1890 – Rooted in Heritage
It was 1890 when my great-grandparents took leave from Narayanpet, Telangana, and established our handloom heritage in Pune. Paithani and Kanjeevaram crafts — threads of a tradition that would become the foundation of our craft — they brought with them. I recall their looms, the soft hands, and the first sarees which glimmered with zari and motif. Not only did they produce cloth, they invested sarees with histories, rituals, and memories for generations. Even today, when I envelop our silks around myself, I feel that heritage in every fibre. That provenance fuels NityaaQala's passion for authentic, heritage handloom sarees even today. Our brand exudes the same warmth and reverence they bring to every weave.
1900–1960 – A Legacy in Motion
Between 1900 and 1960, our small workshop was a renowned handloom house, exporting Paithani, Reshmi and cotton sarees to luxury boutiques throughout the nation. We possessed two Paithani, ten Reshmi and eight cotton handlooms, and mastered design, mastered borders, and built quality trust that was predictable. Every saree was an act of love — golden zari borders, classic motifs, and silk that hugged like liquid opulence. Our fabrics entered the wedding trousseaus and festival wardrobes in Pune. I quickly learned that genuine craftsmanship takes patience, pride and attention to detail. We have learned in those decades that heritage fashion is more about timeless value than trend.
1975 – A Watershed in the Legacy
During 1975, the times had to change and our Pune mill had to shut down — a sweet-and-sour bitter-sweet break in the long tale of weaving. The looms fell silent, but the know-how and handcraft did not pass away; they were kept in the heads and hands of our family and skill-partner partners. Several generations later, the legacy slept, kept as an heirloom, and subsequent generations followed other avenues. But ever the tug back toward those strings; the art called. That time of quiet taught us perseverance: traditions endure when cradled in love, even amidst adversity. And made the ultimate resurrection that much more precious and extraordinary.
2020 – Reviving a Legacy, Weaving a Dream
I came back. to the looms upon finishing my fashion design degree in 2020 to give our family saga a modern voice through NityaaQala. I wanted to honor our heritage and design clothing for today's woman — brides, city editors, and women-in-between who adore heirloom touch. We began with one-of-its-kind bridal lehengas, handloom pure sarees, and handpicked couture blending Paithani prints with dramatic silhouettes. Each piece was created as a mixture of traditional weaving and modern elegance. To start in such difficult times seemed daunting, but handcraft doesn't go out of style and is comforting. NityaaQala was my commitment to take those generations of craftsmanship along with love and pride.
2022 – IDOLS of Maharashtra Award
In 2022, I was honored to have received the IDOLS of Maharashtra award — an award that I accept with humility on behalf of my whole weaver and artisan fraternity. Although the award reminded us of our pledge towards reviving handloom heritage and empowering artisan livelihood through luxury couture, it also allowed us to raise our voice so we could campaign for Paithani and Nauvari weaves on larger platforms. The award was never so much for me about the trophy as it was about responsibility: the preservation of techniques that are characteristic of regional tradition. All collections since have borne the additional weight of responsibility to be true, ethical, and skillfully made. The award galvanized new collaborations and increased passion for our art.
– Akshata Padgaonkar: Handmade Bridal Lehengas
In 2022, creating a custom peach lehenga for Akshata Padgaonkar was love —intricate stitching, rich handpicked fabric, and a silhouette that did justice to her grace. I worked side by side with artisans such that each design and every strand complemented the bride's narrative, bringing yesteryear's zari work together with today's sensibility. Having her wear that lehenga so effortlessly reminded us of what we do: to leave behind mementos that still remain in mind. That order cemented our heritage for bespoke bridal couture and detailed, slow-fashion processes. It sowed fresh bespoke colour, texture and drape tests that would inform our subsequent season collections. Designing for such occasions keeps the looms singing.
2022 – Bride & Groom Personalization: Handcrafted Romance Stories
We took our couture customization to new heights in 2022 — designing three-piece groom's suits and bride lehengas for grooms who desired equal formality. Every bridal item was an exercise in ordered process: drawings, choosing fabrics, fittings and unveiling. We paid homage to family motifs, embroidered in heirloom thread, and brokered tradition with contemporary tailoring. What resulted was stunning, bespoke attire that felt like wearable memory. Customisation is my own work — we hear, we create, and we shape with a zeal that resonates the rites they will be presiding over. Such pieces only confirm NityaaQala is not only a title but a co-author of individuals' most precious memories.
2023 – Nayannah Mukey: Drape & Fusion Wear Designer
Collaborating with Nayannah Mukey on a silk tube top, drape skirt and organza jacket in sheer 2023 was all about fusing modern Indian. We paired luxurious silk with lightweight organza, adding drama and form that was both modern and organic. The appearance demonstrated how hand-woven fabrics can be modified to make dramatic shapes without losing craft integrity. For me, this collaboration was evidence of flexibility — that Paithani-inspire motifs and handloom textures can cross the limits of traditional drapes. It also encouraged us to try combining classic weaves and contemporary cuts for global eyes. These combinations give depth to the lexicon of legacy fashion.
2023 – Mrunmayee Deshpande: Signature Drape Sarees
I had the opportunity to dress Mrunmayee Deshpande in our traditional drapes sarees on two occasions in 2023, and in each instance made the saree a statement of taste sophistication. Our drapes are all sophistication distilled to elegance — a very beautiful marriage of vintage handloom tradition and modern style. I love fitting the fall and pleat of each saree to personal taste, and draping the silhouette as her own. Seeing her in our drapes at celebrations reinforced the emotional power of a well-crafted saree: it dignifies, it nourishes, it speaks. These collaborations reaffirmed our insistence on creating sarees that are both couture and richly inclusive. To me, those are the soul of our design process.
2023 – Gautami Deshpande: Bridal Celebrations
Design for Gautami Deshpande's 2023 Mehendi and Haldi ceremonies was a celebratory and intimate process. We chose fun colors, textured silks, and light-handed hand-embroidery to invoke playfulness and ritual of the times. Each piece was created with comfort, photo-worthiness, and respect for her culture in mind — so the bride could dance, party, and radiate. And learning from her team informed us of the art of combining tradition and modern sensibilities appropriate for contemporary celebrations. The brides' collections complement our event-oriented couture skills and bring in new seasons' color charters. Covering a bride for these intimate events is still one of my biggest honors.
2023 – Shruti Marathe: Timeless Sophistication in Our Designs
Shruti Marathe opted for NityaaQala for public as well as private events in 2023 in gratitude for the fusion of sophistication and tradition that we work towards creating. Her faith in our creations enabled us to bring out pieces that were delicate yet dramatic simultaneously. For the workshop, all such connotations are a chance to introduce the luxury of handloom and the delicacy of hand finish. These collaborations are close to my heart as they make the heritage vocabulary accessible to everyone. Each ensemble designed for her made it even stronger in our mind that hand-made couture is ageless and contemporary at the same time. Such experiences form part of our design vocabulary and public culture.
2023 – Vitthal Rukmini Nauvari & Barabandi: Tradition Reimagined
In 2023, I designed a traditional Nauvari saree to commemorate Vitthal's sacred wedding with Rukmini — an union that bound piety and cultural symbolism together. The piece was a tribute to traditional draping, genuine motifs, and ripened local color narrative, presenting a sophisticated finish befitting modern times. This Nauvari was a balancing act in production: respecting ritual hierarchy in guiding it to stunning loveliness for worldly uses. Barabandi element added royal beauty, justifying ceremonial dress in wearables measurements. This exercise made me aware of how fashion and spiritual ceremony could converge to create construction that is fashionable as well as sacred. Such an endeavor vindicates our role as the custodians of popular textile traditions.
2023 – Store Launch: Nagraj Manjule, Gargee Kulkarni & Sayli Patil
Our 2023 store launch in Pune was one I will always remember, blessed by the presence of legends Nagraj Manjule, Gargee Kulkarni and Sayli Patil. Their presence added strength to our dream of making handloom couture a part of mainstream culture. Friends, clients and weavers all gathered together that night under silk and zari canopies, bridging the spaces of film, theatre and fabric. It was a poignant reminder that fashion is cultural narrative — and that our work reaches more hands than the atelier's alone. The launch put NityaaQala's status as Pune design house in a limelight it could hardly have anticipated, and created a new-found local pride in luxury handwovens. I am thankful for the direction and hospitality shown to us that day.
2023 – Urmila Nimbalkar & Sukirt Gumaste: Couple Couture
Creating for Urmila Nimbalkar and Sukirt Gumaste in 2023 was a lesson in modest matching — a bespoke Nauvari for Urmila and a complementing kurta for Sukirt. I enjoyed creating an even-keel vocabulary of textures that did justice to heritage and echoed the couple's love of self-expression. The ensembles married ancient weaving and contemporary tailoring, but were photo-perfect and heritage-centric as well. Projects such as these allow us to play with dialogue between masculine and feminine silhouettes from a common heritage lexicon. Pair couture for me is harmony: two narratives woven into one shared moment. It is always a pleasure to see such outfits spring to life.
2023 – NityaaQala Customized Nauvari: Tradition, Tailored
Our 2023 custom Nauvari sarees vindicated the theory that crafting a local drape is a question of technique, tact and respect for ritual. Every custom Nauvari is hand-weaved to the wearer's height, movement and ritual requirement — from pleating folds to accentuating motif. This is a process that takes long-term collaboration with our artisans to facilitate actual weaves and invested finishing touches. Customers also bring us heirloom yarns or heritage traditions, and incorporating them into new pieces of clothing is work that I do not approach lightly. These commissions maintain traditional practices in use and reimagine them to integrate into modern wardrobes. They are a hands-on exercise wherein we respect the cultural continuity.
2023 – Honoring a Mother's Vision: Tradition to Trend
Among the most enjoyable tasks of 2023 was designing a Nauvari that was every mother's dream come true — transforming a much-loved retro idea into a new reality for her daughter. The saree had traditional motifs in fresh combinations of hues so it was old yet new. I recall the expression on the face of the mother when she saw the completed drape for the first time; those are the moments that we cling onto these crafts. Work such as this shows how our heritage fashion can act as a bridge between generations — one uniting memory, identity and celebration. To me, all of this work is personal work: I take on the responsibility of making every stitch something it deserves that trust. It's the quiet, internal aspect of our art.
2025 – Sahavaar Fest: Reviving 18th-Century Peshwekalin Paithani
IIn 2025, I am proud to share that NityaaQala revived the 18th-century Peshwekalin Paithani at the Sahavaar Fest, bringing back imperial designs and traditional borders inspired by the grandeur of Pune’s Peshwa legacy. This milestone came after months of research, deliberate yarn sourcing, and deep consultations with master weavers to replicate the original weaving methods and pure zari ornamentations. Showcasing this collection at Sahavaar Fest felt like coming full circle — honoring royal traditions while presenting them to a modern-day audience. The response was overwhelming: patrons, fellow artists, and critics alike appreciated the dedication and love woven into every saree. For me, it was a reminder of why we innovate while preserving our roots — so that the timeless artistry of the 18th century continues to inspire generations ahead.