Munnabhai Toranwala

Munnabhai Toranwala operates out of Sector 21 in Gandhinagar, near the H O, and we also spend a lot of time around Vadodara. Making torans is something that takes a lot of patience and steady hands. Our workspace is usually covered in beads, threads, and brightly colored fabrics. It looks like a mess to anyone else, but we know where everything is. We spend hours sitting down, stitching together the pieces that people hang on their doorways for luck and decoration. It’s quiet work, mostly, though we usually have a small radio playing in the background. The designs we make are based on what we’ve learned over the years, nothing too fancy, just traditional stuff that people like. We don't have a big storefront with lights; it’s more of a workshop where the actual making happens. When the festivals come around, we are working late into the night because everyone wants their house to look good. Sector 21 is a decent place to work from, and being near the Gandhinagar H O makes things easier for us. We just try to make things that look nice and last for a few seasons. It’s a humble business, and we are just happy to keep the craft going. Sometimes the thread tangles or we run out of a certain color, but we always manage to finish the orders eventually. We just keep on stitching and making things by hand for whoever needs them for their homes.