Over 300 weavers gathered in Chirala (AP) in November for a 7-day meet on “Rethinking Indian Industrialization of Crafts”, organized by REEDS (a Hyderabad-based NGO), Handloom Futures Trust, the National Federation for Handloom and Handicrafts, Maastricht University and the University of Leiden. Participants came from twelve states and Thailand, Taiwan, China and Laos. Some travelled […]
Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay ( 1903 – 1988 ) is finally being remembered with the attention and repect she deserves,after thirty years of being consigned to the edge of memory, far from the cognizance of academics, patriotic fighters for India’s freedom and against Western Imperialism,those engaged in gender studies, politicians, and even the generations of craftsmen and […]
(Marg Foundation, Rs2800) is a significant addition to the emerging literature on our urban heritage, capturing a(Marg Foundation, Rs2800) is a significant addition to the emerging literature on our urban heritage, capturing as perhaps few other cities do the complex challenges of transition in India. The volume brings together the perspectives of a range of […]
Two new books based on Indian folk stories with beautiful folk art illustrations have just been published by The National Mission on Bamboo Applications (NMBA), yet another valuable contribution to the growing list of folk-art based books available today. The two books share a theme – the origin of bamboo but are very different in […]
I always have two open books on the round antique table in my hallway, chosen for their illustrations and subjects. They vary from month to month. There is a small horn-rimmed magnifying glass so visitors can examine the intricate details of courtly life in the Azimuth Edition of Shah Jehan’s PADSHAHNAMA or the magical Machlipatnam […]
P G J Nampoothiri and Gagan Sethi. Books for Change National attention is focused once again on the Gujarat pogrom of 2002. Conflicting accounts have emerged from the Supreme Court’s Special Investigation Team (SIT). Its apparent exoneration of Narinder Modi is challenged by the Courts amicus curiae, while a cover story in TIME on the […]
A man who says firmly at 85 that the loss of idealism is “unacceptable.” We mourn his passing. L C Jain’s posthumously published autobiography, lovingly put together by his son while LC lay dying, poignantly evokes his voice – always inspirational, never chastising. It also brings vividly to life a persona and an era that […]
Gujarat and its craftspeople have been an integral part of my life since I chugged into Bhuj station 35 years ago on the metre gauge train from Kandla and – excitedly, nervously – took a tonga to my new assignment at the GURJARI. A barren, dust brown landscape burnt by the blazing, cloudless sun – […]
THE INDIAN LOOM- A FORGOTTEN EPISODE Dr Lotika Varadarajan is a passionate and quietly determined scholar whose seminal work on Indian textile and cultural traditions is a must-read for all of us. Her recent talk on the Indian Loom was awe-inspiring but also sad. Awe-inspiring because of the sheer range, diversity and technical virtuosity of […]
The fabrics, costumes of Gujarat and specially Kutch have attracted a number of writers from all over the world. Many influences through migrations and trade, led to the evolution of a way of life, which has richness and variety that gets reflected in their arts, crafts, ritual observations and rites of passage. The repertoire of […]