too. matsya, which means a fish in Sanskrit, also partners with women from Kutch and other non profit organisations from across the country tou00a0 create its products.u00a0
- AB

Log on to www.matsyacrafts.com
For Rs 310 each matsya also organises regular exhibitions.
Look up their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/73047122098/