6th February 2020
In a world saturated with homogenised machine-made products, provenance is increasingly in vogue. This was evident in the buzz created by an exhibition of Desi Oonthat unfolded on a cold, sun-drenched morning on 10 January, at the gallery space of the ballroom in Bikaner House. Galleries can feel quite sterile, but this exhibition managed to open up a new design experience by stirring meaningful conversations on the sheep wool craft value chain of Kutch.
Tapping into the millennial zeitgeist, the colour palette of the products is a riot of reds and rusts, sage greens and indigos that coexist with the sedate blacks, browns, beiges and whites of the undyed hand-spun yarn. The warp lengths present an enchanting mélange of blended wool surfaces, while the colourful namda repertoire, a reflection of the ability of wool fibres to interlock magically when whirled against each other, reconnect connoisseurs with a cherished slice of history. The contemporary designs of jackets, rugs, cushions, stoles, bags with pared-down aesthetics, the meticulously revived heritage weaves of disappearing traditions like the Tangaliya, and the heart-warming ubiquity of the dhablas (blankets), come with an invitation to dive into the compelling dialectics of rural pastoral traditions of Kutch, a culturally and ecologically sensitive region of India.