Maya Bommai

“Maya Angelou is not what she has done or written or spoken, it’s how she did it all. She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence, and a fiery, fierce grace and abounding love,” said Oprah Winfrey, who calls Maya, her mentor.

It’s easy to be inspired by poet, writer, and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou. She also, at various other times, wore the hat of an actor, a waitress, a dancer, and a cook.

Our Maya Bommai though, wears a removable printed turban and can be dry-cleaned or wiped clean. The strong lips that spoke her truth are all we highlight, in hand embroidery. She wears a string of pearls around her neck. Her simple black dress is washable, and again, end of bolt fabric, sourced locally. She comes with a handcrafted cloth book and a pen.

The Maya Bommai comes in a little sleeping bag and pillow that make for neat storage.

The Smritsonian is a pandemic baby, born as much out of necessity and despair, as optimism and solidarity. Journalist and writer Smriti Lamech found herself confined to a cottage in the Palani Hills, due to the unexpected and ill-planned lockdown. She was not able to head back home to Gurgaon, and her work. Instead, she chanced upon a couple of women’s self help groups that found themselves strapped for employment and income.

She took it upon herself to create business for them, and also used the opportunity to fulfill a dream – feminism taught young. She hit upon the idea of creating ragdolls out of the materials available in the little town, designed them, and worked with the ladies to help them stitch them.

Committed to reducing environmental impact, and supporting local businesses, each purchase takes the ladies one step closer towards independence and self-sufficiency.