History

The group, was founded in 1981 by Late Mrs. Indutai Tilak and Mrs. Gita Kantawala. The members are interested in various types of origami which makes our group collectively good at several fields of Origami.

Our first exhibition was held in September 1981 at the CJ Hall (currently the NGMA) where Mrs. Sudha Kulkarni (art teacher from the New Era School, Mumbai) and Mr. Joshi (from Pune) also participated. At the time the group collectively put up nearly 2000 models, of which the major attractions were Prince Charles’ and Princess Diana’s wedding scene, different kinds of boats, masks, pyramids and penguins on icebergs. After 1981, Indutai Tilak and Gita Kantawala taught this art at many institutions in Mumbai like S.N.D.T., Schools, Lions club, etc. They also conducted courses for teachers in municipal schools and Indutai Tilak was responsible for incorporating origami as a part of the syllabus in the schools.

Over the years, members of Origami Mitra have conducted several workshops in rural and interior Maharashtra in addition to the workshops conducted in urban areas. These workshops and classes are conducted on request and are held for all audiences consisting of students, professionals, homemakers, young children, adults, and anyone who is interested.

In the years after its inception, events organised by Origami Mitra have been graced by several accomplished international origami professionals, including Saburo Kase (a blind origamist from Japan) in 1982 and 2002, Tomoko Fuse (Japan), David Brill (U.K.) and Tricia Tait (U.S.A.) in 2006, John Montroll, and more recently, Meenakshi Mukerji in 2014.