An exhibition by Dastkari Haat Samiti will show gamchhas from 14 states across India and explore the fabric’s many uses through art installations, design interventions, and live demonstrations.
Though representing millions of Indians, this coarse fabric which is often overlooked in India’s handloom traditions, has developed from its basic beginnings in working-class communities. From being used as a fishing net, a vegetable bag and makeshift belt in rural Bengal, the fabric has many uses. In Bihar, it is an offering to the river goddess, while in Assam it is a symbol of respect. The exhibition has been embraced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, who once paired it with a Dior suit at Cannes.
More than a display, this exhibition from March 1 to 10 is a crucial intervention at a time when traditional textiles face extinction from mass production and cheap imports, says president of Dastkari Haat Samiti, Jaya Jaitly. In 2015, she commissioned women weavers in Phulia, West Bengal to create 100 gamchha sarees. She calls the fabric a silent companion and says, “It is everywhere, yet no one notices it.” Having worked with craftspeople since 1965 to sustain traditional livelihoods, she founded the Dastkari Haat Samiti, conceptualised Dilli Haat, and served on advisory bodies related to crafts, culture, livelihoods and other public causes.
On traditional textiles facing extinction from mass production and cheap imports, Jaitly says that all products face extinction because of the progress of technology. She says, “Some understand the cultural, organic and sustainability value. These are natural wisdom of our people, which we were in a way made to forget about in the push for synthetic production that came in the past decades. Today, I think the whole world is turning back to sustainability, slow production, slow fashion, and therefore, I think we have a huge possibility ahead of us to work on these positives and show that the craft sector can provide for the new.”
Curated and designed by Suparana Bhalla, the exhibition seeks to address the neglect of the gamchha. Her display of latticed bamboo and steel captures the twists and turns of the fabric. “The gamcha is neither historical or an artifact,” says Bhalla. “It is part of our collective cultural consciousness. It exists in spaces around us, invisible and yet tangibly so. It sits on the head of many a mason, shields many a rickshaw puller in the sun, is used to wipe our seat and dry our hair, clean our homes and temples. It touches our life in myriad ways. The exhibition aims at revealing the intrinsic beauty of its simplicity.”
The form of the exhibit was derived from the creased folds of the gamcha in use. Curving and cradling the 230 different gamchas from all over the country, the exhibition creatively juxtaposed it with an exquisite, folded paper and gamcha installation. The walls graphically designed act as an album of life in India, where the gamcha is the hero of the story. Giving an elevated look to the fabric, architect Ankon Mitra has constructed spatial installations. Gamchha-inspired designs, including saris, stylish clothing, and lifestyle items, are also on display. He has devised an architectural version of origami and made installations that float in the air with lighting inside, made of folded gamchhas. The installations reimagine the fabric from a simple 2D textile into multidimensional art.