‘Sutr Santati’- With 125 artisanal pieces, the exhibition at NGMA Mumbai sings a rhapsody of praise for Indian textile heritage
The ongoing textile exhibition at the NGMA Mumbai, titled ‘Sutr Santati’ (19th Nov’23 – 7th Jan’24), curated by Abheraj Baldota Foundation showcases an array of fascinating textiles created by various regional artisans.
As the custodian of the Abheraj Baldota Foundation, Lavina Baldota has been supporting weavers and designers for the past three decades.
The four level exhibition displays stunning textiles pieces that have been crafted with processes like hand weaving, embroidery, resist-dyeing, printing, paintings, appliqué and whatnot.
The main attraction includes a Jamdani wall panel that recreates a scene from the Ramayana in intricate detail. As per curator Lavina, it is one of our hero pieces, because weaving is such a geometric process.
Investing three years of hard work, the artisans have created so many layers and perspectives by meticulously enmedding the jewellery, the folds in the loosely-draped fabrics, the facial expressions of helplessness and compassion.
Another stunning display include an embroidered map of Srinagar along with the tale of Kabuliwala which artisans have embellished with handiwork.
Apart from this the avant garde designer Tarun Tahiliani’s atelier also procured a mata ni pachedi by Sanjay Chitara and hand-embroidered it with metal threads, making the goddess’s sari look like a golden kavach.
Designer Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla’s studio has applied mu and mirror lippan murals of the Kutch. And, Gaurav Gupta and a crew of masters from Kashmir have integrated the kundalini in pashmina and aari chain stitch to develop a piece which manifests the spirituality and workmanship and geography of the region.
Adding the handlooms from south, Kodalikaruppur sarees (Tamil Nadu) and kasavu veshtis (Kerala) have been revived by the Srijani Foundation, with 52 motifs drawn from antique textiles and artist Upendra Maharathi’s works and contemporary geometric practices.
Indigenous embroidery like pukhoor from Tamil Nadu and signature handloom offerings such as Sambalpuri ikat from Odisha are on the third floor. Level 4 displayed the fabrics of freedom khadi encapsulating hero pieces and experimental designs by Anamika Khanna, Vaishali Shadangule inter alia.
Drawing inspiration from the exquisite collection, Ritu Kumar also contacted three clusters and started working with them,” as per Lavina.
Regardless of whether you are a connoisseur of art or not, the eye popping pieces with fine needlework of kantha, phulkari, zardozi, gota patti or chikankari will leave you enchanted in the oasis of creativity.
Images by NGMA Mumbai
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