The Hindu : New Delhi News : The colours of Kachchh

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Wednesday, Jan 07, 2009
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The colours of Kachchh

“Khamir and the weaves of Kachchh” opens in Delhi on Friday

Exquisite: A wide array of products, such as cushion covers and shawls would be displayed.

Billed as a statement of the limitless creativity of Indian artisans, a four-day exhibition titled “Khamir and the weaves of Kachchh” opens in the Capital at Aga Khan Hall on Bhagwan Das Road this Friday.

The third show of Kachchh is a statement of the weavers having finally arrived, working now as designers themselves, even hiring designers to develop new ranges. The exhibition brings a fresh new range of shawls and stoles, home textiles and apparel w ith, as always, a difference.

Khamir, a crafts organisation, will also showcase some of the other crafts that they work with like silver, leather and block-prints.

“Khamir was formed after the devastating earthquake in Gujarat. We intend to provide livelihood opportunities to weavers. Whatever money they will earn from the Delhi show will go to them. Khamir is just acting as a facilitator so that products like silver jewellery, leather items, bed linen, cushion covers and garments can reach people in cosmopolitan cities,” says Meera Goradia of Khamir.

Pointing out that the weavers worked mainly in wool and acrylic thick counts just a few years back, Meera says they had a limited product range and seasonal market then. “We want to present their unique story of how they used their extraordinary skills and opportunities to create fine shawls, accessories and home linen. In the process, they have secured a name and a market for their products,” she adds.

Besides interaction with the artisans, both men and women who work together to produce a wide array of products, the exhibition will also have photographs of Kachchh and the crafts that would be up for grabs. To bring alive the flavour of Kachchh, musicians would render songs sung by weavers as they practise their crafts in the villages.

The Kachchh weavers have resisted commercialisation of their special skills at the risk of losing large numbers of their members to industrial jobs. The families who continue weaving do so because of their deep attachment to their craft and the way of life it represents. Recognising the need to conserve their knowledge and their historic skills, the weavers have initiated the process for registering the geographical indication that would establish the uniqueness of their products and skills and protect them against fakes. Each public event they do further consolidates their identity and their attempt to survive in a mechanical world.

Madhur Tankha

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