Threads & Voices: Behind the Indian Textile Tradition

The beauty, range, and variety of Indian textile traditions are login: 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 & Voices the attempt is to interpret the textile through the contemporary craftspeople that made 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 Threats & Voices describe textiles and skills and still used by people for their own purpose, rather than the museum pieces of yesteryear. The common thread is craftspeople, organization, 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 past 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 & Voices brings glimpses of craftspeople and crafts in transition, growing, learning, and often triumphing.