Checks that Speak Many Languages

The simple, versatile 'gamchha' is inspiring artists and designers to create clothing and décor

- Abhilasha Ojha

She doesn't have a specific memory of seeing a gamchha for the first time, but former Samata Party president Jaya Jaitly remembers being greeted at political meetings in West Bengal and Odisha with the cotton cloth woven with checks and stripes. "These were beautiful, colourful gamchhas with bright plain bodies or bearing ikat patterns and narrow borders with little temple spikes," recalls Jaitly, now president of Dastkari Haat Samiti. "They were long-lasting, bright and would go with so many of my saris," she says, explaining that she turned them into blouses. The politician, activist, author and crafts curator also became a collector of the gamchha, picking them up from weavers and artisans from various parts of the country.

In a bid to showcase the diversity of this fabric, Dastakari Haat Samiti is holding an exhibition, Gamchha: From the Extraordinary in the Ordinary, from 1-10 March at the National Crafts Museum and Hastkala Academy, Pragati Maidan, Delhi. It documents gamchhas from 14 states of India and from some South-East Asian countries, highlighting their regional diversity, unique craftsmanship and cultural symbolism. There will also be art installations, design interventions and live demonstrations, exploring the fabric's many uses.