The creative imprints of over 350 artisans narrating India’s versatile cultural and crafts history are showcased at the Shilp Gallery in the new Parliament building, New Delhi. Dastkari Haat Samiti’s President Jaya Jaitly designed the gallery ensuring craft — the creative soul of India — remains a binding theme of eight installations. The crafts organisation worked closely with artisans for nine months to stitch this monumental showcase that brings within the fold prominent craft forms from all Indian states and Union Territories.
The Shilp Gallery seeks to distil the essence of some of the major craft skills and art forms that have come down to us as a part of our living heritage as a state and as a civilisation. All eight installations on display divided into themes— Gyan, Prakriti, Aastha, Ullas, Parv, Samrasta, Swavlamban and Yatra — have been conceived as unique, contemporary interpretations of India’s historical, cultural and intellectual legacy; rooted deep in the past, yet reimagined in the present.
Each element in each artwork also runs an organic thread of diversity, hope and pride. The installation of embroidered quilts in the Ullas installation follows the universal tradition of quilt-making, which is a wise and sustainable way of recycling old saris, headcloths or leftover fabric from tailor shops. The artisans who created the patchwork of pieces for the blue- and red-toned quilts were given minimal instructions. As ‘Ullas’ or joyfulness is the overarching theme for the embroidered quilts, each woman was asked to express her happiness. The bird was also suggested as an occasional motif, a symbol of happiness. Apart from that, she had the total freedom to evoke on fabric the intense happiness, the boundless love she feels for her child in her heart, using her own imagination.
The installation of Prakriti is rooted in the focal idea that we are an integral part of nature. It is She who sustains and nurtures us. Since Sanjhi celebrates nature, with motifs of trees, birds and animals, it was a natural choice for this artwork. The Swavlamban installation is a triptych titled ‘Charkha — the Wheels of Swavlambam’. Created on 100gm of hand-spun, handwoven khadi, they feature different charkhas, printed in traditional Ajrakh style, and embellished with tiny mirrors and zari work. The charkha, or spinning wheel symbolises unity, freedom and self-sufficiency, reminding us of the Swadeshi Movement during India’s freedom struggle.
The Samrasta installation combines wood carvings with artefacts and daily objects in a variety of metal crafts. It is not just represented by unifying diverse wooden blocks. But it is interspersed with metal crafts from different corners of India.
For the installation Parv— a kavad has been specially designed and created for the gallery. For this project, 10 prominent festivals of India were chosen, and 10 artists were handpicked to bring them to life. The five panel-like doors on either side of the kavad represent 10 Indian festivals through traditional and folk arts, which include: Diwali in Gondi tribal; Holi in Madhubani folk art; Mahavir Jayanti in Cheriyal art; Buddha Jayanti in Tankha Buddhist; Eid in fine art in the papier-mâché tradition; Christmas in contemporary art; Durga Puja in Kalighat style; Ganesh Chaturthi by Apindra Swain; Pongal in an art style inspired by ancient mural paintings; Guru Purab in the traditional miniature art style.
Dastkari Haat Samiti has been the binding force between stitching the right collaborations with artisans, as it roped in artisans it has been nurturing for several decades. Other designers involved in the project are Tilfi , Shelly Jyoti, Puneet Kaushik and Purnima Rai. The Ministry of Culture, Govt of India commissioned the work through the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.
“This gallery represents and celebrates India’s culture, craft and communities. No other nation in the world is a repository of vast and rich cultural heritage as India. I believe this is the first time that any public and political building has given such importance to craft and craftspeople. It has given a huge impetus to the discourse of the resurgence of craft in the country and to showcase India’s living heritage in such a historic building,” says Dastkari Haat Samiti President Jaya Jaitly.
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