It was the artisans of Katalamara, Shankhela, village in the northeastern state of Tripura, who first introduced Bangalore-based designer Sandeep Sangaru to bamboo at the Bamboo and Cane Development Institute in Agartala.

“In 2003, while I was a faculty member at the National Institute of Design (NID), I was sent to Tripura as part of a programme to expose local artisans to contemporary designs and products to help them cope with present day markets. It was a programme designed by the NID and I spent about six weeks there,” recalls Sangaru.