CASTING ABOUT

On Delhi-based collectible design pioneer Vikram Goyal's launch of his lifestyle brand Viya in the city, a showcase of the best of Indian craft with artistic renderings in brass, repoussé, pietra dura, bamboo weaving, and other techniques

- PRIYAMVADA RANA

ON a chilly January evening, the Living Traditions Centre at Bikaner House was filled with a warm glow—floor lamps in sinuous forms, candle stands shaped like a banyan tree and hanging lights imitating a lily flower climber created an inviting ambience. Inside the hall, which was nonetheless a chamber of endless imagination—cane peeled from the bark of rattan plant was knotted carefully into a feather-light sofa, metals like brass, bronze finished with assorted patinas were shaped like a flower vase, and screen printing technique created an exuberant pattern of botanicals on table cloths.

These were some of the home accessories and collectible design masterpieces by globally renowned designer Vikram Goyal exhibited at the launch of his lifestyle brand Viya in Delhi. "Viya is a lifestyle and contemporary design brand for home décor and gifting. It is a contemporary expression of Indian craftsmanship. We work with a number of crafts, metal, block printing, embroidery, screen printing, cane, rope, etc. Every product has an Indian narrative linked to myths, landscape, architecture, culture," said Goyal during our walk-through.