“I still remember the quilt my grandmother made for my sister and me. It was stitched from her old sarees, soft with age, and somehow carried her warmth even after she passed away,” says 16-year-old Atharva Rajesh Shinde from Bhandup, Mumbai.

At the time, he did not know it, but that quilt was more than just a cover for cold nights. It was a patchwork of care and purpose, sewn from discarded pieces and held together by intention.

That quilt, or godhari as it is traditionally called, lasted over a decade. For Atharva and his sister, Dr Manasi Rajesh Shinde (25), now an MBBS graduate, it was more than a blanket. It was a woven reminder of care, tradition, and connection.

But when the old godhari finally wore out, Atharva recalls, “We just couldn’t find anybody nearby who still practised the art of quilting!”

It was a small moment, but one that stayed with them — a missing craft, a fading tradition, and a family memory they did not want to lose. That gap would soon spark an idea that joined memory with purpose.

A legacy that shaped the idea

Qwilt’s roots go deeper than a worn-out quilt. Atharva grew up seeing his grandmother’s compassion for working-class women. “She believed in empowering women through skill and small home-based work. That spirit lives on in Qwilt,” says his mother, Vinita Rajesh Shinde.

That legacy was reinforced at home. Vinita says Atharva’s father always encouraged open dialogue, a habit that shaped his ability to listen, question, and lead. “This has helped Atharva become the confident, empathetic leader he is today.”

His sister, Dr Manasi, though immersed in her demanding medical studies, remains a core sounding board. “I can’t brainstorm with anyone else the way I can with her,” Atharva says. “Even the smallest idea from her sparks something bigger in me.”

With those values stitched into their upbringing, the siblings began to see the absence of quilting not just as a loss of a family tradition, but as an opportunity to revive it for others.

In April 2023, Atharva, still a school student and passionate about STEM, teamed up with Manasi to start ‘Qwilt’ — a grassroots initiative that collects

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