Money, jobs, innovative technology, discoveries, and new scientific inventions are necessary to sustain a thriving lifestyle. But, poetry, art, passion, enthusiasm, and the will to do something unprecedented is what we live for.

Today, our 89-year-old grandma, Latika Chakrabarty has set an example for everyone to cherish which couldn’t be more befitting. Starting to follow her passion for stitching intricately designed and immensely beautiful handbags, she has yet proved that creativity and the zeal to go after your endeavours have nothing to do with age.

Happiness comes in different forms.

For someone, happiness can mean spending quality time with their loved ones and for another, happiness can mean devoting oneself to the hands of God. But when it comes to our grandma, happiness means meeting new people every day, getting to know them and their thoughts, and jotting down new ideas that come with new people in the form of poetry. But let’s don’t forget. Stitching still tops in her list of passions.

Latika was born in Dhubri, Assam, and has been leading a fruitful lifestyle till then. The sweetest thing about our grandma is, as fluent as she is in Bengali, she speaks and understands English with the same grace. She was married to Krishna Lal Chakrabarty, an offer from Survey of India. Even after getting married, Latika did not give up on her studies. She chose to continue her studies, and owing to the profession of her husband and son, Latika has had a lot of travelling experiences in her life.

In these travelling experiences, she gathered old sarees, kurtas, and garments from all across India and turned them into unique potlis. As a result, each gorgeous bag embroidered by her has its own history and tale.  

Latika moved to Bangalore after her husband died, where she currently lives with her son, Capt. Raj Chakravorty, an Indian Naval Officer.

The elements of discipline & determination.

Latika is equipped with the qualities of discipline as well as determination since her school days. Her conscience doesn’t let her sit idle and procrastinate. She loves to do one thing or other. Even as a school kid when she was pursuing her studies, she would study with utmost discipline and determination.

Today, her routine has changed but the qualities remain the same. Latika has shown her affection towards diligently reading the newspaper every morning from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm and with this, she keeps on making her handcrafted potlis and doesn’t care if they get sold or not. She does it for herself and continues to do so.

She recalls making a beautiful handbag for her granddaughter, which she loved so much that she thought, “Why not make similar bags for others?” The octogenarian now has her own online enterprise, “Latika’s bags”, where you can purchase the lovely and adorable potlis paired with elegant drawstring.

The handbags that are stitched with love and care.

Latika doesn’t aim to draw a line between the handwoven clothes worn by grandparents and the branded outfits worn by young people. Instead, she aims to merge both of them together with an appealing contrast.

Latika believes that today’s young generation keeps on looking for something new and trending which helps her to make new potlis with innovative ideas and designs. She also believes that it is human nature to seek out new experiences, therefore there is no wrong in embracing something delightful. Everything is harmonious with each other.

Lastly, Latika keeps on working with her wholesome mantra of “ Don’t let anyone tell you it is too late to start.” Be it, youngsters or senior citizens, she encourages everyone to muster the strength to follow their passion and stick to them no matter what. She beautifully proves to us that if your heart is set on something, there is no way anyone can ever stop you from getting it.

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