JOIN USExploring diverse fabrics from India
INA Metro Station adjacent to Dilli Haat displays traditional art and handcrafts from all over the country.
When we see a sari, we may notice its design and appreciate the fabric, but never try to find out about its origins, or just what it may have entailed for the craftsman to create that one single masterpiece. This apathy is most likely to be extended to the textile display at INA Delhi metro station, where interesting fabrics are framed and mounted but few have the time to pause and give them a thought.
So, to make Delhiites aware of where these various textiles and artwork have come from and the stories behind them, India Habitat Centre organised a walk through the metro station. Led by Richa Dubey, a former journalist-cum-communication professional, the walk took the visitors through the the exhibits installed at the station from all parts of the country.
Kanni weave from Jammu and Kashmir; phulkari embroidery of Punjab; Chikan embroidery from UP, Chamba rumal embroidery from Himachal Pradesh; Kutchi embroidery from Gujarat; Kantha from West Bengal; Shawls of Nagaland; Vichitrapuri sari from Orissa, Paithani of Maharashtra and the famed Kanjeevaram from Tamil Nadu are only some of the textiles on display here. All weaves, knits and embroideries from every region have interesting stories behind them which lend richness to their histories, and Richa explained each in great detail.
“Each region has its own weaving techniques. For instance, Ikat is primarily a forte of weavers from Gujarat and Pochampalli in Andhra Pradesh, while Maheswari belong to Madhya Pradesh,” she informed the visitors.
Talking about the origin of paisley pattern, Richa mentioned that the story of the origin of the term paisley is fascinating. The Jamawar (the trade name for the Kanni shawl was prized by European royalty and 16 of these prized shawl) formed part of Empress Josephine’s trousseau when she married Napoleon Bonaparte. The Jaamawar shawls exported from India were in demand as they could be folded into a triangle and worn over a bustle.
The demand for these shawls skyrocketed with the bustle becoming increasingly fashionable. However, the production was limited as these shawls took a long time to weave in the complex double twill tapestry technique – which often took upto a year. In order to supplement the market supply, the shawls began being woven in separate portions by different weavers to save time.
These were then stitched together by talented rafugars. When that did not suffice, the same designs began being embroidered by hand instead of woven and, came to be known as the amlikar shawls. When the demand outpaced even these modified methods, the Europeans developed a method to reproduce a semblance of the hand-woven kanni shawl on a mechanised loom.
These looms were set up at a town called Paisley in Scotland. For a while the looms of Paisley brought abundant prosperity to the town and the shawls came to be known as Paisleys, as did the elongated ambi typical of the Jaamawar. But fashions are fickle – the bustle soon became outmoded and with it the fashion of wearing the Paisley shawls.
The town became a ghost of itself but the name that it had given to the ambi stayed. The idea behind organising such is to highlight the different aspects like environment, history behind the diverse variety of Indian weaves.
The station has 58 panels showcasing traditional handicrafts and handloom in place of the advertisement slots.