To highlight the life of Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, freedom fighter, social activist, actor, and politician all rolled into one, the India International Centre (IIC) here is organising an exhibition that takes viewers on a pictorial journey showcasing how she contributed towards the making of modern India. The photographs highlight her remarkable life and phenomenal role in reviving the traditional handicrafts of India during the post-Independence era.
The exhibition, curated by Birad Rajaram Yajnik, takes pages from Chattopadhyay’s writings, other lectures and books written about her to accompany the photographs. The photographs show how she made it fashionable to wear hand spun sarees and adorn homes with handicrafts, and the way in which she set up a series of crafts museums to hold and archive India’s indigenous arts and crafts that served as a storehouse for indigenous knowledge.
The fruits of her work in rehabilitation of people as well their lost crafts and the revival of Indian handicrafts and handlooms is documented extensively in the exhibition. She is the person who instituted the National Awards for Master Craftsmen, Central Cottage Industries Emporia and Sangeet Natak Akademi. She also set up the National School of Drama and later headed the Sangeet Natak Akademi. The show also tells stories of her relationship with Mahatma Gandhi, the freedom movement and her role in founding the All-India Women’s Conference (AIWC).
The show is on till April 26 at the Art Gallery, India International Centre.
The photographs highlight her remarkable life and phenomenal role in reviving the traditional handicrafts of India during the post-Independence era
