Latika Chakravorty is an 89-year old grandma who loves taking old saris, kurtas, and clothes and upcycling them into beautiful one-of-a-kind handbags and pouches.
Latika Chakravorty is an 89-year old grandma who loves taking old saris, kurtas, and clothes and upcycling them into beautiful one-of-a-kind handbags and pouches.
She taught the world around her what it means to be resilient, and although of small, delicate stature, she showed how fierce willpower can help you achieve your dreams no matter your age or station in life. Latika Chakrabarty was born on 10th February 1930 in Dhubri, Assam. She passed away at 7:21 PM on 19th December 2023 in her home in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, surrounded by her loving family, at the age of 93.
Latika Ji is survived by her three children, Meenakshi, Manjira, and Raj; their partners Ajit, Arun, and Sumita; Latika ji's five grandchildren, Srijit, Priyanka, Aditya, Aromica, and Joy; and her great-grandchild Savannah. She was predeceased by her husband, Shri Krishna Lal Chakrabarty.
The ninth child in a family of fourteen, she learned to lead by example from a young age. She was always first in her class, excelled academically, and taught everyone around her seemingly simple yet rare qualities like being industrious, frugal and never shying away from working hard. After getting married, she supported her late husband's career as an Officer-Surveyor and raised three children while travelling and living in different parts of India. She mentored students as a tutor and teacher at Sophia Convent, Mount Abu, between 1960 and 61. She opened the Vidyalaya at Dehradun and was the principal between 1966 and 67. After the death of her husband, she lived with her son, a Naval officer, and his family.
She had immense tenacity, shrugging off her advanced years and drawing in all the joie de vivre to live life to the fullest. This spirit was visible to all as she went on her daily walks looking regal in her crisp cotton saris or as she created friend groups, no matter what city she lived in, so a crowd of fans always surrounded her. It was also apparent in her appetite to solve puzzles, riddles, Sudokus and Rubik's cubes that were always near her bedside for a quick challenge. Yet another example of her interminable spirit is what led her to turn into an entrepreneur and a Social Media sensation at the age of 89 with her online platform, Latika's Bags - A venture that promoted her prudent ideas of upcycling with her potlis and bags created from old clothing, saris, and kurtas. It spread her story and earned her fans and visitors from around the world, including Germany, New Zealand, France, USA, and literally over a million followers from Brazil alone. Latika's Bags also received accolades and coverage from local and national press alike, with articles in TOI, The Hindu, Indian Express, and CNN, to name a few. She was an avid writer for Bengali magazines such as Desh and published a novel of short stories earlier this year titled My Foreshore Road Days, with the help of her daughter Meenakshi and son Raj.
Latika Ji inspired everyone who crossed her path, and there is no end to her stories and all she accomplished over her lifetime. Those who have known her for longer will gently remind you of more anecdotes, such as her beautiful singing voice, which she lost after surgery, or the cloth masks she would stitch for family and friends during the pandemic. I'm lucky to have grown up with her as my grandmother, my manna, and her voice filled with equal measures of exasperation and love saying 'otho otho' (wake up, stop being lazy) will forever ring in my ears. She led a beautiful life, and her family and friends mourn her loss and miss her deeply.
