In a country known for its color and flair, the Banjara people of northwest India stand out for their lush embroidery, long skirts embellished with mirrors and mother of pearl buttons, and heavy silver jewelry hanging from their wrists, their hair, ears, and noses. Banjara means traveler or wanderer, and about 1,500 years ago, some left India and migrated west, eventually making it to Europe. To this day, their descendants, who you might know as “Rom/a,” share with the Banjara a love of long, colorful skirts, head coverings, and piles of flashy jewelry. In fact, the nomadic Banjara are often called “the Roma of India.”
The Indian-American designer Viji Reddy employs Banjara artisans to hand-embroider many of the products for her artisan home collection, Alamwar, which is sold in dozens of high-end boutiques everywhere from the Hamptons to San Francisco. An avid traveler herself, when she was planning the launch of her new fashion line, she decided to call it Roma Soul. “I thought just like everyone else, it’s a cool word,” she says.
