Rudra Chatterjee brings with him a rush of fresh energy. An infectious one that gets on to everyone around and escalates new ideas. We met him during the launch of the celebration of one such new idea; a new collection of carpets, Chroma, the result of the partnership between Chatterjee’s Obeetee Carpets and Jaipur-based luxury rug manufacturer Tissage. The highly-pigmented carpets inspired by the culture and philosophy of a mythical tribe, Chroma People, bore Chatterjee’s commitment to presenting the age-old tradition of carpet-making with contemporary aesthetics. Excerpts from a t2 chat with Chatterjee, who is also the enigmatic face of Makaibari tea, in the sidelines of the Calcutta launch of the new edit at Gallery Sanskriti, Alipore.
Congratulations on another great collaboration. Obeetee Carpets has had some great collaborations in the past, from designers like J.J. Valaya, Raghavendra Rathore, Shantnu & Nikhil, Abraham & Thakore, and Tarun Tahiliani, to name a few. What does collaboration mean to you and how have these collaborations helped in accentuating the art of carpet-making?
Obeetee has always collaborated over its 100-year journey. Right in the beginning, when we became a rug manufacturer, we used to collaborate with Chinese craftspeople and we had a product called Chindiya. Indian art and craft with global arts or Bengal arts with Jaipur crafts, that is the heart of Obeetee. In terms of the collaborations that we have done with designers, we were interpreting their ideas and designs into carpets for the first time with a focus on different regions. The collaboration with Tisaage is a collaboration with a beautiful Jaipur atelier that has been very famous and globally relevant in fashion houses. We feel while our focus on ‘Proud to be Indian’ was in different regions, we feel that contemporary rugs haven’t had great intricacy, homage to tradition and authenticity. If you want to do modern art, you should also do traditional art. So here we are taking two incredible traditional rug makers, Obeetee and Tissage, and coming up with what I feel is the best of kind contemporary rendition of carpets ever, whether in India or anywhere else. So, you want to have fast food, make sure you get the best chefs and make it. So this is what we are — the best chefs in the industry making world-class contemporary rugs.
Coming to the second part of the question, two things have been added. One is, more and more the focus of contemporary carpets has been the elimination of colour. It has gone beige, grey, silver, and that has been the global trend for the last 10 years. We have put all our might into the return of colour and that is why we have named the collection Chroma; almost to say that this is sacred. Colour is an identity. We are bringing in different patterns and colours back to you. Our tagline in Obeetee is ‘To add life to your home’.
In the last decade, the sector has improved a lot. Being a major player in India, tell us about the potential of this industry.
There are two things. One of the most important potentials of the industry is, if India is known for one thing only, it is textiles; it has been for 1,000 years. Even in the Rig Veda there are many references to textiles. So, what is textiles when it comes to India? It is handmade textiles. Preserving handloom by making it a form of art, getting Indian consumers and global consumers to appreciate it, to ensuring that Indian weavers can make high-quality handloom (products) is at the heart of what Obeetee is trying to do when it comes to art. We are trying to do other things when it comes to other commercial activities, but when it comes to art, preserving handloom is absolutely at the heart of it.
And I believe the task force behind conserving it has more and more women joining it...
Yes, we now have almost 5,000 women weavers working with Obeetee. It came as a surprise for me when I was staying in Mirzapur that none of the weavers were women. I discussed this with Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee and he agreed that it is a subject of research. In a randomised control trial we found out the reason and then we changed timings and location, among other things, and brought more women into the fold. And bringing women into weaving is just as important as bringing women into every other job.
You spearhead two different businesses. Which is your love and which is your passion?
It’s difficult to choose. Both are like children. I think both are very much intrinsic parts of a good life. Both are elemental to what it is meant to be our country. So, I love both. I hope I don’t have to choose.
Tell us about your leadership mantra and the mantra behind your success.
I have a very good team and amazing designers and we have had amazing collaborations. And again, when it comes to tea, we have one amazing team. My job is to be like the coach of a team.
Is there anything or anyone who drives your vision?
There are three things. One is the preservation and authenticity of the craft, the impact it has on people, and making it relevant for newer generations. I want bottled tea done with honesty, marketed by Coke, but it should have authentic Darjeeling tea. So, authenticity while making it contemporary, that’s the theme of my work. Tea, being the oldest beverage in the world, is growing every day.
Your father has been a great inspiration to you. Tell us what are the things you have learnt from him.
Of course. Everything I have learnt is from my father and my grandfather. One is to be totally dedicated to work to ensure that you are playing a long game, not a short-term game; that you are doing something which is going to work out over decades even if it doesn’t work in the next couple of days.
Let’s talk about Makaibari. It made headlines when you made a special edition for King Charles III’s coronation. The tea was even presented to Queen Elizabeth II. Tell us about your vision for Makaibari.
I think the vision is that the consumer should find a version of tea at every point of their day. Whether it is in the morning or the evening, whether it’s Darjeeling or Assam, all of them should be of high quality and authentic products. The coronation of King Charles III was also paying homage to the fact that it has been the tea to Queen Elizabeth II. Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented it to her. Obeetee made the carpet for the new Parliament, we made the carpets for the Rashtrapati Bhavan, and we had the G20 in the Makaibari estate. So, whenever there is a big event, it also energises the whole team. All of these are also team-building exercises. Frankly, I may be part of it, but I am not all of it. You know, it has to be understood that many other members are pulling it.
Your future plans with both the Obeetee and Makaibari?
My future plan is to ensure that we continue hitting the spot at the time with authenticity, honesty and innovation. We will also go back and go to something traditional because both are required. In tea, it is very important to constantly focus on the best quality beverage.