History of Amar Kutir
Amar Kutir was founded by freedom fighter Late Susen Mukhopadhyay in the early 1923 with objectives as envisaged by Rabindranath Tagore in his experiments in rural reconstruction at Sriniketan. The organization was closed down by British Government for accommodating freedom fighters in 1932. During this period Amar Kutir was raided by the British rulers and Mr. Mukherjee was put behind bars till 1937. The activities of Amar Kutir came to a halt. During his years in prison, Mukherjee met several revolutionary leaders, notably Pannalal Dasgupta and Moni Ganguly. From 1938 when the British Government relaxed its rules and started releasing many of the revolutionaries from prison. The released begun living and working in Amar Kutir establishing a commune. They were instrumental in organizing night classes and spreading political ideas among the rural masses. When the World War II broke out in 1939, many of the revolutionaries left Amar Kutir and were directly involved in organizing Peasant Movement in the villages. Many of them were also active during the Quit India movement in 1942.
Amar Kutir Leather Unit
Amar Kutir’s leather unit is one of the earliest endeavours of the society. Various products like bags, purses, belt etc are made in our unit which has close to forty artisans in it who are coming from various villages near and far. Our leather bags are known for its quality and endurance so much so that, we have customers who have been our extended family for decades.
Amar Kutir Batik Unit
Batik has been a part of Santiniketan for a very long time now. The word batik comes from a Javanese word ambatik which means writing in wax. Our batik unit is a hub of craftmanship as it has artisans who are in this art for thirty years and more. The batik products, especially our sarees are evidence to the artistic brilliance and craft of our artisans.
Amar Kutir Showroom
Amar Kutir has a showroom in its campus that has products of wide variety which includes clothes that has a spread of Kantha, Batik etc to home décor. It is one of the liveliest places of our campus where the world meets for the artisanship and its unparallel quality of products. It is the go-to place for all kinds of artistic goods for so many decades now.
Amar Kutir Henshel Ghor
Amar Kutir’s Heshel Ghar is the one stop solution for the most delicious and authentic Bengali thali in and around Santiniketan. Our platter in different cuisines of fish is everyone’s favourite. Located in the getaway vibes of Ballavpur, this restaurant that is specialised in Bengali thali has been that one place where you know the food will be great!
Amar Kutir Kantha Stitch
Amar Kutir is connected with the Self-Help Groups that are spread across in the extended villages near and far to its campus. The women from these villages channelise their craft and time for the Kantha works in order to bring the best of products in its form. Here in Amar Kutir, we have a wide range of those Kantha products like saris, salwar suits, shawls, panjabis etc. Each such piece is an example of the depth and quality of these artisans’ work.