TENTS made by skilled workers in Rajasthan have been shown at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show.
They have been imported from India by the Raj Tent Club, a company co-founded in the 1990s by Nicola Marks.
One of the company’s employees, Davina, told Eastern Eye: “Nicky adores India. She is everlastingly fascinated, just loves India. So, she spends a lot of time there. She goes there every year, sometimes, twice a year.”
She added: “What could be better than sitting in a lovely garden in a beautiful tent, with a gin and tonic, or having lunch or supper with friends?”
The company has a note on how it was established: “During the early to mid-1990s, our late designer Clarissa Mitchell, who was living in Jodhpur, started to make decorative tents in partnership with the maharajah, using traditional designs with a modern touch.
“In doing so, they revived the tent industry in Rajasthan which had almost disappeared, and helped to preserve many ancient skills such as block printing, embroidery, mirror work and tassel making that are used in the making of the tents.
Spinning yarn that isused for tent-making
“In 1996, Clarissa met Nicola Marks, our current managing director, and together they launched Raj Tent Club in London the following year.
“It was the first company to introduce decorative tents to the UK event industry. Initially, the company only sold the tents, but we quickly realised that our tents were ideal for corporate events, weddings and other private celebrations and so the rental division of our company was started.
“We now provide beautiful tent installations for over 200 events per year. We work all over the UK, and over the years, we have provided tents for events in France, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, Switzerland, Bahrain and Qatar.”
It said: “All our tents can be lined with beautiful block print linings and there is a wide choice of lighting, rugs, furniture, accessories and props to go inside them. For outdoor tents, we can provide sunshades, parasols and garden furniture, ideal for summer events.
“It is our aim as a company to support traditional handicrafts and to provide ethically made products of high quality from around the world.”
The company said its tents, which come in various sizes, have been “inspired by the Mughal traditions of India”.
There is also information about the history of tents, both under the Mughals and later as part of British rule.
“India, and particularly the desert state of Rajasthan, have always had a special nomadic tent culture. In the era of the Mughal emperors, whole tented cities were often erected for royal weddings, special celebrations, durbars and hunting expeditions into the Thar Desert.
The decorative tents at the Chelsea Flower Show
“In 1903, the most lavish and extensive example of these tented camps was set up in Delhi by Lord Curzon for the Coronation Durbar of King Edward VII, the purpose of which was to confirm the king as the Emperor of India, and also to announce the moving of the capital from Calcutta to New Delhi.
“It accommodated an astonishing 12,983 people. The viceregal camp was superbly equipped with every comfort and luxury and contained exquisitely presented camps from all the different princely states and neighbouring kingdoms displaying the finest examples of local craftsmanship and materials.
“However, by the mid-20th century, the tradition of these magnificent tented camps had sadly died out, and the skills required to make them were becoming a distant memory.
“During the mid-1990s our late designer Clarissa Mitchell was living in Jodhpur working on a project for the current maharajah.
Tented camps set up in Delhi by Lord Curzon for the Coronation Durbar of King Edward VII in 1903
“Inspired by photographs of the tented camps she had seen in the museum at Mehrangarh Fort, she suggested to the maharajah that they should revive the art of decorative tent making. His Highness agreed and Clarissa’s first commission was for 80 Shikar tents pitched along the lake at the camel fair in Pushkar. Further tented camps followed at Jaisalmer and Nagaur, followed by commissions all over India.
“Hence the tent industry in Jodhpur was restarted and is now a thriving one, providing much needed employment for the city.”
Some of the fabrics have been done in collaboration with the V&A.
In 2016, when Eastern Eye launched its Arts, Culture & Theatre Awards (ACTAs), the V&A won an ACTA for its landmark exhibition, ‘The Fabric of India’. It was co-curated by Divia Patel, now a member of the ACTA judging panel.
Kim, Kanye, North and Saint West out in NYC Twitter/KimKFan
Anurag Bajpayee's Gradiant: The water company tackling a global crisis
In a world increasingly defined by scarcity, one resource is emerging as the most quietly decisive factor in the future of industry, sustainability, and even geopolitics: water. Yet, while the headlines are dominated by energy transition and climate pledges, few companies working behind the scenes on water issues have attracted much public attention. One of them is Gradiant, a Boston-based firm that has, over the past decade, grown into a key player in the underappreciated but critical sector of industrial water treatment.
A Company Born from MIT, and from Urgency
Founded in 2013 by Anurag Bajpayee and Prakash Govindan, two researchers with strong ties to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Gradiant began as a scrappy start-up with a deceptively simple premise: make water work harder. At a time when discussions about climate change were centred almost exclusively on carbon emissions and renewable energy, the trio saw water scarcity looming in the background.
Their insight was that some of the world’s largest industries—semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food and beverage—were facing acute water-related challenges long before the general public grasped the issue. “Without water, these industries don’t just slow down; they stop,” Bajpayee has often remarked. What Gradiant offered was not just a way to save water, but a way to rethink how it is used, recycled, and valued.
The Engineers Behind the Mission
Anurag Bajpayee, the company’s CEO, whose academic path took him to MIT, where he completed a PhD in Mechanical Engineering focused on water treatment technologies. It was there that he met Govindan, a fellow engineer and now Gradiant's co-founder and COO, whose expertise complemented his in fluid mechanics and process engineering.
Unlike many founders who drift towards the language of venture capital and corporate strategy, Anurag Bajpayee and his team remained grounded in the technical problem: how to make industrial water treatment more efficient, more affordable, and more sustainable. The company still bears the imprint of its founders’ engineering roots. Gradiant is less Silicon Valley startup and more MIT lab, albeit one that has quietly expanded across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America.
What Gradiant Actually Does
The company specializes in designing and building bespoke water treatment and reuse systems for industrial clients. Its technologies are aimed at enabling factories and plants to reclaim water that would otherwise be discarded as waste, reducing both the amount of water withdrawn from natural sources and the volume of contaminated water discharged.
At the heart of Gradiant’s portfolio are proprietary technologies such as Counter Flow Reverse Osmosis (CFRO), Carrier Gas Extraction (CGE) and Selective Ion Recovery (SIR), developed from the Gradiant founders’ early research at MIT. Unlike traditional methods like reverse osmosis, these systems are designed to handle highly contaminated or complex wastewater streams, enabling clients to extract clean water even from previously unusable sources.
But Gradiant does not sell “one-size-fits-all” machines. Each project is tailored to the customer’s unique needs. For a semiconductor plant in Singapore, this might mean achieving ultrapure water reuse levels of 98%; for a food and beverage factory in Texas, it might be about safely treating wastewater for discharge while minimising energy consumption. The company's approach—sometimes called "solutioneering" internally—is both its competitive advantage and its raison d'être.
Expansion Without the Usual Hype
Gradiant’s growth has been quietly impressive. From its first commercial project in the oil and gas sector, it has gone on to complete over 500 installations worldwide. The company has raised more than $400 million in funding from a mix of institutional investors and private equity firms, achieving so-called “unicorn” status, with a valuation reportedly over $1 billion.
Unlike many green tech firms, Gradiant’s expansion has not been accompanied by flashy marketing campaigns or grandiose statements. Instead, the company has preferred to build credibility client by client, particularly in Asia, where water-intensive industries and growing environmental pressures make its services indispensable. Anurag Bajpayee, never one to speak in superlatives, frames the company’s expansion as a “response to urgent need” rather than a triumph of business.
Inside Gradiant’s Operations
At its core, Gradiant is still an engineering-first company. Anurag Bajpayee and Govindan, both technically trained and heavily involved in the company’s operations, have instilled a culture where R&D is not just a department but the lifeblood of the business. The firm currently holds more than 250 patents globally, a testament to its ongoing commitment to innovation.
But Gradiant’s success is not just about technology. The company has differentiated itself by offering not just equipment but full-service solutions, including project design, construction, operations, and maintenance. This full-stack approach has been particularly attractive to clients in highly regulated industries, who need water management solutions that work seamlessly and reliably without requiring deep in-house expertise.
Gradiant’s clients include some of the world’s largest manufacturers, including Fortune 500 companies in sectors like microelectronics, pharmaceuticals, and energy. Some, like semiconductor producers, rely on Gradiant to help them meet stringent water reuse targets while maintaining ultra-clean production environments.
Navigating a Changing World
Gradiant operates at the intersection of several converging trends: climate change, regulatory pressure, and industrial decarbonisation. In many regions, water scarcity has become the limiting factor for industrial growth, sometimes more than energy availability or supply chain constraints.
While public attention often focuses on domestic water use, it is industries that consume the lion’s share of freshwater. Gradiant's pitch is straightforward: industries will have to do more with less, and Gradiant offers the tools to make that possible.
Anurag Bajpayee is keenly aware of the paradox that water, despite being vital, is often underpriced and undervalued, especially when compared to energy. “We don’t pay what it’s worth, only what it costs,” he told an audience at a recent conference. Yet, the landscape is shifting. Regulators, investors, and companies themselves are increasingly acknowledging water as both a business risk and a social responsibility.
What's Next for Gradiant?
Looking ahead, Gradiant appears poised to play a central role as industries adapt to water scarcity. Yet, Anurag Bajpayee remains cautious about the hype cycle. "The problem we’re working on isn’t going anywhere," he says. "It’s not a question of innovation alone, but of execution—of making sure these solutions actually reach the places that need them most."
In an era where water risk is increasingly material to business, Gradiant’s quiet, technically grounded approach may prove to be exactly what is needed.
(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Eastern Eye. The publication does not endorse or take responsibility for the accuracy of any statements made by the author.)