ByHand- A sustainable ethnic fashion brand by Mr. Rajendra Prasad

ByHand is a Kochi based ethnic product store which was set up in 2017 by Mr. Rajendra Prasad. His passion to get into eco-friendly, handwoven, hand block printed and hand dyed apparel to the masses thereby focusing on the principles of planet first was his main motto.

ByHand believes in 'Traditional wear in a contemporary style'. They have also started a movement which helps them to promote socially purposeful lifestyle.

All the apparels are simple and celebrates the beauty of Indian craftsmanship. Every women no matter the shape, size or colour has a personal style of her own. ByHand is for people who are a bit conscious about the choices they make either due to societal pressures or the existing taboos in our Indian society.

The products are designed keeping in mind the fact that the wearer should feel confident and proud about themselves.

This joyous feeling comes from knowing that ByHand is on a mission to enable Sustainable livelihoods for artisans thereby eliminating the middleman.

ByHand also contributes towards wowen empowerment and supporting the skilled Indian artisans who uphold our Indian culture, art and heritage.

Finding traditional skilled artisans have become really hard as Weaver’s and Craftsman have resorted to pulling rickshaw’s or even becoming construction labour for more pay. A wealth of old traditional knowledge is lost in the process.

Mr. Rajendra wants the artisans to be paid the fair wage which they deserve for their work; a place where there is no discrimination. He wishes to create an ecosystem where everyone will be skilled enough to perform their own work and get paid for the same.

ByHand's products are strategically made in order to support and encourage sustainable practises.

ByHand is also a regular supporter of NGOs like the Delhi based MESH and Literacy India to name a few. They also plan to give a certain percentage of their profits back to the society and also plan to open an NGO in near future.

Being an Electrical Engineer by profession, Mr. Rajendra was always fascinated about crafts and designs.

Initially he also wanted to pursue a diploma in Handloom technology but fate had other plans for him and he became an Electrical Engineer instead.

It was during his travel to North India (especially Gujarat, Rajasthan and Kolkata) where he got exposed to a lot more varieties of craft and designs and found his long, lost love within. He has not only travelled in India but also worked in Middle East, Russia and Africa(Nigeria- 12 years)

Infact, one of the collection from ByHand named Punnyamati is woven with ingenious ideas from the Indian School of thought where women empowerment has done a commendable job.

India is a land of diverse culture. The diversity from Kashmir to Kanyakumari is tremendous. Due to the vast diversity, there are people with different culture, people who speak different languages and also wear different clothes thereby having different art as well.

Nikara is Bayhand’s exclusive story line to showcase the “Beauty in Contradictions” discovered from various Indian streets. Punya Mati is the first chapter of Nikara that’s inspired from Kumarotuli. Chapter or Episode 2 will be from another Indian Street that they are currently working on.

Kumartuli is a traditional pottery village located in the by-lanes of Northern Kolkata. The city is renowned for its sculpting prowess, which not only manufactures clay idols for various festivals but also regularly exports them.

The famous Durga idols are sculptured here with some strange and contradictory popular believes.

"Punya mati" (or Harlot's earth) is a mixture of cow urine, Ganga’s clay, cow dung and a little bit of “nishiddho palli” or the mud from the forbidden land of harlots known as the Sonagachhi, which is Asia's largest red light area.

The priest of the temple has to literally beg at the doorstep of the brothel to procure this quintessential clay for idol making.

Moreover, he chants Vedic mantras to purify those women and honor the holy soil from her backyard.

It is said that whenever a man visits a prostitute, he leaves behind his virtue and purity behind the doorstep. So, all that goodness and nobility mixes with the soil surrounding her home. This soil is later used to create the idols as it is very well identified and related to sanctity.

The outcome we get is divine and as beautiful as Maa Durga❤️

According to Indian mythology, during the epic fight between the Goddess and the demon, ‘Mahishasur’(the demon) made attempts to molest ‘Durga’(the Goddess) who was the most beautiful woman in all creation. But at the end, an enraged ‘Durga’ destroyed the ‘asur’ (demon) with her Trishul. Thus, the entire Durga Puja is an act of paying respect to womanhood and that includes the women who serve masculinity for a living.

This phenomenal ideation behind the name of the collection is something which made me closer to the brand even more.

ByHand follows all the 10 principles of World Fair Trade Organization and the chemicals used to grow, clean, process and dye cotton for use in garments come in direct contact with your skin. This poses several health risks and thus this is one of the reasons as to why ByHand promotes organic clothing.

I have linked their website so that you can go ahead and check the collections. Also, their social media handle is linked so that you can stay updated on their latest offerings.

Wishing you all a very happy Merry Christmas!