Meera Mehta

Who is Meera Mehta?

Meera Mehta was born in 1950 and is a weaver and textile designer, based in Mumbai, India.

Textiles she has created have been displayed in museums and galleries around the world. In particular, she has been responsible for the revival of the 'Paithani Paithani' sari, a legendary sari, which has been woven in Maharashtra, India for the past 2,000 years in a town located close to the Ajanta caves, to its original grandeur. The Paithani sari is known for its intricate weave of pure silk and gold - and many of Meera's pieces take anywhere from a month to years to design and weave. Many of the designs have been influenced by Buddhist

paintings which can be seen in the woven Paithani motifs - lotus flowers, swans and gold.

Many years ago, British Airways decided that it would adorn not one, but a handful of its aircraft with one of Meera's saris. They put the design on the tailfins of its planes and pasted Meera's signature on these birds. Said Meera then, "This is even better than having someone wear it."

Many of her brocades and saris have been displayed in museums in the United States, Switzerland and London. Some adorn the walls of some of the classiest homes in Manhattan, London, San Francisco, Mumbai, Zurich, Delhi, Tokyo and Washington DC. Meera is frequently invited as a speaker at museum societies and cultural organizations and as a judge at fashion and design schools including the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, her alma mater and NIFT, Mumbai. In 2002, she designed a collection of gold jewelry for InterGold which was launched with the World Gold Council