Threads of a lifetime: The story of Chandra Shekhar Shaha
When Chandra Shekhar Shaha was in the fourth grade, he failed art class.
He had begged his father for a set of watercolours for his exam, and his father bought them immediately. Young Shekhar coloured his heart out, proud of what he had made — only to realise too late that the paint had not dried.
When his father was called to school, expecting to see his son's creative brilliance, he instead saw a smudged painting and a red 'F' mark across the page.
Yet as an adult, Shaha found purpose in the arts, spearheading some of the most notable turning points in textile design and the revival of craft and heritage of Bangladesh.
Born in Chattogram, Shaha was the eldest son in a family that prized discipline and education, yet his heart was always set on the arts. "I was mediocre in studies, but I loved going to school," he recalled. "In Biology, I would draw all the diagrams for 32 of my classmates, in exchange for biryani and a cinema ticket. I would draw my own diagram at last."
At Chittagong Collegiate School and later Chittagong College, he found his rhythm outside textbooks — directing plays, organising field trips, setting menus for cultural events. He became the cultural secretary, and though his grades were low, his teachers adored him for his energy.
"No event could take place without me," he said. "That spirit of involvement — I think that's where my design instinct began."
By the early 1970s, choosing art as a profession in Bangladesh was unthinkable. The country was rebuilding itself after independence, and respectable careers meant medicine or engineering. "I was terrified to tell my father I wanted to go to art school," Shaha admitted. "When I finally did, he wasn't happy, but with my grades, he was glad I wanted to study at least something."
He joined the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Dhaka, graduating in 1980. That same year, his life changed course once again. A friend, Anish Barua, then working at BRAC, told him about a new handicraft enterprise called Aarong. Shaha went for an interview with Ayesha Abed, one of its founders.
"After the interview, she asked me to join the next day. That was it. My journey began," he recalled.
He started as a designer, and over the next two decades, became one of the central forces behind Aarong's creative evolution and its pioneering research in Bangladeshi craft.
"Aarong and I grew together," he shared. "From the day we celebrated selling Tk10,000 worth of products, to the day those numbers turned to millions."
"We had a board with the names of the weavers. I told Motahar, the carpenter, that the text was too low on the board. He said, 'People should bend down to read the names of the craftsmen behind this remarkable work.' I was at a loss for words. He was right. That's the respect our weavers deserve."
But numbers were never what mattered most. What drove him was the freedom to imagine. "My love for Aarong came from five things," he listed. "The freedom to do what I wanted, the chance to materialise imagination, the opportunity to create a platform for artisans, the customer appreciation, and the unthinkable scope of work. There was and still is so much to explore."
It was exploration, literal and creative, that would define the next phase of his career. Aarong's early work involved documenting every possible craft in Bangladesh. Shaha travelled across the country, meeting artisans in remote villages, collecting samples of bamboo weaving, clay work, embroidery, and jamdani textiles.
"Rajshahi has silk, Manikganj has block print and hand embroidery, Jamalpur has nakshikantha, and Bauphal has potters. They possess knowledge passed down through heritage, culture and tradition, but they are not aware of how the metropolitan city of Dhaka operates," continued Shaha.
"Tea sets made with clay serve a purpose in rural societies, but Aarong's Design Studio took on the responsibility of introducing them to urban life and how they can give it a personality of its own," he added.
Shaha gives a simple example of candles: in the earlier days of his career, candles were only seen in temples or churches. Through his work, however, they evolved into decorative pieces and even stress relievers.
After a break beginning in 2001, he rejoined in 2023 as a Senior Consultant in Crafts & Design. He is currently working with khadi and indigenous crafts, handmade and recycled paper, and natural leaves — all eco-friendly materials.
Shaha also curated and researched Jamdani designs to build an archive. Under his guidance, they photographed antique textiles in museums and private collections in India and Europe, redrew hundreds of motifs, and recreated them with local weavers. By the time Aarong held the first Jamdani Exhibition in 1981, over 300 lost designs had been revived.
The exhibition became a national event, credited with sparking a revival of jamdani in Bangladesh — a legacy that would later see the craft recognised by UNESCO as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Years later, while curating another Jamdani Festival, Shaha faced a small but memorable design decision.
"We had a board with the names of the weavers," he shared. "I told Motahar, the carpenter, that the text was too low on the board. He said, 'People should bend down to read the names of the craftsmen behind this remarkable work.' I was at a loss for words. He was right. That's the respect our weavers deserve."
In 1985, through Aarong, Shaha attended the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, India, where he learned the fundamentals of design research and documentation.
"I am very grateful for that opportunity. I was there for 18 months, and it was a great experience. As the more you see, the more you learn," said the designer and researcher.
While he beams with pride when speaking about Aarong, he also has notable work across many other organisations.
"I have always been involved in some kind of work and keep myself busy," the designer commented.
He remains an accomplished design consultant and advisor with over two decades of experience in crafts, fashion, and product development. Besides being a senior consultant for Aarong, he works as an advisor to organisations including Joyeeta Foundation, SHEVA, and Friendship.
He has worked extensively with leading Bangladeshi brands such as KayKraft, Anjans, Nogordola, and Rang.
He also taught fashion at Shanto Mariam University and now guides students' dissertations; he was also an architecture faculty member at North South University.
Among his many achievements, he has earned the reputation of being a workaholic, but he mentioned that, outside of work, he enjoys cooking.
Shaha believes design, like cooking, is an act of transformation. "Design has materials, cooking has recipes. Design follows methodology, cooking follows techniques," the designer explained.
"A pudding is just a few eggs until it becomes a pudding. A shirt is just reels of thread until it takes form. Both are about process and patience."
Shaha has spent a lifetime working with textiles, crafts, and fashion, and wishes to continue sharing his knowledge. He also credits the younger generation of designers as being promising.
"When I was younger, there was not as much access to knowledge as there is now. However, I hope to see the future generation hold on to our heritage and tradition, rather than only striving to modernise it," he concluded.