Bim Bissell, a visionary who played a significant role in shaping FabIndia, dies at 93

Bim Bissell was the wife of John Bissell, the founder of FabIndia. She died of age-related complications on Thursday. She was in her early 90s.

Bim Bissell, a visionary who played a significant role in shaping FabIndia, has died. She died on Thursday, aged 93. She is survived by son William, and daughter Monsoon. As the wife of John Bissell, the founder of FabIndia, Bimla Nanda Bissell — Bim to friends — was instrumental in promoting Indian handicrafts and handlooms.

Bim Bissell's contributions to FabIndia

Bim Bissell's death is a loss for the FabIndia family and the Indian craft community. Her contributions to FabIndia's growth and success are immeasurable; the company was founded in 1960 by her late husband, an American.

Under Bim's guidance, FabIndia became a platform for Indian artisans to showcase their crafts, providing them with a steady income and recognition.

Bim Bissell was famous for her jewellery

Her legacy continues to inspire generations of artisans, designers, and entrepreneurs. Sakina Mehta, wife of late artist Tyeb Mehta, who used to work with FabIndia in the 1970s, in the company’s then office in Jangpura, describes the young Bim as an extremely striking woman who would be attired in handloom sarees.

Sakina said about Bim in a new interview with Hindustan Times, “She always had lots of silver bangles, she was famous for that.” Bim was famous for her jewellery. “She once gifted me silver buttons,” Sakina recalled.

The celebrated Bimla Nanda Bissell — Bim to friends — was a grand dame of Delhi society. (HT Photo) (HT_PRINT)

More about Bim Bissell

Bim's background was rooted in social work and education. She worked as a social secretary to US Ambassadors in New Delhi and was involved with the World Bank for decades. Her experience and expertise helped shape FabIndia's mission to empower rural artisans and promote sustainable livelihoods.

She worked as an external affairs officer at the World Bank in New Delhi from 1975 to 1996. In 1992, with the help of Japanese government funds and the World Bank, she founded Udyogini, an NGO that works with assetless, landless women in India, with Ela Bhatt of SEWA as chair.

Interestingly, Bim 'helped get the funds to set up Sunder Nursery’s Playhouse' Ratish Nanda of Aga Khan Trust for Culture, which manages the garden, recently told HT. With its unique slides and many swings, the Playhouse is wildly popular among children in Delhi.

What tradition meant to Bim

She said in an Instagram post shared by FabIndia in 2020, “Tradition to me is the best of our heritage. Central to this is the vision of creating and contributing to sustainable livelihoods for artisans and craftspeople, so that the craft tradition stays alive, inclusive and accessible. Fabrics handwoven, hand printed converted into contemporary items influenced by our tradition is what defines our ethos. As does focussing on cottage industry while the whole world moves to the excesses of mechanisation.”