Wool and silk tie manufactured by Ratti, Italy, published for the benefit of UNICEF by Cultural Ties.
Balraj Khanna was born in the Punjab, India, in 1940 and studied English literature at Chandigarh University. He is a painter and successful author. His novels include Nation of Fools (1984) and Sweet Chillies (1991). His paintings while decorative are highly individual. He lives and works in London.

Cultural Ties – a celebration of cultural diversity, was a global project and the brain child of London art dealer Kapil Jariwala. The brief was for 77 artists from around the world to design neck ties. A limited edition of 300 of each tie were produced for sale worldwide via selected retail outlets, gallery shops and the internet.
It was hoped that the project would raise $1 million for UNICEF, in particular for their clean water programme. The Italian firm Ratti, a major producer of fine textiles for the fashion world, was chosen and the artists’ designs were transformed into shimmering, sensual velvets, taffeta and densely woven jacquard.