— by Nisha, Founder of Ocher Studio
The story of Ocher isn’t just about a brand. It’s about home, heritage, and a journey that started in Bastar.
I was born and raised in Bastar, a place where culture isn't something you visit in a museum; it’s something you walk past on your way to school, something you hear in the beat of the drums during Dussehra, something you see in the hands of the women selling handmade wares in the weekly bazaar.
Growing up in a quiet town, my world was small, but rich. Every day, I was surrounded by tribes, their traditions woven into everyday life, in exhibitions, festivals, rituals. Back then, I didn’t realise how unique it all was. It was simply normal. But somewhere deep down, I always felt that this way of life, so rooted, so textured, deserved more recognition than it got.
After finishing school at Kendriya Vidyalaya, I moved to Nagpur to study architecture. That move opened a window. Suddenly, I was seeing new worlds: design systems, cultural influences, historical references, creative expressions. It was exciting, but it also left me with a quiet ache, the sense that while other states had found ways to preserve and showcase their heritage, Bastar’s story was still being whispered, not sung.
Five years passed, and I kept returning to the same feeling: I need to do something for my culture.
My journey next took me to Udaipur for an internship, a city where craft isn’t just preserved, but passionately celebrated. From the intricate Pichwai paintings to the vibrant block prints and kathputli puppets, Rajasthan lives and breathes its cultural legacy. Being immersed in such an environment broadened my perspective and deepened my appreciation for how tradition can shape identity.
I returned to Nagpur for my final semester with a renewed sense of clarity and a much wider vision for my thesis. I knew I wanted to focus on Bastar. Titled "An Epitome of Bastar," my thesis was more than an academic project,it was a journey into the soul of the region. Through ground-level research and heartfelt conversations with local artisans, I found myself one step closer to the heart of Bastar.
Soon after, I moved to Ahmedabad and began working as a junior architect. Yet each city, Udaipur, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, left its mark on me, quietly planting a question I couldn’t shake: What if Bastar was given the same platform to shine?
One day, while attending a tourism exhibition jointly hosted by Chhattisgarh and Gujarat in Ahmedabad, the thought hit me hard. I remember standing there, surrounded by vibrant displays and buzzing energy, and thinking, We have just as much to offer, maybe even more. So why isn’t Bastar known for it?
That moment was a turning point.
Soon after, I left my job and went on a solo one-month journey across India, through the Northeast, Himachal, Arunachal, Bengal, and UP. I didn’t have a plan. I just wanted to see. But when I finally came back to Bastar, something had shifted.
I began exploring villages of Bastar I’d never been to before, places that weren’t in tourist guides but were rich beyond words in craft, culture, and wisdom.
For the first time, I was really seeing the Bastar that the world hadn’t seen yet. And I couldn’t keep it to myself.
That’s when I started writing under a simple name, My Ocher Diary, I began documenting what I was seeing, feeling, discovering. It was personal, raw, and deeply cathartic. Around the same time, I discovered a village just 16 km away, where artisans practiced Dhokra, a 4000-year-old metal casting technique. I began visiting every day, watching, learning, creating.
When I made my first product, I wasn’t thinking about sales or strategy. I just wanted to experiment. And somehow, people responded. They told me it felt different, modern, contemporary but still rooted. That’s when a little spark lit up in me.
The entire village I was working in was coated in this warm, golden mud, a natural yellow pigment called Ocher . It was everywhere: on walls, on feet, in the air. It felt symbolic. Familiar. Honest. And so, Ocher Studio was born.
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I didn’t have a business model. I had curiosity, and a growing belief that this was something worth building. From hosting small craft workshops in those villages, to setting up a tiny studio, to eventually opening our first store, everything happened slowly, organically, with a lot of heart and a little chaos.
Today, Ocher has grown far beyond what I imagined. We’ve showcased Bastar’s crafts across India and even internationally. We’ve worked with artisans, trained young minds, built a small but soulful team. And through it all, the mission has stayed the same, to honour where we come from, while gently pushing the boundaries of where we can go.
I never set out to build a brand. I just followed what felt right. And in doing so, I’ve found a way to bring Bastar to the world, not just as a place on the map, but as a living, breathing story in every piece we create.
If you’ve ever held an Ocher product in your hand, a handwoven diary, a piece of Dhokra art, a garment made with care, I hope you felt it too.
That quiet, rooted pride. That golden thread of where it all began.
