Copy of About Us
About Us
In villages across India, artisans have quietly turned the wheel of household cooking, preserving a rich heritage despite the pressures of a rapidly changing world. Their wealth of knowledge and skills needed to be cherished and shared.
The nostalgia of food cooked by our grandmothers and mothers, combined with a love for history, culture, and antiques, sparked my journey into the traditional kitchen. What made my grandmother's food so tasty? It was love, attention to detail, unprocessed farm-fresh ingredients, and the fail-proof cookware she carefully selected for each dish. The heavy iron tawa for her crispy, hot dosas, the seasoned clay pot for her keerai masiyal, the large soapstone vessel for storing her pickles, and the olakkai used during Aadi Maasam for making ragi koozh.
Driven by the desire to bring this legacy to a wider audience, we set up a small shop in a quiet alley in Chennai, offering handmade cast iron and soapstone cookware. We soon realized that people were eager to reconnect with their roots and embrace traditional cookware. This overwhelming support encouraged us to grow, alongside our talented artisans, into a reputable brand with stores in Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru.
My Journey
Hello everyone, and welcome to Essential Traditions. My name is Kayal, and I am the founder of this venture. Let me tell you a little about myself while sharing my journey on how Essential Traditions came to be, how it’s going today, and what we aim to do in the future.
Born and brought up in Chennai, I pursued a degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering at Easwari College after my schooling. Following graduation, I moved to the United States in 2004 to do my Masters. I got married there, had my first child, and moved back to India in 2012. Here in India, I worked at Yes Bank for a year. The corporate world wasn’t fulfilling the deeper sense of purpose for me and I wanted to start a business of my own. A business that resonated with my passion for social responsibility. I considered exploring ideas around recycling and renewable energy, but it wasn’t until a chance visit to a farm in Puliyangudi that changed my perspective.
The farm was unlike anything I had seen before. What fascinated me the most about the farm was that it was completely organic, and the fact that they only bought diesel and salt from outside. This way of sustainable living impressed me to the point where I wanted to bring this to the city. Starting with organic vegetables and fruits, my then husband and I began Vaer - which brought organic and fresh produce to people in the city.
In a couple of years, after my second child was born, I wanted to start something of my own. That’s when Essential Traditions was born.
The Birth and Growth of Essential Traditions
Essential Traditions began with simple clay cookware and the iron tawa - humble beginnings, I would say. As Essential Traditions grew, we moved to a bigger space, and in 2016, I got my own website for Essential Traditions. We started selling online, and soon grew to a level where I started doing events at Hyderabad and Bangalore.
Today, Essential Traditions has two stores in Chennai, and one each in Hyderabad and Bangalore. We are a 30-people strong family doing the wonderful job of promoting local artisan products that help in cookware and lifestyle. Essential Traditions’ goal today is to educate people on traditional cookware products around which misinformation is aplenty. We aim to break stereotypes and misinformation and take beautiful products to as many people as we can. This goal, along with promoting the importance of sustainable living, is what keeps us going strong!
Our Vision
To be a brand known for promoting sustainable, healthy, and traditional ways of living.
Our Mission
To delight customers and bring back nostalgia by providing handmade, traditional cookware and lifestyle products using native materials.
In alignment with our vision and mission, we understand and honor indigenous methods, traditionally seasoning our cookware to ensure authenticity and quality. We also encourage and support dying art forms, helping them thrive in the modern world, thereby promoting a sustainable and culturally rich lifestyle.
