MUMBAI: Not many may have heard of Bimla Nanda Bissell. But it’s because of her and her husband John Bissell we have the FabIndia brand where we can explore garments and clothes made of rich Indian traditional fabric stitched with international quality. Bim as she was known to her friends passed on 10 January 2025 at the ripe age of 93.
She lived a full life, seeing the dream of her husband, John (who came to India on behalf of the Ford Foundation in 1958 to advise the Central Cottage Industries Corp), fructifying and growing into an organisation called Fabindia which did a turnover in excess of Rs 1,500 crore in 2023-2024.
During his stay in the late fifties, John met Bimla Nanda, the social secretary to US ambassadors Chester A. Bowles and John Kenneth Galbraith. Their marriage anchored him in India, where he was inspired by the craftsmanship of local weavers.
FabIndia - which John started at the urging of Bim - commenced in 1960 as an exporter of Indian home furnishings with the aid of $20,00 John’s grandmother had left him from just two rooms in Delhi. The business continued in stops and starts. In 1975 during the emergency after laws forbade businesses to be run from home, John was forced to open a retail store in Delhi’s Greater Kailash where he continued with this exports, sourcing exquisite handmade weaves and traditional texite fabric from artisans in distant villages. He opened another one showroom a couple of years later..
One fine day in 1992, FabnIdia’s British importer in London decided to do away with their relationship. John suffered a stroke in 1993, and his son William took his place deciding to concentrate on the domestic market and launch many more stores all over India. John died in 1998 at the age of 66. William than expanded FabIndia aggressively until it became a national retail chain , that it is today.
Through it all, Bim stood rock solid behind her husband - actually at his side - and, then her son William, being their support when things were not looking up, and John’s vision- to provide fair employment to Indian artisans and bridge the best of eastern and western collaborations – seemed to be disintegrating. His idea was simple - provide the world with beautiful Indian crafts made of Indian traditional fabric. In the process, both Bim and John helped revive Indian textile heritage as well succeeding in bringing regional fabrics such as Chanderi, Sanganeri, Cutchi or Banarsi to the forefront of fashion.
Today, Fabindia is India's largest private platform for products that are made from traditional techniques, skills and hand-based processes. It links thousands of craft based rural producers to modern urban markets, thereby creating a base for skilled, sustainable rural employment, and preserving India's traditional handicrafts in the process. Fabindia's products are natural, craft based, contemporary, and affordable.
In the early days, John travelled across villages to find weavers who could produce flat weaves, pale colours and precise weights and it was Bim who stood by his side, journeying with him. And she was exposed to the tough lives that artisans and their wives lived in the heartlands, with limited electricity, caste taboos, not enough toilets, and with acceptance of patriarchal attitudes towards women, and life in general.
Bim was deeply touched: she became deeply committed to uplifting disadvantaged women. In 1992, she co-founded Udyogini, an NGO aimed at empowering landless, assetless women in India.
John passed very early, according to her, she stayed put, helping her son and daughter Monsoon just like any good mother would. So strong was her influence on her children that they retained their grandfather’s second name (from their mother’s side) as their middle name.
For 27 years after John's passing she kept herself busy being there for her own immediate family and the FabIndia family which on 9 January mourned her passing through the company’s Instagram handle. It read as follows:
"Bim, as she was known to her friends passed away today. Her family, friends and her Fabindia family mourn her passing.
"She loved matching everything, from her accessories to her chappals. A spirited promoter and patron of Fabindia ever since her husband, John, brought his vision of working with India’s craftspeople to life.
She kept that vision alive and believed fiercely in what Fabindia stands for. Her legacy will live on and will continue to inspire us at Fabindia for generations to come.
We celebrate her incredibly rich life - a tapestry like none other."
And so do we at indiantelevision.com.
RIP dear Bimla.
Thank you for what you did for the weavers and artisans of India along with John and your FabIndia team over the years. Thank you for respecting your Indian heritage. And for making an entire generation aware of traditional handicrafts as well. Maybe many more going forward,
