Laila Tyabji was born on 2 May 1947 and is an Indian social worker, designer, writer, and craft activist.
14 Facts About Laila Tyabji
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Laila Tyabji is one of the founders of Dastkar, a Delhi-based non governmental organization, working for the revival of traditional crafts in India.
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Laila Tyabji was honored by the Government of India in 2012 with the Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
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Laila Tyabji is the daughter of late Badruddin Tyabji, ICS, who was a senior Indian civil servant and diplomat.
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Beyond her image as a sophisticated and stylish woman, Laila could make and hold a bridge with craftspeople.
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Laila Tyabji has been there for them through calamity and crisis; from teaching them how to price their products to valuing themselves.
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Laila Tyabji was born in Delhi on 2 May 1947 to an Indian civil servant as one of his four children.
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Laila Tyabji subsequently continued her studies in art at the Faculty of Fine Arts, MS University, Vadodara.
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The turning point in her career came when Laila Tyabji was asked by the Gujarat State Handloom and Handicrafts Development Corporation Ltd to document, revive and design the traditional handicrafts of Kutch tradition.
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Laila Tyabji is credited with revolutionizing the craft industry in India by developing a market for Indian crafts, modernizing the artisans' skills, and acting as the liaising link between the artisans and the buyers.
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Under the aegis of Dastkar, Laila Tyabji has worked with Self-Employed Women's Association of India, a similar non-governmental organization founded by renowned Gandhian, Ela Bhatt, URMUL, Sandur Kushal Kala Kendra, Rangsutra, SASHA, Berozgar Mahila Kalyan Samiti, and many others.
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Laila Tyabji is associated with the artisans across the country such as Banjara Needle Crafts and Rabari mirror work craftswoman of Kutch and Maharashtra, Chikan craft workers of Lucknow, gond, Phad, mata in pacheri and madhubani painters, Kasuti embroidery artisans of Karnataka, handloom weavers in Bihar and Karnataka, and the leather, textile and terracotta artisans in Rajasthan.
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In 2003, Laila Tyabji was awarded the Aid to Artisans' Preservation of Craft Award, the first Asian and the second overall recipient of the award, the investiture ceremony taking place in New York.
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Laila Tyabji is a recipient of the NIFT Lifetime Achievement Award and the Chishti Harmony Award.