Picture a quaint Indian boutique that has an ethnic feelright from the handcrafted ornaments to the heavily woven silk saris ofBanaras.
A sense of culture and history envelopes you as you touchthe master pieces produced by the local artisans and craftsmen. All this can beexperienced at the Taj Khazana store recently launched at Taj Vivanta.
Taj Khazana is a chain of luxury lifestyle stores that arelocated across India in many cities including Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata,Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bekal.
They have recently launched a new albeit tiny store atCaramel, the coffee shop at Taj Vivanta in Panjim.
The launch brought various craftsmen from Jaipur and Orissato showcase their talent and demonstrate their trade while their masterpieceswere displayed in the store.
From paintings intricately drafted on ancient stamp paper,to glassblowing resulting in colourful ‘murano glass’ jewelry and wood carvingwith minute strips of silver, the Khazana stores motto is to help providesustainable livelihood opportunities for artisans and weavers.
Chitra Saleem, General Manager at the Taj Vivanta said, “Wehave chosen the Caramel coffee shop as it easily accessible to people. Being acoffee shop, the clientele would have the tendency to browse through the storein a leisurely fashion.”
While the store maybetiny in comparison with its counterparts in other States, each item stays trueto the objective that is Khazana.
“We are trying to revive the dying culture of handmadeartefacts or even extensive hand-woven saris. We are also trying to get theartists to shift to contemporary art while still retaining the tradition,” saidSareeta Hegde Roy, CEO, Taz Khazana.
Bidri inlaid silver work can now be done on bottle openersand candle stands. The work is traditional but the shift to contemporary willhelp traditional artists and craftsmen such as these survive in today’s market.
Taj Khazana aids craftsmen by eliminating the middleman anddealing directly with these village-based craftsmen, thereby ensuring that theyget their dues on time.
