A Stitch Through Time

The centuries-old craft of Kantha embroidery, exploring its roots in reuse, storytelling and community in east India is given a contemporary spin through textile artworks at an exhibition in the capital till March 20.

- ADITHI REENA AJITH

T first glance, the textiles in the 'Threads that Bind' exhibition look like art pieces meant for the wall—vivid surfaces of stitched colour and layered fabrics, with lines that seem almost painterly. But in every stitch lies something far older—the Bengali domestic tradition of Kantha embroidery.

Curated by designer Amit Vijaya, the exhibition brings together artisans, designers and craft collectives to revisit the essence of Kantha—the philosophy of reuse, storytelling and community. It showcases pieces made from used textiles, turning them into jackets, home textiles and framed works ranged between 45k and ₹5 lakhs. Beginning on March 11 at Gallery Vayu in Lodhi Garden, the exhibition will be on view until March 20.

A craft born at home

The word 'Kantha' comes from Sanskrit, meaning rags. Historically, in rural Bengal, women layered worn-out cotton saris and stitched them together with simple running stitches to make quilts, cushion covers and other household textiles. Today, Vijaya notes that Kantha is widely associated with decorative running stitches applied to new fabrics. But the exhibition attempts to bring attention back to the craft's original essence of upcycling and storytelling.

The Kantha project began nearly three years ago when Meera Goradia, co-chair of Creative Dignity (CD), an artisan ecosystem, and craft advocate Sonia Bhandari, a member of CD, invited Vijaya and Richard Pandav—his design partner at their label AmRich—to explore a craft tradition they felt closely connected to.