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Sanjeev & Shivani Bothra
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The TrayBag acts like a tray and a bag. It holds A4 size papers well and can be carried and stored flat when no content inside. It has a hand block-printed interior and batik texture outside with a soft handle
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The Pianofold note book comes with a unique binding that opens from both sides. The piano-fold pages open up like a long piece of paper joined to each other. It can be closed from one or both sides by hooking the loop over the metal button
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This light-weight, compact photo-frame with a foldable stand works both vertically
and horizontally
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Transferring know-how to the Saheria tribal women from Orchha, in a training session conducted by Sanjeev and Shivani (behind the camera)
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A poster promoting women’s group (Sangathan) created for the NGO, CUTS. The illustration was created with the participation of members from the women’s group
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Each year, a new design is created for the Sarojini Naidu Award by The Hunger Project. Sanjeev has been designing the award since its inception. This one is the citation for the 6th Sarojini Naidu Award
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A Yogi Designs…
May 2007
Text: Gauri Vij
Photographs: courtesy sbothra.com
If yoga = a way of life, then Sanjeev Bothra and his firm Appropriate Design aka s.bothra.com are living proof of it.
IT’S A RARE ENCOUNTER. AND even though it’s over the telephone and email, Better Interiors has struck a chord while talking about green issues to the Jaipur-based, NID-trained graphic designer Sanjeev Bothra. An unusual man, Bothra set up his own business in graphic design after graduating from NID over 14 years ago. Bothra is also a ‘design yogi’ who is researching ‘green graphic design’ and Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) from the designer’s point of view.
But before all that, Bothra did something even more unusual. “I spent a year unlearning what I had learned at the National Institute of Design (NID).” Unlearning NID? Why would a man passionate about design want to do that? But he did. After graduating from NID, Bothra headed straight to the arid land of his roots, the rural areas in and around Bikaner and Jodhpur to work with the village craftspeople. “I worked for the Urmul Trust that was started by the late Sanjoy Ghosh, known for his pioneering voluntary and development work in the villages of western Rajasthan and the north-east of India. The experience was a grounding one. I learned to observe and understand how rural folk, despite not being literate, are so skilled and knowledgeable. I wanted to do something more meaningful than just learning how to sell soap.” Thus began an unusual career in design.
Bothra is one of those lucky souls who transformed a passion for design into a profession. Rather than apprenticing with anyone, Bothra decided to go solo right from the start. It was an important decision. He explains, “Doing so was the best decision as it also meant exploiting the deadly combination of my business background and my design sensibilities. I took the risk, as it meant the freedom to work as I wanted.”
His firm Appropriate Design aka sbothra.com has undertaken work that is, well, the word is a oft-repeated one here — unusual. The work and design sensibilities are also eco-friendly. Bothra is determined not to steal from the earth. He emphasizes, “We are very conscious of not promoting greed, violence or a resource intensive lifestyle in our work.”
Working with NGO Developmental Alternative’s initiative called TARA (Technology and Action for Rural Advancement) made perfect sense for Bothra. Several products featured on these pages are the creative result of Bothra’s work for TARA. Projects run by TARA are focused on income generation and are a source of employment for the rural community at large. Bothra’s role as a designer meant creating products that could be replicated by the tribal women of Orchha. “TARA manufactures its own paper which is completely wood-free. There are two kinds of paper that they create: one is made out of textile waste and the other out of recycled paper.”
But Bothra’s concern for the environment goes beyond the material. He elucidates, “Green as a concept should go beyond the materials being used. We need to balance the role of social issues in our work and designs.” That’s not just pretty prose, as both Sanjeev and his partner for life and in design, Shivani have been deeply involved with a ‘Right to Information’ publicity campaign. His passion bubbles over, “We’ve worked closely with Aruna Roy (Indian politician, social activist and Magsaysay Award winner) to create posters on the ‘Right to Information Act’. A personal favourite is the one we’ve called the ‘ghotala poster’.” The posters have specifically been created for use in small town public spaces.
And how does yoga fit into all this? “We’ve managed to connect yoga to our work. Our work involves a lot of mental work as thinking is creative work. We use meditative exercises that help our creativity. Asanas like Shashank Asana and Trikon Asana are responsible for improving the circulation of the blood and oxygen to the brain.” The interest is a deep one and come May, the Bothras are heading to the Green Yoga conference in California to present papers on the same.
Two months every year are kept aside to impart knowledge. Bothra teaches at the Indian Institute of Craft and Design (IICD) and NID. He’s also determined to make yogis of the future generations, “I’ve made yoga a legitimate part of my teaching for designers. There are several asanas, mudras and yogic meditative techniques that are very relevant from the designer’s point of view.”
It’s all in keeping with Bothra’s commitment to a better future. “We don’t need to only create products that are eco-friendly. But also to create designers who are environment-friendly. It’s possible to meet all our needs in a non-greedy, ethical way with a strong value system in place.”
Appropriate Design’s paper products are available at NIDUS (Ahmedabad and Bengaluru), the AKFD Shop and Aravali Bazaar (Jaipur).
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Part of the paper product range designed by Sanjeev. The Cubox (cubical gift box) base opens flat, and looks like a blossoming flower. It comes with different sizes of lids and bases, and can be stored and transported flat or one within the other
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