Three years ago, Geetha Bodaragama was a stay-at- home mother to two daughters and a son. Today she is a leading batik saree designer, founder and proprietor of ‘Lassana Bathik’, her very own brand.

CHENNAI: I was born in 1937, so that would make me 88 years old, says artist Akkitham Narayanan. "Officially though, I'm much younger," he smiles, leaning on his walking stick. "Just 86.

The artists' village in Injambakkam was set up in 1966, not with sculptures or paintings, but with batik sarees, says Narayanan, who helped establish what would become India's largest artists ...