Curating a collection of hard-to-find objects is Exotic India Art. The Pioneer connects with the founder, who spoke to us more in detail about the richness of its collection, the brand,
and more.
K. Ramya Sree
Traditional art never goes out of style. One of the most vibrant cultures in the world, India is the perfect place to find inspiration. It is home to exquisite architecture, strong dance, music, and theatrical traditions, as well as color styles of dress, handcrafted decor, and more. The land is also blessed with amazing scenic beauty and several historical monuments, while diverse cultures make up the land from north to south. It is this combination of diversity and cultures that makes India one of a kind.
Curating a collection of hard-to-find objects and seamlessly delivering it to customers is Exotic India Art. It was established in August 1998 and is amongst the first e-commerce entities in India. The company was incorporated by the Goel brothers Vipin, Nitin, and Kapil, with a passion for Indian culture and a goal to unite and serve the community who love India. The company embarked on its entrepreneurial journey towards its core objective to celebrate the cultural richness of India and share its beauty, spirituality, and unique offerings from all over the country.
The Pioneer got in touch with Kapil Goel, who spoke to us about his brand, the richness of its collections, and more.
The company aims to give customers the best of both worlds: Indian traditionalism and a cutting-edge appearance. Each one of their collections of more than 4,00,000 items is hand-picked to ensure the highest quality and is invaluable to our customers.
“In the past 24 years, the Exotic India family encompasses more than 10,000 artisans, ashrams, dealers, and publishers from remote regions of India and Nepal and has crafted the Exotic India Art collection. In relation to this, our curated selection includes the finest bronze statues from Swamimalai and Hoysala, folk art from Bastar, pashminas from Kashmir, décor from Rajasthan, Tanjore from Tamil Nadu, books from Gorakhpur, Banaras, Kerala, and many more such cultural centres. We have spent years developing relationships with our dealers, carefully selecting and sourcing items to ensure that our customers receive high-quality products,” said Kapil, adding that Exotic India Art strives to keep the traditions of Indian history and art alive by incorporating them into the work as much as possible.
The passion and love for Indian art, culture, and religion, in addition to the technical education and knowledge that all of the people in the family possess because of their engineering backgrounds, drove them in the year 1998 to create an online platform for Indian handicrafts and books. In the vein of becoming one of India’s first e-commerce companies, the brand sold books and handicrafts around the world. Their work is heavily influenced by the cultural heritage of India, particularly in its use of vivid scriptures, traditional patterns, historical artefacts, and so on. Explaining how their work reflects Indian culture through the craft, he informed us, “All the items showcased on our website and in our store are handcrafted in India by expert craftsmen and artists who have been practising their craft for generations. Most of our merchandise reflects the true traditions and culture of India, either through the artists’ rendition of their daily lives or his/her impression of the millennia-old religions of India, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and others.”
He informed us that each of their collection speaks of the rich Indian heritage and tells the story of our vibrant culture and exquisite art from all around India. “Most of our art pieces, be it sculptures, paintings, or even clothing, are the amalgamation of thousands of years of tradition and cultural development. These objects, which are often museum quality, speak of Indian mythology, philosophy, spirituality, religion, and history. For instance, incidents from the Puranas are very richly illustrated in miniature paintings from Rajasthan, as are Rupas of Hindu gods represented in brass as well as marble statues,” added the founder.
Also sharing some grave challenges faced by the local art community, he said, “Many of the artisan’s descendants are leaving the traditional family business because better economic opportunities and professions are now available. This, as a result, poses a real threat that society will lose traditional knowledge and skills that have taken generations to develop. For instance, the son of a miniature painting artist who was associated with us for 20 years is now a software programmer, and it is common to see a handloom weaver in Banaras plying a hand rickshaw as it is more remunerative. This increases the likelihood of traditional knowledge, skills, and practices being lost, and may even result in the extinction of certain crafts.”
