Ravissant began not as an established luxury house but as a handicrafts venture: Mina and Ravi Chawla organized an exhibition in Delhi, sold Indian crafts on consignment, and went on to open shops called “Indian Handicrafts.” Over time, that retail business developed into a design-led fashion and luxury brand. The early story is unusually concrete about how they managed limited inventory and money; the later founding dates, however, differ across published accounts.
An exhibition built around craft and careful sourcing
Ravi Chawla’s account, excerpted from his book in Scroll.in in 2024, begins with an Indian Handicrafts Exhibition that he and Mina organized in Delhi from October 1 to 15 during the International Year for Tourism. The excerpt does not state the year, so it cannot establish a precise founding date for the enterprise.
Their aim was to introduce visitors to Indian crafts. For a young business, the choice of merchandise also involved practical constraints: quality, availability, and cost. Ravi drew on relationships with shop owners in Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur to obtain goods on consignment, a way to assemble a broad selection without buying every item outright.
- Moradabad brassware
- Kashmiri carpets and shawls
- Carved ivory from Delhi and Mysore
- Silk saris and scarves from Banaras, Bangalore, and Murshidabad
The exhibition occupied the Library Hall of the YMCA Tourist Hostel on Jai Singh Road, near Connaught Place. It included live demonstrations of craft processes: Banarasi handloom weaving, Kashmiri crewel embroidery, Mysore ivory carving, and Jaipur block printing. Visitors could see not only finished objects but some of the skilled work behind them.
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From exhibition sales to permanent shops
After the exhibition, the participating vendors were satisfied with sales, and orders were still pending. Ravi’s account says the Chawlas’ commissions came to almost Rs 50,000. That is his reported figure; the excerpt does not give the exhibition year or a price basis, so it should not be treated as a present-day equivalent or a measure of profit.
The couple next opened shops under the name “Indian Handicrafts” in a shopping arcade. They eventually expanded to all but one unit, selling art, sculpture, ivory, brass, and some clothing. Mina minded the stores while Ravi searched Old Delhi for rare and affordable objects. They cleaned and polished some finds while leaving the patina on others, balancing presentation with the character of older pieces.
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The Chawlas stayed at the location for 20 years, until the YMCA closed it for renovation and repurposing. Their progress was not a straight line: Ravi’s account also describes a failed hotel venture and a loss from an air-conditioner trading deal. An offer of rent-free shop space helped them establish the retail business.
How the handicrafts business became Ravissant
The shift from “Indian Handicrafts” to Ravissant is best understood as a gradual move from trading and retail into design-led fashion and luxury living, rather than as a single clearly dated relaunch. The company’s own history presents a journey from an exhibition to a high-end fashion and luxury name.
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A 2026 India Today Conclave profile describes a later portfolio that includes couture and home textiles, sterling-silver and silver-plated products, décor, bespoke creations, and luxury rugs. These categories show how much broader the business became than its first selection of regional handicrafts; the available accounts do not provide a complete dated sequence for each expansion.
Why accounts give different founding dates
Published dates point to different milestones, and the available sources do not reconcile them. A 2024 India Today profile says Mina and Ravi opened their first boutique in the Hansalaya Building in Connaught Place on January 1, 1981. The 2026 company profile gives 1982 as Ravissant’s founding year. Ravi’s account of the earlier exhibition supplies October 1–15 but no year in the excerpt.
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Those dates may describe separate stages—the exhibition, the first boutique, and the later brand—or may reflect inconsistent company histories. The safest summary is that the Chawlas’ handicrafts venture grew into a boutique business in the early 1980s, with one account dating the first Hansalaya boutique to 1981 and another dating Ravissant’s founding to 1982.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.The partnership behind the business
In the Scroll.in book excerpt, Mina recalls the trust that sustained the partnership: “I did not always think he was right, nor did he think I was always right, but we trusted each other completely then, and we have continued to do so through all our ups and downs.” The account gives that trust a practical backdrop: she ran the shops, Ravi sourced merchandise, and the business developed through shared work as well as individual roles.
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Ravi Chawla later published Ravissant: A World of Ultimate Elegance, a 236-page book described in the 2024 India Today profile. His Scroll.in excerpt offers a detailed account of the early exhibition and shops, while the brand’s own history frames the longer evolution into luxury.
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