20 June,2011 06:19 AM IST | | Dhara Vora
Intricate embroidery, rare textiles and fabrics and stunning weaves provide a window to India's forgotten treasures, currently on display at the ongoing Potli Arts exhibition-cum-sale at the Artisans' Centre
"My ancestors came from Sindh in Pakistan. The local maharaja invited people from our community to settle in Dhamadka near Bhuj, as it was sparsely populated. That's how Ajrakh paintings arrived in India. Till date, Dhamadka remains the place to source goods made by this technique," says Khatri about the history of the Ajrakh (or block printing) technique. "It is a 4,000 year-old Islamic craft and has been practised by generations," explains 53 year-old Abdulrazak Mohmed Khatri, a ninth-generation Ajrakh hand block artisan whose works are on display at Textile Treasures of India, an exhibition-cum-sale by Potli Arts featuring works by National Award winning artisans at Kala Ghoda's Artisans' Centre.
Khatri is confident that his craft will survive the laser printing age ufffd "Even here Rituji (Ritu Chandwani, co-founder, Potli Arts) insisted that we use natural dyes and the best cotton. If the end product is good it can withstand the competition. Nowadays, urban folk have grown to appreciate and support our work."
Fellow state artisan, Shyamji Vankar Valji echoes Khatri's thoughts, "Traditionally, our work was done with wool. But since it doesn't suit India's climate, we use cotton, silk and wool, cotton and wool or silk. For Mumbai, we've made stoles instead of shawls. My father (Vankar Velji) won a National Award at the hands of Indira Gandhi for his craftsmanship. Bhujodi in Kutch is popular for its Kutch Haath Vanat style of embroidery.
Besides, nearly 15 winners hail from our village making it a famous spot. When we started working on cotton and silk; our work turned out to be so intricate that people were surprised that it was handmade. It increased our value immediately," he adds. Velji shares that there was a time when 3,000 people worked on this art. "Today, barely 700 survive due to financial constraints. But the support and response, including invitations from the Oxford University, keeps us in the public eye."
Weave a cause
The tagline at Textile Treasures of India reads, Handcrafted the forgotten way. Rightly so, this initiative lives up to its cause, as we discovered when we dropped by. Apart from fabrics and textile created by artisans like Valji and Khatri, also on display were handmade saris and fabrics from West Bengal. Karnataka and Orissa.
Works by Rta Kapur Chisti, a hand spun, textile and sari expert, including muslin saris from West Bengal, gold and silver zari saris in light silks and saris from Orissa (Rs 4,000 onwards) are also on display.
Look out for the Pachaphere sari from West Bengal, which has been sourced specially, as the loom that creates it no longer exists; as a result of which this sari is nearly extinct (Rs 4,000). The eight-century Ikal saris from Karnataka (Rs 1,800 onwards) and black khadi made in Jamdani style, embroidered saris by Rabari tribal women (Rs 8,000 onwards) are quite stunning as well.
What we liked
Hand-painted Tussar silk sari by the Saura tribe in Orissa. Each sari takes a month to make, hence they have very few pieces (Rs 9,100). Also check out the handmade fabrics (Rs 250 upwards) and Zari saris (from different states).
Must Catch
Screening of BBC documentary Hidden Treasures of Indian Art by Griff Rhys Jones which won the Lawrence Oliver Award.
There will also be a workshop by Shyamji Valji (dates to be announced).
AT The Textile Treasures of India, Artisans' Centre, opposite Synagogue, Rhythm House lane, Kala Ghoda.
TILL July 3
TIME 10.30 am to 7.30 pm
CALL 22672290
