Purvaiya : Where the eastern breeze meets Chikankari

The Name : Purvaiya

If you've ever stood in the courtyard of an old Lucknow haveli in the month of May, you'll know the purvaiya. It's the eastern wind — warm, gentle, carrying with it the scent of earth and marigold. It arrives just before the rains, a quiet promise that relief is on its way. It doesn't announce itself loudly. It simply is.

That is exactly the feeling I wanted this collection to carry. Not loud. Not trying too hard. Just effortlessly, beautifully there.

When I sat down to name this collection, I kept coming back to that feeling — of a summer evening in Lucknow, a light kurta, the breeze lifting the hem of your dupatta. Purvaiya chose itself.

Designed for the Indian Summer

Designing for summer in India is both a challenge and a joy. The heat demands fabrics that breathe — cotton, chanderi, georgette — and silhouettes that don't cling. But summer in India is also a season of colour, of festivals, of weddings under string lights. You want to feel cool and beautiful at the same time.

The Purvaiya Collection was designed with exactly this in mind. Every piece is crafted in fabrics that move with you — light enough for a warm afternoon, elegant enough for an evening gathering. The colour palette draws from the season itself: the dusty rose of summer sunsets, the ivory of jasmine, the soft blue of a sky just before the monsoon breaks.

And of course — chikankari. Because no summer in Lucknow is complete without it.

The Design Process

Every collection at Tasveer begins with a feeling, not a sketch. I spend weeks absorbing — old photographs, Urdu poetry, the way light falls on embroidered fabric in the afternoon. Only then do I begin to draw.

For Purvaiya, I was drawn to motifs that felt airy and organic — small florals, trailing vines, the delicate buti patterns that have graced Lucknowi fabric for centuries. I wanted the embroidery to feel like it had grown there naturally, not been placed.

Once the designs were finalised, I sat with our master artisan Mohd jaan bhai and Shabana baji to discuss which stitches would bring each motif to life. Some pieces called for the soft shadow of bakhiya; others needed the raised texture of murri to give them dimension. This conversation — between designer and artisan — is my favourite part of the process. It's where the collection truly begins to breathe.

The Hands Behind Purvaiya

I want you to know the people who made your kurta.

Mohd Jaan bhai has been doing chapai for over 30 years. He learned from his father, who learned from his father before him. When he picks up a block, there is no hesitation — his hands simply know. He leads our team of artisans in a small workshop in the old city of Lucknow, where the walls are hung with fabric and the sound of blocks on cloth is the only music playing.

Shabana baji specialises in the finest shadow work — the delicate bakhiya stitch that gives chikankari its signature translucent beauty. She has been embroidering since she was twelve, taught by her mother in their village near Lucknow. Today, her work supports her family and keeps a tradition alive that might otherwise have faded.

Each piece in the Purvaiya Collection passed through their hands — and the hands of many others like them. It took patience, skill, and weeks of quiet, focused work. When you wear a Tasveer kurta, you carry their artistry with you.

A Final Word

The Purvaiya Collection is my love letter to Lucknow summers — to the breeze that comes just when you need it, to the craft that has survived centuries, and to the women and men who keep it alive with their hands every single day.

I hope when you wear it, you feel a little of that eastern breeze too.

— Priya Shukla