"For me, culture is..."

Very vivid and something which has to be felt. It has depth and history. The more you get into culture the deeper it becomes. It is traditions, dance, music, dress and even gestures.

Someone once asked me how to say "thank you" in Hindi and I replied it is not so much the word as the gesture that will convey your feeling of gratitude.

"My first brush with culture..."

As a young girl I was into folk dance. I still remember the first dance I performed on my school stage.

After that, throughout my school and college life, I wanted to discover more about culture. I did my Masters in Ancient Indian History and read a lot of books on the same.

"Folk dance is living tradition."

Folk dance and music touched my inner chord as a child itself. It is the most living and tangible form of culture and traditions.

Anyone can appreciate folk dance. Unlike classical dancing, you don't need any knowledge of it to understand it. Your heartbeat can relate to the pulsating rhythm of music and dance.

"I was charmed by the village - woman appearance."

I began to wear silver jewellery during my college days when it wasn't even trendy. I was attracted by the village way of dressing. I wasn't attracted to places with glitz and glamour but without a history.

I wanted to learn the history behind every part of culture that I came in contact with. From silver jewellery to odhanies- it all fascinated me. I have even written a book titled 'Rajasthan's Silver Jewellery- A Living Legacy', which was published in 2003.

"Why the odhani fascinates me..."

I see odhanies as a common thread linking diverse cultures. Whether in the north, south, east or west, the odhani is worn in some form or the other. I look at an odhani as an unstitched veil that gives a woman the independence to cover her face and not maintain eye contact if she does not want to.

I started my own textile collection of odhanies because every village woman wears it her own way in different fabrics and prints too. I wish to showcase it at my own gallery someday.