My Visit to Calico Museum of Textile It was a pleasant rainy morning.

I went to visit Calico Museum of Textile, at Shahibaug with my classmates. I entered this beautifully carved entrance and then was guided towards Haveli (a traditional carved mansion) where my journey towards the Treasures of Indian Textiles was going to start. After reaching there, I went inside the Chauk. There our guide described us the grandeur of the work done by craftsmen on Mughal carpet which must have come from one of the work ships which Akbar had established in India. There was a Mughal tent which was showing the splendor of the Mughal era. Our guide shed light on various aspects that are taken care in matter of cloth. For e.g. Cotton clothes for summer and clothes made up of brocade were worn on special occasions. Gradually I move on to the Sarees section, there I found out that how climate and geographical locations matters the most in wearing clothes. For e.g. In Gujarat a woman wear 6 yards of saree with wrapping style whereas in the coastal region a woman has to wear 9 yards of saree in different style so that she wont drown in the sea. Now I am headed towards another section where I saw a glass case inside there is a palanquin for king and an ivory door have been displayed. Further our guide told us about, fragments of Indian fabrics found during excavations at Fostat in Egypt. The most typical of the Indian cottons found during excavations are resist-dyed with indigo. The origins of the fragments of Indian fabrics could be traced to Gujarat. Now I am moving towards the weaving section where I found shawls which took 3 years to complete two heads at centre. And I was sad to know that how England affected their business by weaving and printing shawls of similar type and sold it in India. Afterwards we were taken to weaving patterns of different states of India. To my astonishment Gujarat itself has 16 tribes which do complicated hand-embroidery. Some of them one can find in Kutch, they visualize pattern to weave then decide size of cloth. Whereas Orissa has 3D patchwork of canopy, I also found a Replica of a Temple of Tamil Nadu made of wood and how the guardians of the temple create a myth while deity Natraja is in centre. Punjab is famous for Phukari and West Bengal is famous for Kanthawork. I also found difference between Kutch and Rajasthans Tie and Dyed works. Patolu (singular) and patola (plural) are the terms used normally in Gujarat for silk weaving with designs in double ikat, that is, for fabrics where the warp and the wefts threads are coloured in sections by tie-dyeing before weaving, and are then woven to from intricate multi-coloured designs. Our last stop was a collection of different stitching patterns, mirror work, metal work, patch work and appliqu work.

I found the arrangements of Lighting very dramatic; as one enters every room tells you a different history of Indian craftsmen. One would transport to 15th and 16th centuries, bringing alive the India of the centuries gone by, through the carved wooden facades, motifs, brocaded fabrics, tie-dyed and block-printed textiles. Unlike other museums that I have visited Calico Museum of Textiles is different. It follows the conventional method of displaying the pieces in glass cases; the Calico Museum authorities have covered the exhibits with a transparent plastic film which is scientifically tested to make sure that it is inert chemically. This has been done to ensure that the plastic films do not damage the dyes and the material which they want to protect. The Museum authorities have made all possible efforts to create a museum climate in and around the treasure house of ancient textiles. For instance, the museum pieces are protected from dust, air pollution and fluctuations in temperatures by the trees around the museum complex. Within the museum, the relative humidity of the galleries does not change too much or too suddenly. The Haveli has relatively thick walls, shaded from the sun contribute to conservation requirements. The restricted visiting hours and a strict control over visitor traffic ensure a reasonably safe museum climate. Moreover, the darkness between visiting hours and a subdued lighting protect the textiles from fading. In the museum I found the passage very narrow, because of it some artifacts were not clearly seen. There was lack of description of the artifact, which can be added. I would conclude my visit to calico museum was a wonderful experience but the moment I was connecting with the ambience of the museum and its artifacts the visit came to an end which gave me a sense of incompleteness. Jinisha Gajjar M.Des 201114007