Meet Lopa

The person behind Mirabai Handloom, Salt Lake, Kolkata.

Lopamudra, or Lopa as she prefers to be called, is a saree aficionado. She has long been fascinated by the weaving traditions of India: the techniques, the motifs and the families who keep them alive from one generation to the next.

Mirabai Handloom is her long-held dream, finally made real.

Twenty years in the UK

Lopa spent more than twenty years in the UK, where she worked with children with special needs. It was work that asked for patience, attention and care. But the idea of a saree shop of her own never went away, and after two decades she came home to India to start it.

Straight from the weavers

Lopa buys her sarees from the people who weave them. In West Bengal, her home state, she travels to the weaving villages of Nadia and Birbhum districts to choose sarees directly at the source. She also brings in sarees from weavers in South India, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Because she chooses every piece herself, she can tell you where your saree was woven and what makes it special.

A musician too

Lopa is a trained Indian classical singer and plays the sitar. If you visit the boutique, don't be surprised if the conversation turns from jamdani to ragas.

Come and say hello

Lopa would love to show you the sarees in person at the boutique: CE-48, Salt Lake, CE Block, Sector 1, Bidhannagar, Kolkata, West Bengal 700064, India. Open 11:00 AM – 8:00 PM, Monday to Saturday. Find us on the map.