Threads and Voices : Behind the Indian Textile Tradition

Contents: 1. Introduction/Laila Tyabji. 2. Picasso gets a sewing machine: current trends in Rabari Textile arts/Lachhuben Raja and Pabiben Soma in conversation with Judy Frater. 3. In search of perfection: Chikankari of Lucknow/Paola Manfredi. 4. Chippas of Rajasthan...Bindaas unlimited/Meeta and Sunny. 5. Embroidered Gardens of flowers: Bagh and Phulkari of Punjab/Jasleen Dhamija. 6. Weaving a vision: Doria of Chinnur/Uzramma and Annapurna M. 7. Kashmiri embroidery/Jenny Housego. 8. Charkha: the hand spinning wheel/Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee. 9. Life passages in embroidery: the Lambani women artisans/Lakshmi Narayan and Marianna von Hippel. 10. Sujuni of Bihar: stitching women's lives/Skye Morrison. 11. Warp and weft: tradition and change, craftsmanship and innovation, artisan and art in Bhujodi/Master Weavers Vishramji Valji, Hamir Vishramji, Shyamji Vishramji, and family in conversation with Judy Frater. 12. Threads and voices: embroidery as identity and empowerment/Laila Tyabji. Glossary. Index.

"The beauty, range, and variety of Indian textile traditions are legion: renowned over the centuries. Dauntingly, there are almost as many books, generalist and specialist, on the subject as there are varieties of textile. In Threads and voices the attempt is to interpret the textile through the contemporary craftspeople that make it, including the voices of designers and craft NGOs who work with them.

The emphasis is on contemporary pieces and practice, contrasted with old heirlooms and traditions. Also analysed are the sociological and economic causes of the demise of certain traditions. The articles in Threads and Voices describe textiles and skills still used by people for their own purposes, rather than the museum pieces of yesteryear. The common thread is craftspeople, organizations, activists, and designers with whom Dastkar has worked over the years. The focus shifts from museum antiques and master craftspersons to embroideries and weaves made in villages today as part of both income generation and social practice. The focus is the person in relation to the textile - the conflict (positive and negative) between individual creativity and market forces, and how to sensitively meld contemporary design with tradition.

Issues that emerge in these pieces are the learning process that went into the making of both craftspeople and interventionary agencies; the cultural importance to the craftspeople of the motifs and designs they use; how designs and products have changed with changing markets and lifestyles; how far technology has changed crafts and working conditions; and the conflict in craft today between economics and tradition, fashion and creativity. For most craftspeople their craft is hard economics; it is encouraging and moving that for many, it also remains art.

In the new millennium, India is poised between past and future, tradition and technology. Village haats are being supplanted by shopping malls crowded with branded international labels. Nevertheless, craft still maintains its place, finding new avenues and opportunities. Threads and Voices brings glimpses of craftpeople and crafts in transition, growing, learning, and often triumphing." (jacket)