Before the camera

What did you know about the history of Sittilingi and Porgai before you arrived, and did it shape how you approached the shoot?

I first heard about Sittilingi and Porgai a few months ago, when a client approached me to shoot their collection there. Although the shoot didn’t work out at the time, I spent some time researching Sittilingi and the Porgai artisans.

I read about Porgai’s journey, how it was started by Dr. Lalitha, and how it has grown over the years. I was really inspired by the craft and the incredible talent that exists in such a small, remote village.

I had also heard about how beautiful the valley is and how slow and unhurried the lifestyle there is. All of this shaped my approach to the shoot. I wanted to keep the mood raw and real, capturing the natural rhythm of everyday life and allowing the beauty of the surroundings to become part of the imagery.

The collection itself is inspired by Sittilingi, so it felt important for the photographs to reflect that connection to the landscape, people and craft.

What was your first impression of Sittilingi, before you’d picked up a camera?

My first impression of Sittilingi was one of feeling grounded and calm. Before picking up my camera that morning, I went for a long walk around the village.

I could smell the earth, feel the warmth of the people, and see the bright colours of the houses and the kolams being drawn just outside their homes. Nothing seemed rushed. There was a sense of harmony in the way life unfolded there.

That feeling stayed with me. I knew I didn’t just want to document what Sittilingi looked like; I wanted to translate that sense of stillness, warmth, and living in rhythm with nature into the photographs.

Photographing the collection where it was made

Unlike an earlier exhibition, where Mayuri documented tapestries made during an artist residency, this project asked her to photograph a wearable collection within the community itself.

How did that shift the brief for you?

This approach creates a much stronger story around the collection, and I really connected with the brief.

Photographing the collection within the community helps communicate its journey and the context. You’re not simply looking at the finished products; you’re being invited into the process — to understand where they come from, what inspired them, who made them, and the community and everyday life they belong to.

In that sense, the photographs become a way of experiencing the collection rather than simply documenting it.

That distinction became central to the shoot.

For Mayuri, there was no reason to recreate Sittilingi somewhere else. The real environment was already there, along with the people who make the work and the lives that surround it.

The brand’s language is about not wanting to “recreate the setting”. How did that idea shape your actual days there?

I completely aligned with this idea. Sittilingi is a beautiful village, and the people who create this beautiful craft actually live here.

For me, there was no need to recreate the setting when the real environment, people, and way of life were already so authentic and visually rich.

Two days with the community

The difference between a conventional fashion shoot and this kind of documentary approach was not simply the location. It was the time spent with the people themselves.

How is this kind of documentary/fashion hybrid different from a typical shoot, in terms of who you spent time with and how you worked?

This shoot allowed me to spend real time with the people who make the craft and understand their lives beyond the work itself.

Over the two days, I had meals with them, spent afternoons listening to their stories, and got to experience their everyday lives on the ground.

It gave me a deeper understanding of what brings them happiness, the challenges and struggles they face, and how this craft has positively shaped their lives.

Spending that much time with them made the process of photographing much more organic. It felt much more like documenting a living story than doing a conventional fashion shoot.

That time also shaped the relationship between Mayuri and the camera's subjects.

How did the Porgai artisans respond to being photographed — was there hesitation, curiosity, ease?

The artisans were happy to be photographed and were curious to see how they looked in the photographs. I wouldn’t say they were immediately at ease in front of the camera. There was a certain formality that came in when the camera was around.

I had to slowly break down that sense of formality through conversations, spending time with them, and being mindful of my own body language.

Once I could sense that they were comfortable around me, the photographs became much more natural. That’s when I was able to capture the moments I had envisioned.