Pooja Ajmera reviving Sanjhi with her Teekhii Chhurii
Pooja Ajmera, founder of Teekhii Chhurii, realized her passion for paper cutting accidentally. She has completed MBA & after working for a year, soon realized that corporate job was boring and not something she wanted to do for the rest of her life, which was taking a toll on her life. She quickly quit her job and decided to do something on her own and started a website Mad about Craft where she made video tutorials of different crafts. She also conducted a few workshops for NGOs, teaching different craft forms for underprivileged children.
Pooja shares, “I decided to start with paper-cutting, as it is a niche art form and also something which I can completely relate to. I believe just like in paper-cutting, life is connected, one story leads to another”.
Currently Teekhii Chhurii is a one-woman show run by Pooja. Right from designing, cutting, marketing to logistics, everything is managed as well as handled by her personally. In this short span of just one year, Teekhii Chhurii was the winner of 2nd Designer contest organized by Travelista (Productions) India. It has also been featured at various platforms like Femina, Creative Gaga, Kyoorius, Prismma, and Pool.
Paper-cutting is a modern avatar of traditional folk art called “Sanjhi,” the art of Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. It is the art of designing paper cuts by hand. Traditionally, these stencils were used to fill in colors during festive season. Pooja wants to make this folk art alive again in India through her startup.
Pooja adds, “When I made my first paper-cut, I realised this is what I wanted do for rest of my life and that is how Teekhii Chhurii came into existence. My goal is to breathe life into this dying art called Sanjhi and give it a modern twist which will also inspire others.
Pretty designs made from paper using a sharp blade, patience and lots of love makes paper-cuts so unique. A single sheet of paper can be turned into a something so beautiful amazes a lot of people. The beauty of paper-cut is that they can all be customized and every design is different from the other. The USP is to own an art piece that is not found just anywhere. These paper-cuts are painstakingly hand cut and are not laser cuts or prints or paintings.
Every single design is carefully planned, as the slightest mistake can ruin the whole project. This is a slow art which demands patience and a lot of concentration. The tricky part is to identify the portions to cut out and the portions to retain!! I am a self-taught paper artist and entrepreneur who is trying her best to spread awareness about this art form”.
Besides all regular paper-cuts, Teekhii Chhurii also deals with personalized paper-cut designs where you can choose your own design or color. All these designs are customized and very different from each other which make every design unique and special. All these products are priced based on their size, detailing, and time spent in making each paper-cut.
You can check out all her collections on her FB page here. You can also reach out to Pooja on her mail.
