Sasha is vibrant and alive, and events, exhibitions and happenings are regularly organized to present and promote new skills, talent and products. This newsletter covers these events and gives you a glimpse of the range and depth of activity in the Sasha world.
- Rasa beauty workshops
- Pottery Exhibition
- Play reading
- Production Planning Workshop
- Slide show in Sasha shop
- Producer Group Meeting
- Fashion show featuring contemporary garments and jewelry.
- Victor Banerjee visits Sasha shop.
- Craft Exhibition at Swabhumi.
- Jewelry workshop with Anshu Arora Sen.
- Bhoomi, the Bangla rock group plays at Sasha.
- The Rasa Fashion Show
Sasha organized a series of workshops for Rasa to publicize their range of herbal hair and body care products, in leading clubs in Calcutta. Julie Sen, a noted beautician gave a live demonstration and talked about the ingredients which go into the various Rasa products and the benefits of using them. Moon Moon Sen, a famous actress, attended one of these workshops and enthusiastically recommenced Rasa. The talks were followed by question and answer sessions, while the women who work with Rasa interacted with the participants and sold their products.
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Ochre ceramics and pottery, a group based in Gujarat opened their exhibition of earthenware studio pottery at the sasha shop on the 12th of March 2002. It was inaugurated by Devasmitha Sridhar, a consultant with several women's development organizations, who lit the traditional lamp. The exhibition features a wide range of ceramic tableware, home accessories and toys.
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There was a play reading at the Sasha shop of 'Pushcart Peddlars' written by the famous playwright Murray Schisgal on the 9th of March 2002. The play was read by 'Spotlight' a well known and acclaimed theatre group from Kolkata. It was an extremely funny vignette based on the experiences of a newly arrived immigrant in America.
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Inge Opten Berg of Fair Trade, Netherlands conducted a workshop on the 5th of February 2002 with the Sasha Exports team, taking them through the different stages in the process of executing an export order - from the receipt of the order to the final shipment. In a participative session Inge highlighted where and how things go wrong causing delays and rejections and how these can be avoided or corrected.
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Dr. Debal Sen, an eminent cardiologist in Kolkata showed us some rare photographic slides from his personal collection at the Sasha shop on the 2nd of February 2002. The slides covered the superb panorama of Indian wilderness and wild life, from the highlands to the plains. The focus was on the river Brahmaputra and its banks, from it's source in Tibet through Assam and Arunachal Pradesh down to the Sunderbans till it meets the sea.
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Over a hundred producers and artisans belonging to the Sasha family gathered together for producer group meeting in Kolkata on the 24th and 25th of January 2002. Guests to the meeting were Tara Pahwa from Oxfam, America and Rajal Vaidya from Citibank. Rajal Vaidya spoke about the world market for handicraft and the related issues like quality control, timing and awareness of customer needs. Through the two days, there were group discussions and participative sessions covering a wide range of issues like pricing accounts, delivery schedules, transparency of dealings, equal opportunity and concern for people.
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On the 15th of December, Sasha hosted a fashion show in the shop featuring the works of designers Sonam, Jason and Anshu. Sonam and Jason displayed their lines of cotton and silk garments with very neat lines and fine understated embroidery, while the jewelry was developed by Anshu (read more further down on this page). Ceramic designer, Aditi Saraogi also displayed her one-of-a-kind range of ceramic lamps, vases and other home accessories, for the first time in the Sasha shop.
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The extremely talented and sensitive actor Victor Banerjee was in the Sasha shop on the 28th of November 200, to give a talk on theater and craft. Victor Banerjee has worked in several of Satyajit Ray's films as well as several important films abroad like 'Bitter Moon' (1994), 'Foreign Body' (1986), 'A Passage to India' (1984) etc.
Banerjee drew several parallels between the craft and hard work behind an actor and a craftsman. He also touched on the differences between craft and art which led to a keen discussion with the audience later.
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Sasha organized a craft exhibition in Swabhumi, Calcutta, between 24th November - 3rd December.
Swabhumi is a heritage park in the eastern fringes of Calcutta and hosts cultural events regularly.
The crafts on display were Dhokara, Appliqué Work, Wooden Painting, Soapstone Carvings, Cane and Bamboo, Iron craft, Textiles and Wrought Iron.
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Anshu, a fashion designer based in Delhi, was in the Sasha shop between the 23rd and 26th of November working with jewelry craftsmen from Orissa. She put together an interesting range of necklaces, bracelets, anklets and earrings using glass, dhokara and terra-cotta beads. These will be available soon in the Sasha shop.
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Bhoomi the bangla rock group are synonymous with lilting folk music and they have set several new trends in a relatively short time. They performed at the Sasha shop on the 27th of October 2001 to a private and very enthusiastic audience.
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rasa
fashion show
To celebrate 20 years , Sasha hosted a fashion show with cocktails and
dinner at the Park Hotel, Calcutta on the 25th of August 2001 in association
with Citibank and The Telegraph. The theme of the show was Rasa, a celebration
of moods and styles.
A line of tribal jewelry made by craftsmen from Orissa was presented. These craftsmen have been working with Sasha for over a decade and the designs have been developed through workshops conducted by several Indian and an Italian designer who came up with designs based on traditional motifs but for today's woman.
Sasha's line of clothes
were designed by Jason Cherian (from Bangalore), Anshu (from Delhi) and
Sonam (from Delhi).
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