Bengal documents its rich textile heritage through an exhibition of four century old works

An exhibition in Kolkata explores and documents the four centuries of shared textile legacy of the two Bengals (West Bengal and Bangladesh) and launch the book “Textiles from Bengal”.
| Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI

An exhibition in Kolkata explores and documents the four centuries of shared textile legacy of the two Bengals (West Bengal and Bangladesh) to ensure the preservation of the State’s art and trade history. The book “Textiles from Bengal: A Shared Legacy” which attempts to document this cultural legacy was also launched at the event on January 30, Thursday. 

Darshan Shah, Weavers Studio Resource Centre (WSRC), one of the organisers of the event shared how her three-decade long journey in exploring the textiles of West Bengal led her to discover that there was a lack of documentation of this artform. Speaking on the issue of erasure of history due to lack of preservation, Ms Shah told The Hindu, “Bengal and its textile has lacked the international exposure that it deserved. This exhibition and book are an attempt to bring back the attention to initiate the preservation of history. Oral history of this long legacy will be lost if we cannot take the initiative to collaborate with the senior artists who know this land and its creations like the back of their hand.” 

Every historical event, including the Mughal and British era in Bengal has had an impact on how the various textiles of the land developed over the years. The veteran artists and their forefathers from this region have lived through many of these eras and adapted their works based on the times. “Rivers changing course, indigo revolution, technology, geographies, migrations, demand, supply, designs, everything has played a role in forming the traditions,” said Ms Shah. 

Visitors are given a walkthrough of the exhibition through a selection of iconic textile traditions such as muslins, kantha, jamdani, Indo-Portuguese embroideries, and Haji rumals. Rarely seen artefacts from WSRC’s archives, meticulously conserved and displayed, to shed light on the region’s global trade history and artistic expertise in building a shared legacy between West Bengal and Bangladesh over the years.  

Veteran textile artists like 96-year-old Ruby Palchouduri, Hariprada Basak, and many others were celebrated at the event to ensure their contribution in documenting the textile history of the State is restored in its original form. 

Curator Mayank Mansingh Kaul noted, “This exhibition expands the narrative beyond the celebrated kantha and jamdani, revealing the multifaceted contributions of Bengal’s artisans to global textile culture.”