Ruby Ghaznavi: A life painted in natural colours
Ruby Ghaznavi was the founder of Aranya Crafts and a global authority on natural/vegetable dyes. She breathed her last on Saturday but her sustainable fashion legacy will live on
Fashion designer Humaira Khan launched black and white Khadi collections, several years ago, in a fashion show in Dhaka. At the show, she spotted an elderly woman visibly struggling after taking the stairs, as the building did not have an elevator.
"I am looking for Humaira," she said. Humaira introduced herself, but she had no idea that this elderly woman was Ruby Ghaznavi, the pioneer of the renaissance of natural colours and the handicraft movement in Bangladesh.
"I knew about Ruby Ghaznavi for a long time, through her work at Aranya… but I didn't know her face," Humaira told The Business Standard. "She told me that 'I was amazed by your work. I really wanted to congratulate you for [being] somebody who understood fashion," adding, "Then I realised how the elderly and leaders in our industry like her know how to encourage others, and provide a guideline for us."
"My line is not traditional Zamdani or natural dye material, I do modern fashion. So getting introduced to a person like her, witnessing the depth of her knowledge [besides vegetable dyes], I was truly overwhelmed," Humaira said, remembering the sustainable fashion icon of Bangladesh.
Ruby Ghaznavi, 88, the woman who introduced Bangladesh to the world as the epicentre of the revival of sustainable natural dyes, passed away at a hospital in Dhaka on Saturday. She was born in 1935 in Faridpur. Her husband Farhad Ghaznavi also died recently. She is survived by a son and daughter, and numerous benefactors.
Ruby was the founder of Aranya Crafts and a global authority on natural/vegetable dyes – a craft that the world thought could no longer survive in the market. But not only did it hop back on the scene, it further gained huge popularity, thanks to the perseverance and dedication of figures like Ruby. She showed the world how to be an environmentalist and fashion icon, by creating a space for natural dyes in a chemical world.
Ruby Ghaznavi taught in Bangladesh how to become a successful entrepreneur with natural dyes, and then spread that knowledge to different countries of the world.
As an honorary member of the World Crafts Council, she travelled and taught about natural colours in countries like Turkey, Germany, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka etc.
She was a teacher before venturing into the world of colour. That skill came in handy when she conducted week-long workshops in all these countries to revive natural colours and rid the world of chemical dye waste.
"The world of crafts unlocked to me because of her. She introduced me to all the veterans in the craft communities around the world. Everyone in the global crafts community knows her," said Nawshin Khair Hema, Managing Director of Aranya Crafts.
"Ruby chachi was my mentor – I came into the sustainable fashion industry through her. This loss, her departure, feels like a roof was removed from above my head," Nawshin said, adding, "She was a strict teacher. We would enter her room with fear. She would admonish and love us equally. She would show us lovingly how to go about our work."
"I miss her," said Nawshin.
Founder and member of different local and global crafts communities, Ruby learned about natural dye from Kamala Devi Chattopadhyay in India in 1979. Ever since, she devoted herself to the world of natural colours.
She learned six colours from India, while she initially made nine herself. Later, she developed 15 more vegetable colours.
Besides Aranya Crafts, which she founded in 1990, many other initiatives like Natural Colour Project, Bangladesh National Crafts Council, Jamdani Utsav etc, also emerged with Ruby as a patron.
Chairperson of the National Dyes Programme of the World Crafts Council for the Asia-Pacific Region, Ruby was also a trustee of Transparency International Bangladesh and a member of the Bengal Foundation. She also authored two books titled Naksha and Rangin. She was on the editorial board of Textile Heritage of Bangladesh and Traditional Jamdani Design books.
Ruby herself did not think she could achieve so much when she started out. In an interview with a local newspaper a few years ago, she said, "When I started working as per Kamala Devi's suggestions, I did not think that I would come this far. Now I have taught this work to many countries. Today, Bangladesh is considered an expert in natural dyes. This is a great achievement for me. When I started, I didn't think there would be so much business. I got a lot," she said.
"Back then, the whole world had an idea that natural colour would not return. But I believed it would. That is true. Since 2001, many countries around the world have realised that, and they are now more inclined to use natural colours to save nature," Ruby added.
Ruby also played a significant role in the crafts movement in Bangladesh, especially when it came to the craftsmen.
"She played a huge role in popularising vegetable dyes. Vegetable dyes are not a shiny thing to stand out in this market. Yet, she made it possible. She trained numerous people to make its popularity a reality," said Luva Nahid Chowdhury, DG of Bengal Foundation. "Many of today's successful entrepreneurs were trained by her."
"Today, we talk about the environment so much. We will have to remember her with due respect in this regard, for she actually worked and showed everyone how to be environmentalists," Luva Nahid added.
Chandra Shekhar Saha, President of the National Crafts Council of Bangladesh, also remembered her with great respect. "Ruby Ghaznavi's long career in handlooms and handicrafts of Bangladesh for the past 50 years is a vast sky where thousands of stars have lit up commemorating her incredible work. She was an ingenious poet of extraordinary vision on the global scale."