Ten years ago, I visited a new initiative founded by Princess Diya Kumari of the Jaipur royal family. She had decided to breathe new life into one of the city’s old palaces by launching a foundation to help provide opportunity for disadvantaged women and girls. By training them to sew and use the region’s hand-blocked cotton textiles to create new hand-sewn fashion and housewares, they could support themselves and their families.
When I arrived at the lovely lakeside Badal Mahal, or Cloud Palac...