AD100 Designer Pavitra Rajaram is launching a new collection of rugs, called the Majnun Collection. This collection is set to launch at the global benchmark event for the furnishing and design industry, Salone Del Mobile, 2023, in Milan, Italy. Majnun is rooted in the history, geography, and storytelling of carpets that originated in Persia, China, and India and made their way through time to a global audience around the world. The designs include a traditional Shikargah front the stately English homes in the 18th and 19th centuries and hypnotic tantric tiger rugs of Tibet, re-interpreted with traditional motifs. A traditional “Bid – Majnun” or weeping willow motif reinvented in the manner of a Chinese scroll painting and the folk tradition of the Afghan war carpets, adapted to our own Indian colonial narrative.
For Pavitra, as a designer passionate about showcasing India and the Silk Routes’ rich legacy, and a champion of ‘Slow Design’ – a concept that builds on the fact that design must be savored not devoured – the Majnun collection is a celebration of design history and legacy from the Indian Subcontinent. However, while being deeply entrenched in the history of design, Majnun is also a step towards interpreting ancient designs in a modern idiom.
This philosophy, of celebrating art as a historic, cultural legacy, is also in-line with that of the founder of Jaipur Rugs, Mr. Nand Kishore Chaudhary. Popularly known as the Gandhi of carpets, his passion for breathing new life into the ancient art form of rug-weaving and his commitment to elevating artisans into artists is what inspired Pavitra to partner with Jaipur Rugs.
The Majnun Collection, then, is a unique partnership between a designer and the manufacturer, to create a collection that has an unwavering purpose of social impact and artist engagement, and a story with roots deep set into an ancient, traditional and vibrant culture. This collection is set to launch at the global benchmark event for the furnishing and design industry, Salone Del Mobile, 2023, in Milan, Italy.