When you walk through the ‘Sutr Santati’ exhibit at the National Museum in Delhi, there will come a point (if you are a textile lover) when you will sigh. The sigh is for the beauty that is all around you, and a tinge of regret for something you cannot name.
Many Indians have a deep and profound love for our handwoven textiles that is hard to articulate. There is pride, nostalgia, and also regret that such textiles, that were once commonplace and used as functional clothes, are now museum pieces.
It took curator Lavina Baldota of the Abheraj Baldota Foundation two years to put together the ‘Sutr Santati’ exhibition.
Conceived and curated by Lavina Baldota of the Abheraj Baldota Foundation, ‘Sutr Santati’ (meaning the continuity of yarn) took two years to put together. There are over 100 beautifully-lit textiles by 75 artisans, craftspeople, designers, and artists. They hang silently, speaking the language of the hand and the yarn.
For those who think handwoven is one process, this exhibit highlights the dizzying array of ways in which we manipulate textiles in this land. There is embroidery, resist-dyeing, printing, painting and appliqué, among others. The yarn itself ranges from local varieties such as Kala cotton of Gujarat to Kandu cotton of Karnataka.
There is muga and eri silk from the Northeast as well as commissions that use camel and sheep wool, goat and yak hair. And then there is Baldota herself, a textile lover of indeterminate age who spends day after day, leading small groups or individuals through the exhibit.
Stretching the limits
‘Charkha’ by Vastrakala Embroidery.
When one person (from one family) puts together an exhibit such as this, it is natural to wonder: why is she doing it? Clearly she loves textiles and collects them with relish. Clearly she has the clout and the means to convince a wide network of people in the textile trade to take on commissions from her. But time and again, during walkthroughs with Baldota, the words that she repeats are “relevance and continuity”. Like many before her, she wants to show the world what is possible with Indian textiles, to stretch the canvas.
“The process has been to identify the various textile crafts and then work with people involved in it, in a way that they stay true to the craft but present it in a contemporary language,” says Baldota. Her mandate was that all the pieces had to use indigenous yarn and eco-friendly dyes. So sourcing was a challenge because Kancheepuram, for instance, also gets yarn from China. “A lot of innovation has gone into these works. There have been students working with the artisans and contemporary artists creating art using textile crafts. But every participant walked that extra mile to achieve excellence.”
Baldota’s love of textiles comes from, no surprises here, her mother. She credits her grandfathers and father-in-law, “who only wear khadi,” and her mother for being the biggest influence on her aesthetic and style. “As a child, I would go to Khadi Bhandar and get clothes made from handloom fabrics. My mother has the best taste and eye for sarees.”
A few of my favourites
The show is broadly split into works by designers, artisans, revivalists, artists, students and organisations. Each person who walks through the exhibit will have favourites that resonate. I have shared here an incomplete and completely subjective list of mine.
1. A white-on-white embroidery of birds by Asif Sheikh is the essence of subtle minimalism.
2. A Kerala kasavu by Lakshmi Madhavan is a creative take on an old form without marring its purity with jarring sequins.
3. The list of Kancheepuram motifs by master weaver B. Krishnamoorthy is a textbook education into the annam, rudraksham, ghandabherunda and others that populate Tamil Nadu.
4. Vaishali Shadangule has interpreted knots in a way that would make the French swoon.
5. Gaurav Gupta’s depiction of the Kundalini faithfully represents the colours and the yantras of the chakras while playing with fantasy.
6. Rahul Jain’s works show us the beauty of the old looms. A weaver explained that it was like free drawing without a frame.
7. The student section, while uneven, is arguably the most exciting because in it lies the future. Students from the Indian Institute of Crafts & Design in Jaipur, Le Mark School of Art in Mumbai, and M.S. University in Baroda have showcased their work.
8. Paresh Patel’s Ashavali stands firmly in balance with Gaurang Shah’s Patan Patola Srinathji.
Gaurang Shah’s Patan Patola Srinathji.
9. Shrujan’s intricate embroidery panel shows the dazzling variety of Kutch handwork.
After two hours spent in the company of these textiles, I come out stress-free and blissful. What next for the show? While Baldota is responding to inquiries to take it to other parts of the country and the world, her own aspiration is to be a connector. “Every textile has captions with the names of its creator. I implore people to contact them directly and work with them,” she says. “We are all co-creators of ‘Sutr Santati’.”
In India’s 75th year of independence, the show is a welcome addition to efforts all over the country to create awareness and pride in our indigenous textile traditions, and honour the people and organisations that are creating it. “If we want the continuum of our textile heritage then making the next generation aware and involved is very important. Awareness will lead to appreciation and appreciation will lead to aspiration,” says Baldota.
Hence the word ‘Santati’.
‘Sutr Santati’ is on at the National Museum till September 20.
The writer is a Bengaluru-based journalist and author.
