THE LOOMINARIES

THE ROLE OF THE GREAT REVIVALISTS WHO GAVE INDIA'S TEXTILES A NEW LEASE ON LIFE CANNOT BE STATED ENOUGH. WE TRACE THEIR CELEBRATED LEGACY

- BUTOOL JAMAL

AS MUCH AS WE PRIDE OURSELVES on upholding tradition, this institutional endorsement of handwoven textiles is not to be taken for granted. It’s the result of dedicated work on the part of a number of advocates, many of whom have worked behind the scenes to ensure that the rhythm of the loom doesn’t disappear.

Two foundational figures of postIndependent India paved the path: Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay and Pupul Jayakar. While Chattopadhyay was a staunch Gandhian, Jayakar was known as the "tsarina of culture." The former was appointed the head of the All India Handicraft Board in 1952, and the latter was simultaneously given the responsibility of the All India Handloom Board. They would work extensively within the bureaucracy, setting up and leading institutions to ensure that traditional weaving and other crafts were seen as valuable, sustainable enterprises. Jayakar’s legacy included the Weavers Service Centres, training grounds for countless artisans and revivalists, and the Handloom and Handicrafts Export Corporation of India (HHEC).

Under her tutelage at the HHEC in the 1970s, another eminent figure in Indian textile history found his footing—Martand Singh. Jayakar tasked Singh, or Mapu as he was known, with putting together the now seminal Vishwakarma textile exhibitions of the 1980s. An ambitious, decade-long project, it focused on the revival of traditional weaves —encompassing everything from patola and kanjivaram to tanchoi and block printing— and took Indian textiles to a global audience.