Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore founded Shanti Niketan (meaning an Abode of Peace) laying the foundation for what is today known as Vishva-Bharati University, home of one of the best art colleges in the world. In 1922 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi visited Santiniketan and met Sushen Mukherjee, a young man inspired by the movement for Indian Independence. The meeting influenced Mukherjee to set up Amar Kutir “my cottage” in 1927, establishing a rudimentary cottage industry for sari printing, handloom, and leather craft production 15 miles away from Santineketan on the banks of the Kopai River near West Bengal. Continue reading →