The bamboo poles stop just short of grazing the walls of the 17th century structure that, for 10 days, housed Pampa: Textiles of Karnataka — presented by the Abheraj Baldota Foundation, in collaboration with Karnataka’s department of tourism and the Archaeological Survey of India. A careful matrix of similar poles, held together sturdily with jute ropes, criss-cross […]
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The bamboo poles stop just short of grazing the walls of the 17th century structure that, for 10 days, housed Pampa: Textiles of Karnataka — presented by the Abheraj Baldota Foundation, in collaboration with Karnataka’s department of tourism and the Archaeological Survey of India. A careful matrix of similar poles, held together sturdily with jute ropes, criss-cross […]
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We are at the Kolkata Centre for Creativity where I am trying to sneak a picture of a block print of cultural icon Begum Akhtar on a blouse. Its wearer, Mamta Varma, runs Bhairavi’s Chikan in Lucknow, with 300 women who do fine chikankari embroidery. Noting my interest she reveals that the unusual blouse was made by […]
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5 from the Calico Museum “It is a reflection of the sheer number and variety of Indian textiles that there is no one book that could possibly encompass them all. The nearest anyone has come is the Historic Textiles of India series by the Calico Museum, which currently runs into five fat volumes, comprising John […]
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Jodhpur is a city of marvels, of which the Toorji Ka Jhalra is among the most iconic. Around this stepwell, where the water plunges hundreds of metres deep, the Walled City comes to life — old heritage buildings rubbing shoulders with new cafes and boutiques, narrow lanes packed with locals and cars leading to sprawling […]
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As a collector of ikat saris, I have a defining memory of the weave. An exquisite cotton ikat sari woven by Pitabas Meher, whose father Mohan Meher received the National Award for the design. In shades of deep red and indigo, it was inspired by a board game and replicated the motifs of the dice with script and numbers. […]
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Aarathi Prasad; (right) Silk — A History in Three Metamorphoses An outstanding variety of Indian historical textiles in silk have fascinated the world for centuries. They comprise well-known private and public collections in museums in the country and abroad. But little is known of the sources and histories of the yarns used in them. In […]
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A pillar here, an elaborately carved door there, trellised balconies and stone carvings offer tantalising glimpses of what it must have been like 2,000 years ago when Paithan, then known as Pratishthana, was the capital of the mighty Satavahana dynasty, and later the Vakatakas, the Yadavas and the Marathas. The town located a little more […]
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(Clockwise from top left) Ladakhi kitchen utensils, textile exhibits in Amer, Kala Bhoomi, Central Asian Museum, and Bharat Kala Bhavan Among the highlights of my journeys through India researching textiles over the last two decades has been the discovery of some lesser-known museums. While my effort as an independent curator has been, often, to consistently question […]
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Gwyneth Paltrow, Deepika Padukone with Ranveer Singh, and Alia Bhatt | Photo Credit: AP, Getty Images Sarojini Naidu famously quipped that it cost a lot of money to keep Mahatma Gandhi in poverty, so she would no doubt view with amusement fashion’s current obsession with quiet luxury dressing. Blame it on actor Gwyneth Paltrow’s recent […]
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