The Crafts Council of India celebrates ‘Antara' or the music of interior spaces with the resonance of handicraft traditions brought into sleek, contemporary frames. To dress up floor, wall and niche spaces or to give an edgy style to verandah, other rooms and the sit-out, ‘Antara' offers a slew of options in cool bamboo, Pattamadai mat as ‘throws', trendy palmyra wall-hangings and Orissa's bell metal vessels for the table.
Each of the home accessories on display has its own unique craft sensibility — such as the prettiest tea lights fashioned out of lac as in Rajasthani jewellery or Mathura's ancient Sanjhi rangoli stencils imprisoned on glass sheets to create wonderful wall panels. Minimalist or maximalist, flamboyantly colourful or dramatic in black and white, tribal dhokraware or classic kalamkari, the exhibits offer a choice of home settings, marrying function and aesthetics, ancient craft skills with a designer feel.
Many moods and rhythms
‘Antara' beats to many rhythms and moods — all of them caring of the environment. Try the ethereal bamboo chiks looking lace-like and beautifully-finished kalamkari cushions and table cloths. Colour interscapes in hues got from bark, flower and fruit. Papier-mâché baskets with delicate motifs, palmyra leaf coasters and runners, and stone decorative artefacts of great beauty lend grace to the exhibits.
Etikopaka lacquer bowls and jars for the kitchen and dining room, kalamkari dhurries for the floor and beautiful bell metal tableware are other ‘Antara' attractions for the home. Gond art gives vibrant tribal imagery to interiors. Also part of ‘Antara' are products from ‘Kamala', the Crafts Council of India's flagship store in Delhi. Artisan-creators are present at the exhibition with their creations.
‘Antara' is sponsored by the office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. It is on view at Lalit Kala Akademi, No.4, Greams Road from December 5 to 11 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
