After a brief pause, Chai Break returns with a conversation that feels like a deep exhale.

In this episode, Shwetha is joined by Nikita Shah — a multidisciplinary artist, textile designer, educator, and researcher whose work bridges the 3,000-year-old craft of Kalamkari with contemporary storytelling, community, education, and healing.

From living and learning alongside weavers in Maheshwar, to studying at NIFT Kannur and FIT, to founding Untitle by Nikita and hosting Fursat, a monthly workshop centered on rest and reflection through textile-making, Nikita’s journey is rooted in patience, presence, and purpose.

This episode is a powerful meditation on slow fashion, cultural memory, sustainability, and the quiet resistance of handmade work in a world addicted to speed, trends, and overconsumption.

What We Talk About in This Episode

Beginnings & Origins

• Nikita’s early relationship with textiles, craft, and sustainability
• Living within indigenous craft clusters across India
• Her formative six-month graduation project in Maheshwar, working directly with weavers
• How family memory, cotton saris, and lived experience shaped her artistic language

Discovering Kalamkari

• What Kalamkari is — and the pen-based, natural-dye, multi-step process she practices
• Learning Kalamkari by living with weavers and printers in Andhra Pradesh for several years
• Navigating language, trust, and lineage in a traditionally gatekept craft
• Why Kalamkari chose her — and the responsibility that comes with carrying it forward

Untitle by Nikita

• Why she founded Untitle by Nikita and what “Untitle” represents
• Working with deadstock textiles and memorial fabrics
• Creating garments in NYC’s garment district as an act of preservation and care
• How memory, craftsmanship, and sustainability are stitched into every piece

Fursat: Community, Rest & Reflection

• What Fursat means — and why the concept feels radical today
• Reclaiming the joy of waiting, tailoring, and intentional creation
• How Fursat creates space for personal storytelling, emotional healing, and collective creativity
• Craft as a practice of rest in a culture obsessed with productivity

Art, Healing & Sustainability

• The connection between textile-making and healing
• Teaching handloom language at FIT and independently at universities
• Why fashion should begin with textiles — not trends
• The missed opportunity in today’s over-the-top Diwali fashion culture
• Why handloom is still stigmatized as “not cool” — and how we shift that narrative
• Relearning how to shop, consume, and dress with intention

The Sari as Identity

• Nikita’s love for saris and whether it was a conscious choice
• Saris as conversation starters, grounding tools, and cultural anchors
• Her involvement in the New York Sari Exhibit at the New York Historical Society
• What it meant to see the sari honored in such an iconic space

☕ Rapid Fire (Chai Break Style)

• How Nikita practices sustainability in daily life
• What she’s currently reading
• Favorite season
• How she takes her chai
• Her go-to chai-time snack

In this episode of the Chai Break Podcast, I sit down with Meghana Sharma—serial entrepreneur, style therapist, and founder of some of India’s most creative ventures, including Levitate, The Preloved Co., and now, The Bindi Project.

From her early days curating Bangalore’s iconic boho boutique Levitate to co-founding a social enterprise thrift store, Meghana has always believed in making sustainability stylish and accessible. Her latest venture, The Bindi Project, is more than just about bindis—it’s an ode to the feminine divine. By upcycling leather scraps, fabric remnants, and jewelry waste into handcrafted bindis, Meghana is reclaiming cultural identity, empowering women artisans, and proving that fashion can be circular, conscious, and deeply personal.

We chat about: Meghana’s journey from Levitate to The Preloved Co. to The Bindi Project

Why she believes in circular fashion and how thrifting can spark community change

The roots of sustainability in South Asian culture—and how it went from way of life to taboo

Her philosophy of SDA: Sustainable Differential Advantage—and how it applies to every business

Style, maximalism, and finding your authentic fashion voice

The women and role models who shaped her journey

Whether you’re a fashion lover, a sustainability advocate, or someone curious about how culture and creativity intersect, this #chaiversation will leave you inspired.

Grab your cup of chai and join us for a deep dive into fashion, feminism, and the future of sustainability—one bindi at a time.

chaiversations.org

💡 In this episode, we talk about:

• Rashmi's journey pre-Arun Revolution and what led her to leave the corporate world to build a climate solution rooted in equity
• What most menstrual pads are really made of—and why that’s harmful
• The science behind Aruna’s compostable pads and ethical supply chain
• Period cups vs. pads: Pros, cons, and finding what works for you
• How Aruna Revolution is scaling across Canada and beyond
• The surprising challenges (and joys) of innovating in taboo spaces

Plus, don’t miss our fun wrap-up segment, “Spill the Tea,” where Rashmi shares her chai preferences, sustainability rituals, and life mantra.

🔗 Links & Resources

Learn more at: www.arunarevolution.com Follow Rashmi on Instagram: @arunarevolution