Colourful patterned saris dot the Bangladesh landscape, worn by women helping with the rice cultivation, fetching water, resting in the shade, cooking the family meal, or nurturing children.

Once discarded from the wardrobe, the sari’s life has only just begun. For centuries, Bengali women have painstakingly stitched their time-softened saris with straight even stitches into items of beauty and humble use. Whether it’s wrapping a newborn or providing warmth on a chilly night, the kantha blanket is a xture in every Bengali home.

Kantha, meaning ‘patched cloth’, provides a glimpse into the thrift and artistry of Bengali women. Spanning generations and multiple variations, the art of knitting together remnants of worn saris is a work of love. During the long afternoons of summer, women gather to pass the time, and amid the laughter and stories, a kantha is born.

At Basha, we not only see beautiful products emerging from the discarded, we see broken lives being made whole, stitch by stitch.