Some stories don’t begin with business plans. They begin with birthdays, with memory, with love.

On December 8, 2023, designer Prashant created something deeply personal—a delicate hand-embroidered artwork, stitched not for the runway, but as a birthday gift for his son’s fifth year on Earth. A gesture of affection, of emotion, of intimacy. And with that one act of love, Merujana was born.

It was Tanuja, his wife, who saw something more than a one-time gift. She encouraged him to explore it further—to imagine a brand where memory met design, and thread told stories. In many ways, it wasn’t a new beginning, but a homecoming. Years ago, Prashant had embroidered artworks for charity exhibitions at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram—never for profit, always for joy. Merujana, then, was a gentle return to that space of quiet purpose.

Tanuja, a Knitwear Design graduate from NIIFT Mohali and my classmate, began her career with leading design houses in Chandigarh before working on projects in India and abroad. After marriage, she moved to Delhi, contributing her expertise to various organizations. Her quiet strength, design instinct, and eye for detail became an integral part of Merujana’s foundation—helping the brand grow not just as an artistic venture, but as a deeply human one.

And yet, this chapter wasn’t always visible on the horizon.

There was a time Prashant felt things weren’t quite going the way he had imagined. A time when his own fashion label—once featured in Lakmé Fashion Week and celebrated as a Gen Next designer—had to be paused because of financial strain. It felt like a detour, a difficult pivot. He started working behind the scenes for other designers, doing production work, then designing, eventually handling both.

But life has a mysterious way of guiding us—quietly, subtly, until one day, we realise we’ve landed somewhere meaningful. That the detour was actually the path.

Because from that pause emerged an entirely new direction—one that led to building a thriving design and production house in Delhi, employing nearly 150 people, and eventually… to Merujana.

From the very beginning, Merujana has been a personal journey for both Prashant and Tanuja. Together, they conceptualize designs, create art drafts, oversee the embroidery, and carefully handle every step—framing, packaging, dispatch, and post-sale support. Every piece carries their shared touch, and the heart of the brand rests in their hands.

In just one year, Merujana sold nearly 200 artworks—each piece carrying a story, each stitch carrying a sentiment. Then came the Good Homes Design Discovery Award, validating not just the work, but the journey. The pain. The surrender. The evolution.

His path as a creator had always been rooted in design. A graduate of NIIFT Mohali (2006) in Knitwear Design, he began his career in Chandigarh, spent over four years in flat knitwear, and then launched his label in Delhi in 2011. But perhaps his true calling wasn’t limited to runways or ready-to-wear. Perhaps it was always this—handmade, heartfelt, human.

Today, while he continues to lead his design and production business with professionalism and vision, Merujana is where his soul breathes. It’s not about profit margins. It’s about legacy, emotion, art. A tribute to his child, his partner, his past.

And now, Merujana is growing. He is working on launching a line of hand-embroidered garments that blur the line between art and clothing—pieces that people don’t just wear, but carry like memories.

Because sometimes, when you think life is pulling you away from your dream, it’s actually nudging you toward something deeper. Something more lasting.

Prashant didn’t lose his path. He found a new one. One made of detours, discipline, and divine timing.

And that is what makes Merujana India’s most sentimental art brand—it didn’t just begin from the heart, it stayed there.