At BRICS Bazaar in Delhi, heritage, international artisans’ lifework on display

They claim to keep centuries-old traditions alive in a modern world. At BRICS Bazaar, being held at the National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy in New Delhi, master artisans from across member nations say they are proud to exhibit their cultural heritage and life’s work.

On display at the fair, which kicked off on September 10 and concludes on September 15, are authentic handlooms, textiles, and traditional artwork. Among the artisans who have traveled to the Capital are a South African beadwork artist, Nkosinathi Zondi, and Anastasia Kareeva, a practitioner of a 200-year-old Russian lacquer technique.

Zondi, 49, is a Durban-based artisan, entrepreneur, and founder of Nela Kahle Art & Crafts. Specialising in intricate African beadwork, he creates handmade jewellery and accessories that blend traditional cultural craft with contemporary design.

“I have travelled from South Africa to India to represent our craft. I see the exhibition as more than simply a marketplace. It is a platform for cultural exchange. As we showcase South African beadwork and contemporary products rooted in traditional African craftsmanship, we explain to the visitors the techniques involved and demonstrate how traditional knowledge can be preserved while still creating opportunities for today's generation,” he shares.

His journey into beadwork began when he was a child. “For me, beadwork is deeply personal because it connects directly to my mother and to the knowledge that was passed down to me…,” he says and adds, “When my mother became ill while I was in Class 10, I took on the responsibility for making and selling the work.” To him, every piece carries a connection to his heritage and identity.

The process behind the artwork can sometimes run into hours, he highlights. “Depending on the design, beads may be individually threaded by hand, woven using a loom, or constructed using techniques such as Ndebele/herringbone, netting, lace, brick stitch and peyote.

Some pieces can take many hours to complete because every bead has to be positioned carefully to achieve the required pattern, strength and finish,” he adds. On the other hand, Kareeva, 42, represents the historic Fedoskino Factory of Miniature Painting, one of Russia's oldest centers for traditional lacquer miniature art in Moscow.

She works tirelessly to preserve Fedoskino lacquer art — a meticulous, multi-layered painting technique on papier-mâché. “We are presenting Fedoskino pieces created using the technique of lacquer miniature painting. Traditional pieces are made with a base of papier-mâché.

The main stages of this technology have remained unchanged since the late 18th century,” she explains. Creating a box such as those on display can take up to six months, according to Kareeva. “Masters of various specialties work on a single piece: a filer, a varnisher, a miniature artist, and a polisher.

A significant part of the operations is done by hand. Before the painting begins, the body of the box goes through several stages: shaping the papier-mâché, drying, priming, varnishing, and manual surface treatment. Then, the miniature artist works on the design,” she explains..

To create depth and a glow in the painting, mother-of-pearl, gold leaf, and silver can be used, Kaleeva points out. “The multi-layered lacquer coating and manual polishing create the depth of the image and the shine of the surface,” she adds.

Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023. Professional Background Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.

Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories. Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts. Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials.

Recent notable articles In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories. 1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006.

He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst.

However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey. 2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No.

2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts.

The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation. 3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.

Signature Style Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public. X (Twitter): @Nirbhaya99 ...

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