An art form so old that it tells the tale of time! Bringing the ancient art form of Sanjhi Art into the online world, JD Institute Of Fashion Technology organized a workshop on 28th August 2021, from 12 pm to 2 pm, in collaboration with a renowned artisan from the field. The students from the batches of Fashion Design, Interior Design, and Jewelry Design experienced the enigma of the art with a little hands-on activity. The session brought to the forefront the very essence of this timeless art and our speaker shone a light on the origin and evolution of this art form.

The workshop session covered in detail, the topics like “what is Sanjhi Art”, “evolution” etc. Making this online event a huge success was the active participation from our students. The students were asked to delve deep into the art form with a make-along session with the artist. Mr. Mohun Kumar gave our students an insight into the art form with a live demo and Jediiians reciprocated the love for this art by presenting their own masterpieces.

Mr. Mohun Kumar Verma, our speaker is a notable figure from the domain of Sanjhi art. Mohan Kumar and his two brothers, Ajay Kumar and Vijay Kumar, belong to the family of Shri chain shuk Das Verma, their father, who was a master craftsman in the art of Sanjhi. Hailing from a tradition of gold craftsmen, they designed gold jewelry and did gold inlay work. Deviating from his family tradition, he had turned to paper art. In his time the art was grounded, spatially and conceptually, to Mathura and Vrindavan, to Radha and Krishna and the episodes of their life in Vrajabhoomi. Demand was almost entirely local, from the temples and also for domestic use. For Sanjhi stencils, the only outside demand was from visitors to Mathura who were mainly from Gujarat and typically followers of the Pushtimarga sect for whom of course sanjhi is an important form of worship. His father designed mehndi chaapas and then he made designs for Bindi. These were available only at their shop in the market. His grandfather would keep a bottle of powder color at the shop for girls who came to put bindis, so he came to be known as ‘design bindiwala’.Though there was the diversification of the product to new uses, the design vocabulary was essentially the traditional one, and Mohun Kumar and his brothers grew up learning this vocabulary and the techniques from their father.

Sanjhi art, the delicate art of papercutting originated from the times of Lord Krishna. The rare art from Braj, Sanjhi has evolved over time from the sanctum of the temple to modern home décor. This ancient art of making stencils with paper to make ritualistic decorations in temples dedicated to Lord Krishna has gone through a design evolution over the course of years. The word Sanjhi means evening or dusk and is more an expression of the devotional love that was unveiled in the temples. It is said to have originated at the time of Lord Krishna when Radha used to create beautiful patterns out of leaves and flowers creating decorations for Krishna. The story goes that following Radha, other Gopis too indulged in the art to impress the lord. Consequently, the art grew in the 16th and 17th centuries when the walls and floors of temples were decorated with Sanjhi.

Our speaker had already shared the motifs with the students which made the make-along session a sheer success. The students were asked to come prepared with the motifs for a better understanding of the art. Jediiians then created their respective masterpieces of paper and scissors by the end of the session