About us

Avishya was born out of a passion for beautiful Indian ethnic wear... Sarees, Salwars, Dupattas, Fitted Garments, Fabric, Jewellery & Accessories.  Our mission is to democratize access to the timeless style and beauty of India's Handcrafted products 

We started Avishya with the vision to build a 'best-in-class' online platform that would bring together & showcase the stunning handcrafted products produced by the finest artisans, weaving societies, brands & designers across India.

A portal that would offer a pleasurable browsing & shopping experience to customers who are looking to buy top quality handmade products inspired by the rich & eclectic cultural heritage of India.

THE AVISHYA STORY…

 It all began with the serendipitous discovery of a little known secret. While doing a consulting assignment for a high end retail client, the founders Jawahar and Kalai happened upon the amazing beauty and diversity of Indian handloom fabrics and handcrafted products. They were also astonished at,

  • how fragmented this sector was (hundreds of small weaving villages and artisans spread across India)
  • the extremely limited quantities in which these beautiful products were produced and made available and
  • the uncomfortable shopping environments & inconvenient timings at which these products were currently retailed to customers 

After meetings with multiple weavers, wholesalers, designers, brands and a few industry experts, they realized that there were very few avenues for these highly skilled weavers and artisans to showcase and market their fine products. The available platforms like handloom fairs / craft exhibitions conducted from time to time by trade councils and quasi government bodies (with their limited resources) were barely able to showcase the beauty and multiplicity of weaves, textures and techniques originating from hundreds of weaving clusters and artisans from across the country.

Why not create a platform on the internet which can bring together in one place the finest handcrafted merchandise made by Indian weavers, artisans and craftsmen? Why not offer consumers in India and around the world the option of browsing and shopping for these products from the comfort of their living rooms and bedrooms? With its worldwide reach and easy access, a world class online platform could be the perfect solution for creating a sustainable living for these fine artisans & weavers. Thus the Avishya story began…

MEET THE FOUNDERS

H Jawahar Singh

Jawahar was part of several exciting new business ventures over his 25-year corporate career. He honed his start-up skills in companies likes Mahindra Holidays, Sify.com and MRF Funskool Toys. 

As a key member of the Founding team at Club Mahindra, Jawahar was instrumental in successfully developing & launching the Club Mahindra brand and establishing its nationwide channel sales network. 

Jawahar co-founded Avishya in February 2016 after extensive market study & ground work in the handloom & handcrafted products domain. As CEO, he drives Avishya's Strategic Planning, Sourcing, Merchandising & Marketing. 

Kalaivani Sadagopan 

Kalaivani has over 20 years of experience across e-commerce, technology products and lifestyle / leisure products. As head of the start-up team at CaratLane.com, Kalai played a key role in putting together the building blocks of CaratLane's business model and pioneering the success of online jewellery marketing in India. 

Earlier in her career, she played a vital role in start-up marketing teams at Synaptris, CSS Corp and Club Mahindra Holidays. She was Head of Sales & Marketing at Synaptris  and Marketing Director at CSS Corp. 

Kalai co-founded Avishya in February 2016.  As COO she oversees Product Management, Technology, Operations & Customer Service.