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BOOKS
Threads
from the Past
A
beautifully produced book on Indian textiles-but without an updated text
By
Jasleen Dhamija
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TRADITION
AND BEYOND
ROLI
Price: Rs. 2450
PAGES: 156
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Tradition
and Beyond: Handcrafted Indian Textiles, with Martand Singh as general
editor and text by Rta Kapur Chishti and Rahul Jain, is a well brought
out, richly illustrated book. It appears to be a new edition of the catalogue
Master Weavers, brought out by Singh for an eponymous textile exhibition
at the Festival of India in 1982 and sponsored by the development commissioner,
handlooms.
The master
players are the same, except for Rahul Jain who is a new entrant. Though
the contribution of those involved in Master Weavers has not been
acknowledged, they are there-in the overall concept of the book and the
way the chapters have been organised, beginning with pigment painting,
proceeding to block printed and painted fabrics and resist to brocaded
textiles.
What is
amazing is that there is no mention of Master Weavers throughout the book,
not even in the bibliography. The text here follows very closely the text
written for Master Weavers by Jyotindra Jain, but without a footnote or
acknowledgement. What is amusing is that when an acknowledgement is made-to
George Watt for a list of important printing centres-the list published
in Tradition and Beyond is far more comprehensive than Watt's list. The
list is, in fact, taken from Master Weavers, which a team working under
Singh researched and compiled. Jyotindra Jain had listed the centres in
his text. Among them were a number of new centres, unmentioned in earlier,
colonial period writing.
There are
some embarrassing mistakes too. A well-known researcher and writer is
referred to at least thrice as Edward Fischer, though every student of
crafts and textiles is familiar with Eberhard Fischer. All in all the
book has done such an excellent job of copying Master Weavers that it
has even incorporated its errors, like the incorrect usage of the word
Ashtadikpalika.
The new
avatar of the catalogue is a plush coffee-table book, with quality paper
and excellent printing. A purist would query the bluish tinge in the prints
though. One wishes the special yellow-tinted paper had been used to get
a colour palette closer to the original textiles.
It is a pity
that the text of such a well-produced book has failed to live up to expectations.
Eighteen years later, despite a great deal of research and publications
having been done, we do not find this reflected in the book. Master Weavers
had interviews with weaving ustads, which was a remarkable window into
the life and thought of the masters. Here we have a dialogue with Singh
and the two acolytes in the tradition of Thus Spake Zarathustra, stream
of consciousness meanderings on the situation before Singh and after,
with bits of esoteric wisdom thrown in: "You see, I think all of
us including Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay and Pupul Jayakar faced the same
problem, which was the human face behind the product" (page 21).
There are
also inaccuracies. For instance Singh says, "The trouble with pichhwai
... is the border. In whichever pichhwai I have seen apart from the Golconda
ones, the border is ineffective." This is an off-the-cuff remark.
Except for a few early printed pichhwais, most have a border of scenes
from the Manohraths and the discovery of Shri Nathji by Vallabhacharya
or scenes from the Geeta Govinda. That apart, when discussing Fostat and
Quseir-al-Qadim textiles the authors talk of them as "of a modest
quality". However, Quseir-al-Qadim textiles printed in madder are
of highly refined quality. On page 86 the comment is made that "Tamil
Nadu region has not produced any centres of note". This is questionable
and has been contradicted elsewhere in the book.
There are
other concepts that could have done with updating: Why include pigment
painting in such a book? What is the relevance of devoting pages to screen
printing done by artists at the Weavers Service Centre? These were exhibition
pieces and never had any influence on production. The very nature of this
work is questionable. There is mixing of traditional designs and motifs;
tradition here is used as a free-for-all category, an ocean from which
designers as heroes may appropriate anything to celebrate their individuality.
One fails to see why they appear in this book and why such appropriations
have not been clearly defined.
When Vikram
Seth wrote The Suitable Boy he apologised to the reader that the book
would not only be heavy on the pocket, but also on the wrist. I find coffee-table
books are getting weightier day-by-day, often containing more and being
harder on the readers' shoulders. Clearly, technology has made it easy
to produce attractive and weighty books. But, as a reading of Tradition
and Beyond bears out, to research, interpret and create original writing
is an altogether different cup of tea.
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