Get to Know Toha

Toha began as an attempt to revive the art of basket making in a remote village of Uttar Pradesh, that attempt got 3 individuals from entirely different professional backgrounds and embarked them on a journey to rediscover the lost art forms of India.

People Behind Toha

Monika Pal Bharti

IIM Ahemdabad graduate with more than 28 years of extensive experience in project financing and infrastructure consulting with few very large ticket projects to her credit. Traveling across the length and breadth of the country made her realise the vast wealth of traditional art forms in India waiting to be discovered and reinvented. Intention of empowering the widows in her own village was the initiating point which gradually expanded to providing employment and financial independence to women and artisans across 5 states.

Piyush Pal

Piyush is our Finance guy, with degrees in Finance from FMS, New Delhi & London School of Economics, London . Piyush has vast international experience in corporate finance and advisory and returned to India a few years back to establish his own equity/FX/ commodity trading practice.

Currently he trades as a profession but has committed himself to help artisans, farmers and craftsmen of India through Toha.

Deepti Lal

Deepti is our creative wanderer. She loves to travel and discover cities on foot. A Mass Communication graduate from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Deepti has worked with The Times of India group, Penguin Random House in India, Natwest Bank in London, ESA PR & Compass International in Dubai, before returning to India a few years ago.

Deepti is a part of Toha’s creative team and travels across the country discovering and reinventing art forms.

Toha & Its Social Responsibilities

Toha is committed to the cause of Women Empowerment and the socially and economically backward classes of the country. We do this through our NGO and are currently running skill development courses for women in Phulwama and Shopiyan districts of Jammu & Kashmir. Young women are trained with the intention of making them mentally and financially independent.

Revive To Survive - Toha

TOHA is a child of this endless & infinite journey. It’s a platform for those millions of artists and art forms spread across the nation, who we meet whilst the journey continues. Each state of our wonderful country has artforms that are par excellence but unfortunately some are on the verge of extinction. Covid 19 pandemic made matters worse for our craftsmen and artists, we witnessed some of the finest artists had to give up art during to survive through the period. That is when Toha began its own journey, to ‘revive to survive’.

Toha has taken baby steps and is currently working with artisans of 5 states, but the journey has only just begun and Toha intends to reach all corners of our incredible country, discover and reinvent the unbelievable art forms and make it suitable for modern Indian homes.

Toha's Vision

As of today, Toha is working with women’s groups in Uttar Pradesh who weave beautiful, eco friendly ad sustainable baskets in all shapes and sizes. Toha is also working with weavers and craftsmen in Jammu & Kashmir and reviving the art of crewel embroidery & papier mache. We also procure the best saffron from Kashmir and make it more accessible to you. Toha has also reached the new state of Telangana and is sourcing beautiful Ikat weaves and producing home décor items fit for corner of your house.

Gond artists of Madhya Pradesh have also joined our family and are making exquisite household items to add tradition to your modern utility items. Also, the crochet, macrame artists of Delhi are a part of Toha family along with self help women’s groups who help us stich fabric into dreams.