LESS IS MORA...

"Take home a MORA for love and not to make a fashion statement. Whoever has money are not the only ones who can buy as many Moras. Whoever loves Mora, Mora will find them… somehow…”

Wow! How can one not fall in love with the above line - tell me? I did, a million times, after reading it in Ritika Mittal's latest post on her blog "A thousand fireflies" and I am sure this line will strike a chord with many of you MORA fans out there as well. Like I have said in my earlier posts, Facebook has been instrumental in putting me in touch with many creative souls around the world and in 2011 during one such browsing, I came across MORA. I was instantly attracted to the name MORA, which means MINE in hindi.

The logo, the weaves, the colors, the traditional textiles, the big red bindi, the kajal and above all, the lady behind MORA Ms. Ritika Mittal intrigued me. I clearly remember a line in her "ABOUT" section on Facebook back then which completely blew me away - it read "Mass production is not our thing and each MORA creation is an individually produced labor of love which is why no two MORA creations are the same".

Once you own a MORA, that piece of creation is yours alone since each piece is one of a kind. No other textile brand in India has this type of format and I was hungry for more and wanted to know all about MORA. Through this process I came in touch with its creator Ms. Ritika Mittal. After a couple of emails and a phone call, I made my foray into the MORA family by buying my first MORA saree and I have remained a MORA loyalist since.

ABOUT RITIKA MITTAL:

"Cotton doesn't necessarily mean cheap and nor is shine and shimmer the only expression of celebration" - this unique mindset of Ritika Mittal resulted in the birth of MORA. For her wedding, Ritika refused to wear the usual bridal attire available in the stores and designed her own wedding trousseau instead, made primarily of cotton. A bulk order from a lady who loved her wedding outfit encouraged her to start her own business and create one of a kind textiles.

She found her calling when she went backpacking to Ladakh and realized that all she wanted to do was work with the local women and their textiles. While she designed and travelled extensively to be with her weavers, her mom in Punjab translated her designs into sarees and in no time Ritika was reviving the traditional weaves that were almost dying in the north eastern states of India like Manipur, Mizoram,

Nagaland, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. She retails online just once a year and creates around 200 plus pieces mainly comprising of stoles, kalidar skirts, MORA Kalyanis for children, sarees and home furnishings.

The MORA 2013 collection is scheduled for its online release on Oct 4th, 8pm, IST and anyone who is passionate about owning a MORA can visit her page MORA by Ritika on Facebook for further details.

SHE INSPIRES AND HOW!!

She is fondly called "Jhansi Ki Rani" because she is absolutely fearless. Taking a path less travelled is not everyone's cup of tea but no matter how difficult the journey, Ritika, who travels alone, has dedicated herself completely to reviving the dying textile art and rich culture of northeast India.

Ritika accepting her "Fun & Fearless" Cosmopolitan Inspiration award.

It takes a lot of courage and passion to do what Ritika Mittal has been doing there in the last few years. She lives in the villages like a local amidst poverty, lack of electricity, floods and government politics. Be it her fight to revive cotton there or the "Batti project"- her goal of lighting up tribal homes ( 147 so far), Ritika’s journey has been a long one. She has surrendered herself completely to the love of the people of north east India by becoming one of them.

HER FIREFLIES:

From what I have understood, Ritika refers to people who belong to the MORA family as her "fireflies" and these include her weavers, her friends and all the people who own her labor of love, all those people who love, value and respect traditional looms and textiles!

Burning the midnight oil.... weaving her dream weaves!

When I wore my first MORA saree in 2011, I was showered with compliments and all my friends wanted to know more about MORA. I helped them buy their first MORA saree and I am sure buying and owning a MORA was a unique experience for each of them.

Due to her extensive traveling Ritika has limited access to the internet and one very rarely gets to see her on Facebook. In the past each time we both were on Facebook, our conversation mainly revolved around MORA. She was keen to know whether my friends who own MORAs had a chance to wear them yet and I could tell that she was hugely disappointed to see the two words typed from my end - NOT YET!

She repeatedly told me that MORA was not just about selling and buying but her way of connecting with all her fireflies. She wanted to know the owner of each MORA personally because it was important to her that they cherish their experience of owning a MORA. When I told her that we don't find too many occasions to wear a saree in America (because of which we hadn't worn our MORAs yet) she wasn't convinced!

Well, this gave me the idea of bringing all my friends together for a photo shoot and paying our tributes to Ritika's labor of love just in time for the release of MORA’s 2013 collection in October. As usual, one phone call was all it took and my friends were there for me in their best spirits and smiles and the result is for all of us to see.

So Ritika, here you go - your fireflies are finally draped in your weaves of love and through this post we would like to carry that love forward and wish you all the very best in your future endeavors - " Let every dream weave of yours adorn a woman of substance and may you continue to shine, sparkle and inspire - like the way you have been".

Every MORA comes in a handwoven white bag with a large red printed bindi on it. Inside is a handwritten letter by Ritika talking passionately about the fabric and the love that went into making one. There is also a packet of big red bindis for every MORA owner to wear and it denotes "Feminity".

ANVIKA AITHAL: 

I played dress up with moms dupatta when I was 6 and since then I have always wanted a little saree of my own. I was thrilled when I got a MORA Kalyani as my 7th birthday gift & everytime I wear my Mora kalyani and look at myself in the mirror, I think I look  like my mom - "Beautiful".

Photography: Nirmala Mohan.

Concept & Styling: Jayashree Rao.

VEENA NAYAK: 

"Draping this saree made me feel elegant and one with nature's beauty. The finest Andhra silk with its myriad of colors, details and handmade weaves brought out the beautiful creative and feminine side of me.”

 Photography: Nirmala Mohan.

Concept & Styling: Jayashree Rao.

The saying "God lies in the details" holds true for a MORA. The well finished corners and hand stitched sugar beads on the borders are a MORA signature.

VANDANA RAO:

“Just like all my different character traits make me the person I am, so also the varied colors and weaves in my MORA sari come together to make it unique and beautiful just for me. Mera MORA sirf mera!”

Photography: Nirmala Mohan.

Concept& Styling: Jayashree Rao.

JAYASHREE RAO:

 “MORA is ME" - earthy, Indian and traditional. MORA to me is my love filled weaves whose values I will respect and whose richness I will treasure year after year”.

Photography: Nirmala Mohan.

Concept & Styling: Jayashree Rao.

My first MORA...pic was taken in the year 2011.

ANU GUPTA: 

"To wear MORA was an unparalleled experience, an experience that made me feel hopelessly feminine".

Photography: Nirmala Mohan.

Concept & Styling: Jayashree Rao.

Anu is seen here wearing the rarest and the most expensive form of weave called " Muga Gicha", a weave that is normally worn by the royals.

Details and more details: Kalamkari patch work details on the inner side of the border.

NIRMALA MOHAN:

Though beauty is in the eyes of the beholder,the feeling of being beautiful is so wonderful. I feel lucky to own a MORA, as it makes me feel beautiful.

Photography: Vandana Rao.

Concept & Styling: Jayashree Rao.

It's not about how you look.... it's about how you feel.  
Bring home Ritika's labour of love, MORA this year. The online sale starts on OCT 4th-2013, 8pm ISD....don't miss it!!