: Daughter Leaves US Job, Keeps Moms 45-Year Organic Printed Fabrics Legacy Alive #IndiaNEWS #Bengaluru For nearly 45 years, Bengaluru-based Tharangini Studio has specialised in ethically-made and organic

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Daughter Leaves US Job, Keeps Moms 45-Year Organic Printed Fabrics Legacy Alive #IndiaNEWS #Bengaluru
For nearly 45 years, Bengaluru-based Tharangini Studio has specialised in ethically-made and organic hand block printed fabrics. Established in 1977, it’s the oldest and last surviving hand block print studio in the city, which prides itself on social and environmental responsibility. After all, Tharangini is India’s only artisan studio compliant with ISO 26000 standards for the same.
Two generations of women, Lakshmi Srivathsa, and her daughter Padmini Govind, have overseen the growth of this unique venture, which has practiced the tenets of sustainable fashion long before it became a buzzword on social media platforms like Instagram.
“We are not here to compete with fast fashion. We are from a family of art and culture lovers. My grandfather was a Dewan of Gwalior State who also worked with the Wodeyars of Mysore. Our family grew up with a great appreciation of fine arts. Lakshmi Srivathsa, my mother, was studying art in the 1960s at the Triveni Kala Sangam, a renowned institution of the arts based out of Delhi. That’s when she was first introduced to hand block printing. Decades later, she decided to make this her full-time profession and open Tharangini Studio in Bengaluru,� says Padmini Govind, Partner at Tharangini Studio, speaking to The Better India.
It was challenging being a woman entrepreneur in a male-dominated textile industry. But Lakshmi was a visionary, who showed real courage in her decision to move forward with this venture. Along the way, she was fortunate to have had some stellar mentors like Kamaladevi Chattopdhyay, the doyen of Indian handicraft and handloom. Kamaladevi was Lakshmi’s personal mentor and spent many days teaching the craft during her formative days. Support also came from Padmini’s father, a corporate engineer, who supported her dreams.
(Image above of Padmini Govind, Tharangini Studio)
Preserving Family Heritage
Tharangini started in a garden shed with two tables and a team of five artisans. “Our mainstay was printing gorgeous silk saris for various boutiques, individuals, and stores. We were always B2B and focused entirely on the domestic market. Bengaluru’s silk industry was in its heyday, and we had good demand for hand-printed silk sarees. In fact, our biggest order was from the Royal Nepal Airlines. We also dabbled in the export market in a small way,� says Padmini.
Although she admired her mother’s work from afar, Padmini initially followed her father’s footsteps and studied computer science engineering in Bangalore University before leaving for the United States for her Master’s degree. For about 18 years, she went through the rigours of corporate life working across different sectors like fintech, media and even defense.

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