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Sutr Santati: Then. Now. Next fuses heritage with innovation with 100 commissioned pieces

This exhibition looks at India’s 75-year textile legacy with innovation as the focus

Sutr Santati: Then. Now. Next looks at innovation through the lens of history to present mindful collaborations

Much, much before Maria Grazia Chiuri of Dior started collaborating with Mumbai-based atelier Chanakya International and the products of the nimble fingers at the Chanakya School of Craft found pride of place at her couture shows, India’s craftspersons have been weaving their own textile legacy, one that has largely gone unnoticed by the world. In fact, India’s textile heritage is as diverse as the subcontinent itself, with wars having been fought over its riches and Mahatma Gandhi drawing on its pride for our freedom struggle against the British Raj. But soon after Independence, India witnessed its own journey from having to reassert its textile legacy all over again to the present day, when textiles are having their well-deserved moment in the sun. Telling their story is an ambitious exhibition titled ‘Sutr Santati: Then. Now. Next.’, presented by The National Museum New Delhi and the Abheraj Baldota Foundation that is on till 20 September.

Legacy and heritage

Speaking to The Established from the sidelines of the exhibition, designer Ritu Kumar recollects: “When I started my work in the 1960s, it was an absolute desert as everything in India had disappeared. You couldn’t find a print or a weave or an embroidery, for love or money because the British systematically rid the country of its textile heritage for 200 years. We all got into a slightly nationalistic fervour as we looked around, trying to see where we could revive what. To see what we have achieved in the last 75 years was so energetic to witness.” And energising the narrative is what curator and textile revivalist Lavina Baldota was aiming for with the second edition of the Santiti exhibition, as the entire project was driven by the need of both looking back and taking it forward to preserve this rich legacy.

“Textile has been an important part of India’s legacy for many years and I was always very inspired by Gandhiji’s initiative to tie it with the freedom movement. What better way to celebrate 75 years of India’s freedom than to show the crafts of today in a new language?” says Baldota, who went on to curate and commission an ambitious 100 pieces for this exhibition. Drawing from the name, ‘Sutr Santiti’ translates into ‘the continuation of the yarn,’ and this legacy has been shown through textiles created using processes such as hand-weaving, embroidery, resist-dyeing, printing, painting and appliqué, among other forms of yarn and fabric manipulation. Kandu, Kala cotton, mulberry, wild silks, camel and sheep wool, goat and yak hair, lotus, banana and water hyacinth are some of the fibres commissioned for the pieces in this exhibition. “As the scope of the exhibition promises, the pieces reflect on the past with a keen eye on the future,” adds Baldota.

Shatranj, a dupatta designed by Anjul Bhandari using natural dyes and hand-embroidery where she showcases a game of chess through the intricate Chikankari embroidery.

Shatranj, a dupatta designed by Anjul Bhandari using natural dyes and hand-embroidery where she showcases a game of chess through the intricate Chikankari embroidery.

A glimpse of Freeway by the Chanakya School of Craft.

A glimpse of Freeway by the Chanakya School of Craft.

Diversity in curation

A motley group of artisans, fashion and textile designers, textile artists, revivalists, students, organisations and non-profits were brought together for this exhibit that saw names such as Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, Anjul Bhandari, Manish Malhotra, Darshan Shah, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Sanjay Garg, Tarun Tahiliani and the Princess Diya Kumari Foundation participate. “My brief to everyone was to only use indigenous natural yarn and natural, eco-friendly colours,” explains Baldota.

Take, for example, ‘Shatranj,’ a dupatta designed by Anjul Bhandari using natural dyes and hand-embroidery where she showcases a game of chess through the intricate Chikankari embroidery. According to Bhandari, Gandhi’s “Videshi Choddo, Desi Peheno'' movement was the most pivotal point of our textile heritage as “he brought in the weaves, where he taught us to respect the artisan; we had to wear Indian, organic and sustainable,” she says.

Wajahat Rather’s design in ‘Nazam,’ a Pashmina shawl made using natural dyes with hand-weaving and hand-embroidery, shows how “textile plays with the shape of the famous paisley, emerging from a ‘phygital’ world, the combination of physical and digital realities” by metamorphosing into pixelated motifs, eventually changing into a barcode. “Rural textiles that relate directly to the past have designs applied through embroidery or traditional dyeing techniques. Specific illustrations are the Patolas, tie-dyed fabrics, Phulkari and Kutch embroideries. The renowned textiles that reached their peak under the Mughal courts are important in the legends of India. Museum samples of a Dacca muslin, Banarasi brocade and Kashmiri shawls represent the intricate work and more subtle styles required by royal patrons,” says Rather.

“WE NEED TO ENSURE THAT EVEN WHEN WE ARE CREATING TEXTILE OR FASHION PRODUCTS THROUGH CONSCIOUS AND SUSTAINABLE WAYS, THE AESTHETICS AND FUNCTION OF THE PRODUCTS IS NOT COMPROMISED.”

Wajahat Rather

Meanwhile, a bunch of students from the Indian Institute of Craft & Design, Jaipur, showed ‘The Gossamer Harmony,’ a dupatta on cotton silk, using gold silver zari, kota doria technique with weaving and extra weft. “A thing’s true value comes from how well one knows it and how well one is inclined towards it. To make people realise the importance of preserving our textiles, they must perceive our textile heritage as an asset,” explains Adya Chaturvedi, who was part of this group.

How sustainable is sustainability?

While conversations around Made in India and sustainability have definitely brought some much-needed attention back to textiles in the country, many still shy away from paying the steep prices that conscious consumption often involves. Kumar blames it on the introduction of polyester and mechanisation, saying: “People have to know better than to take away the livelihoods from our master craftspersons.” Baldota is of the opinion that while there is more awareness and conversation about textiles and sustainability now, consumers must understand the value of buying less but buying better. “Sustainability can never be cheap but it always lasts longer; the narrative has to be changed. It is important to create awareness of what is available in India in terms of yarns, weaves and even dyes. There is no need to import yarn because we have so much. I think this itself can create a circular economy and solve problems. Awareness is key and this exhibition can also act as a repository to build that narrative,” Baldota adds.

The exhibition is presented by The National Museum New Delhi and the Abheraj Baldota Foundation, and is on till 20 September.

The exhibition is presented by The National Museum New Delhi and the Abheraj Baldota Foundation, and is on till 20 September.

However, there are a number of factors that make it difficult to implement this mindset, en masse. Bhandari, for instance, is all for striking a balance. “As a country, there are so many of us and we will need mechanisation somewhere or the other, and it obviously has to be cheap as well. So clearly what is done by hand cannot be as cheap as what is done by machine. At the same time, we have to remember that we cannot do everything by machine,” she says, while also asserting the importance of giving the artisan their dues. “We need to make sure that they stand on a platform with their heads held high, where they can say that they are the creators of that art. To make this commercially viable and to make sure that we can have our textile legacy carrying on, and business also being intact, we need to be very mindful about it,” Bhandari adds.

Rather credits today’s creators for generating recognition for our traditional textiles. “We need to ensure that even when we are creating textile or fashion products through conscious and sustainable ways, the aesthetics and function of the products is not compromised. We need to make sustainable products affordable and relevant to today's context. Also, we need to empower artisans with sustainable livelihood opportunities through global market exposure and reduce carbon footprints from the fashion industry,” he points out.

Meanwhile, as consumers, the onus is also on us to seek out the awareness and strike a balance to become mindful, while assimilating narratives from repositories–such as this exhibition–to strive towards a future led by innovation to keep our legacy alive. “Pushing the boundaries of the participants to make them innovate was very important to create things that appeal to buyers. It has to make monetary sense to the artisans. Why else will their next generation get into the business? I think we are moving in the right direction,” says Baltoda. And as Kumar rightly concludes, “Looking at our history through the lens of the young creators at this exhibition was energising because it gives you hope for the future.”

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