Royals And The Arts, Refreshed

Their forefathers, too, patronised art, music and fashion, but these young blue bloods are doing it differently

- Sneha Bhura

Yuvraj Chaitanya Raj Singh Bhati, crown prince of the erstwhile kingdom of Jaisalmer, grew up with a family wardrobe synonymous with opulence and grandeur. But the 25-year-old likes to talk slow fashion and sustainable clothing. “We live in a desert where we have to be careful with water and electricity. My family has consistently made me aware of this reality,” says Bhati. Often after a meal, he washes his hands on the same plate and the helper takes it out to dry in the sun by sprinkling a generous dose of sand. Bhati’s zero-waste, zero chem, eco-living attitude sits in perfectly with his gender-fluid, hemp-based fashion brand called Nomh or Natural Organic Material and Hemp. On its website, you can see him dressed in a custom-made hemp bandhgala for a debutante’s ball. On Instagram, @nomhindia showcases elegant tote bags and bell bottom jeans with shell buttons fashioned out of the miracle fibre. Nomh is a brand under Everest Eco Hemp, an agricultural startup founded by Bhati and a school friend. “In fact, we took out our first yarn from the fibre two months ago. Once we start to cultivate hemp, people will start using it.” he says. Bhati is convinced of its environmental and economic potential. He also wants to popularise hemp oil and cosmetics for food and skin. Based in Gurugram and with a farming unit in Uttarakhand, Everest Eco Hemp is one of the few companies in India with a licence to cultivate industrial hemp.